North Dakota Ag Connection - Corps Commits to Minot, Red River Advance Flood Prevention

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Corps Commits to Minot, Red River Advance Flood Prevention
North Dakota Ag Connection - 04/23/2018

At a hearing of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, Senator John Hoeven reaffirmed the support of R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for comprehensive flood protection efforts in the Minot region and the Red River Valley. Hoeven's efforts during the hearing are timely, as the Corps continues to make progress on its Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 work plan. Specifically, Hoeven secured a commitment from Chief Semonite to help secure funding for construction in the Fargo-Moorhead region as efforts continue to resolve the concerns of Minnesota and upstream groups and to accelerate the feasibility study in the Souris River Basin to ensure that the Minot area's flood protection project is eligible to be included in the upcoming Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

"The Army Corps strongly supports our efforts to build comprehensive flood protection, both in the Minot region and in the Red River Valley," Hoeven said. "Because of this, we are in a good position to receive funding for construction in the Fargo-Moorhead region and to include authorization for flood protection in the Souris River Basin in the next WRDA bill."

The hearing comes as part of Hoeven's efforts to support regional flood protection in North Dakota. To this end, Hoeven included increased funding for the Army Corps' construction account in the FY2018 funding legislation to help ensure projects like flood protection in the Red River Valley are included in the Corps' work plan.

Hoeven also secured strong support for the Corps' flood study in the Minot region, a key step that must be completed prior to the construction of phase four of the region's flood protection project. This phase, 65 percent of which will be funded by Army Corps, will tie the earlier phases of the project together and deliver flood protection for 60 percent of residents in the Souris River Valley.

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