DORGAN TO HOLD HEARING ON FLOOD CONTROL IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY
Thursday, April 2, 2009
CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations panel, which funds all federal flood control projects throughout the country, announced today that he intends to hold an official Senate hearing on the situation in Fargo and the Red River Valley to determine the steps that need to be taken to improve flood control in the area.
Dorgan will hold the flood control hearing with local, state, and federal officials to begin assessing the existing flood control infrastructure and evaluate what needs to be done to protect the greater Fargo/Moorhead area and other areas on the Red River from future flooding.
This meeting will serve as a follow-up to the hearing Senator Dorgan held in Washington, DC on February 11 that discussed flooding in the Red River Valley and Devils Lake. Given the complex nature of coordinating federal flood control projects with state, local, and federal agencies, Dorgan’s hearing will examine the process of how the Fargo/Moorhead area can move forward on an expedited basis in regards to a flood control project that will better protect the community.
“After the Red River flood water has subsided in the coming weeks and after the clean up has begun, it will be an appropriate time to begin the evaluation of the type of additional flood control projects that will be necessary,” Dorgan said. “The entire area has put up a great fight, one that will not be soon forgotten. Now is the time to assess what has happened and put in place a flood protection plan that will provide long-term protection for the Fargo/Moorhead area if the Red River Valley floods in the future.”
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