DELEGATION TO CONVENE SERIES OF MEETINGS ON NORTH DAKOTA FLOOD PROTECTION

Meetings to discuss community flood control options

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- As part of the ongoing flood recovery efforts in North Dakota, Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Congressman Earl Pomeroy will launch a series of meetings in the coming months to discuss flood recovery and protection plans for communities around North Dakota.

The delegation will hold the meetings in communities across North Dakota that have been affected by spring flooding this year. Many of those communities have expressed interest in a long-term flood protection system. The first step is for these communities to identify a plan to solve the flooding problem. Once a plan is identified, the federal government will be there to partner with state and local communities to plan, fund, design and build a project that not only meets the needs of the local community but benefits the nation, the delegation said. The delegation’s flood meetings are also aimed at discussing broader flooding issues, because river systems throughout North Dakota, including the Missouri, the Red, the Sheyenne, the James, the Knife, and others, experienced significant flooding this year.

“We’ve faced an unprecedented amount of flooding in North Dakota this year, and a number of communities are considering long-term protection,” said Senator Dorgan, who is Chairman of the subcommittee that funds the Army Corps of Engineers. “This is a ‘bottom up’ process, so the first step is for communities to identify what they want to do. This starts the process so the federal government can partner with them on a solution. That’s why we’re kicking off this series of meetings.”

“The decision to pursue permanent flood control must be made at the local and state levels. Flood control begins on the ground with decisions and directions from city, county and township officials, as they work in conjunction with state and federal agencies. These meetings will bring together the key players to develop a strategy for obtaining a comprehensive flood control plan in each of our watersheds,” Senator Conrad said. “We have stood shoulder to shoulder fighting the floods of today, and we need to continue to stand together to prepare for the floods of tomorrow.”

“Dealing with the snows and floods of 2009 has demonstrated that where local issues are involved; local decision makers are the best positioned to make the call. However, when disaster strikes, it requires more than local resources to protect against the threat and then to restore normalcy when the threat has passed,” Congressman Pomeroy said. “This will be true as cites and towns across North Dakota pursue flood protection systems. These meetings will help advance strategies so that the federal government can do its part to help build these systems.”

The North Dakota delegation will be joined May 5 in Washington, D.C., by Senator Amy Klobuchar, Congressman Collin Peterson and the North Dakota and Minnesota governors to try to develop a consensus among state and local officials about flood control for Fargo-Moorhead and how that project will be partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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