F-M DIVERSION

Water will cover a handful of cemeteries when the flood diversion operates. Here’s what’s being done.

Patrick Springer — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 10:29:00 GMT

COMSTOCK, Minn. — Swedish immigrant farmers founded the Clara Lutheran Church in Clay County’s Holy Cross Township in the late 1800s.

Decades later, their descendants decided to merge with their Norwegian-descended neighbors. Both congregations were small and both churches were old, and over time many families had intermingled through marriage, so they combined in the 1960s as Comstock Lutheran Church.

Although Clara Lutheran Church is long gone, Clara Lutheran Cemetery remains, surrounded by farm fields on a site northwest of Comstock.

The cemetery has weathered countless blizzards, hail storms and droughts, but now faces a new threat: flooding created by the metro flood diversion, which will operate during severe floods.

The diversion project’s 20-mile earthen embankment and three gated control structures will back up water over an area south of Fargo-Moorhead, upstream on the Red River.

What’s called the upstream mitigation area includes 11 rural cemeteries that face some degree of flooding risk, which diversion officials are working to address in consultation with the owners.

Clara Lutheran Cemetery, located within what will become the pool area, faces the greatest risk.

Engineers calculate that the cemetery will be inundated by four feet of water in a 100-year flood and eight to 10 feet in a 500-year flood.

“It’s probably the cemetery that’s impacted the most,” said Joel Paulsen, the Diversion Authority’s director. “Honestly, many of these cemeteries are pioneer cemeteries.”

Officials are working on mitigation plans for the five cemeteries with the greatest impacts.

Initially, congregation members were alarmed at the impact to Clara cemetery.

“We kind of fought it,” said Mark Anderson, a farmer and member of Comstock Lutheran Church’s cemetery committee. “We have a lot of people whose grandparents were buried there and whose parents were buried there.”

The cemetery, with roots in the pioneer era, was declared a historic cemetery by the National Trust.

Once the diversion had all of the needed permits, however, and it became clear that the project was going to be built, the congregation negotiated with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

“Sometimes you just have to accept stuff,” Anderson said. “And once it’s going to be, you have to deal with it.”

The process was laborious, involving multiple agencies, including the Diversion Authority, Army Corps of Engineers, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Historical Society.

“They all had different ideas on what to do,” Anderson said. “We mixed and matched.”

At first, the Diversion Authority proposed a dike tall enough to protect against a 500-year flood, but church members decided that was too much, he said.

“It was going to make it look like a swimming pool,” Anderson said. “The aesthetic on four feet is very different.”

Plans call not only for wrapping a berm around the cemetery, but also raising two nearby roads. An unoccupied corner of the graveyard will serve as a new sloped entrance “up and over” the dike.

The stately pine trees surrounding Clara cemetery are dead, victims of age and a devastating hail storm a few years back.

New trees and shrubs will be planted once the dike is built.

“They came around on a lot of our suggestions,” Anderson said. “I think it was about the best we could do.”

'Tough to be uprooted'

Narve Roen immigrated to the United States from Norway with his parents when he was 2 years old.

His family settled in Wisconsin and young Narve enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving under Gen. William Sherman.

After the war, life took him to southeast Minnesota, then he and his wife, Gor, traveled by oxen-drawn covered wagon to a homestead near Comstock in 1871 to establish a farm.

“It’s been in the family since,” said Rhoda Ueland, Roen’s great-granddaughter and the farm’s current owner.

Both Narve and Gor were immigrants from Hallingdal, Norway. Narve built the first wood-frame house in the area in 1881. Later, their second-oldest son, Stennom, Ueland’s grandfather, built a stately home with a prominent columned, semicircular porch.

The farm includes a small Roen family cemetery, with the graves of children, the smallest of the cemeteries that are at some risk from the diversion.

The diversion means the family must abandon the farm and cemetery. Structures will be demolished, although Ueland wants to move one of the farmhouses.

Ueland and her father placed markers on the previously unmarked graves in the 1980s, all ancestors who died very young: Ida Myrtle Roen, age 2; Ingvald Roen, age 5; and Ida Roen, age 18.

“It’s kind of tough to be uprooted when your roots go back so deep,” Ueland said.

As negotiations continue over the sale, Ueland’s family is dealing with the loss of their ancestral farm.

“Pulling up family roots so deeply rooted since 1871 has become a nightmare,” she said, adding that her father and grandfather instilled pride in the family’s pioneer heritage. “Many neighbors and friends are also going through this process of grieving the uprooting of their own heritage.”

Safeguarding 'sacred places'

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which started investigating the impacted cemeteries in the early 2010s, compiled an extensive survey and report to document their histories.

“Cemeteries are sacred places and they’re associated with communities for all the reasons you would expect,” said Susan Malin-Boyce, an archaeologist for the Corps. “It ties people to the place. It’s a sense of belonging and ancestry to a place.”

When operating, which engineers estimate will be about once every 20 years, the flood project will cover some of the cemeteries with water.

“No cemeteries are being removed and there will be no disinterments,” Malin-Boyce said.

Diversion officials and their representatives will continue to work with landowners and cemetery owners to mitigate issues caused by the flood project.

The Diversion Authority has an obligation to protect the cemeteries and, following a flood, to clear debris, said Jodi Smith, director of lands and compliance. Negotiations continue with many of the cemetery owners.

“We don’t have signed agreements with all the cemeteries yet,” she said.

In some cases, if needed, headstones will be elevated and re-seated, Paulsen said.

“We want to address that we’re committed to mitigating any impacts to any cemeteries,” he said.

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Army Corps of Engineers allocates $100 million for diversion work this year

Patrick Springer — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 22:34:19 GMT

FARGO — The FM Area Diversion Project got a financial boost with the announcement that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will provide $100 million in funding to move ahead with important construction this year.

The announcement, made Monday, Feb. 10, in Washington, was welcomed by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and leaders of the $2.75 billion metro flood diversion project.

The federal money, which matched what the Metro Flood Diversion Authority requested, will allow construction on important features of the flood control project to proceed on schedule.

“This $100 million in funding will help us to advance construction of permanent flood protection for the Red River Valley and maintain the construction schedule for the project,” Hoeven said in a statement.

When weather allows this spring, work will resume on the diversion channel’s inlet south of Fargo, near the intersection of Cass County 17 and 16 outside Horace.

“As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, we worked to provide funding in the Corps’ construction account to ensure that the permanent flood protection project in the Red River Valley would be funded in the Corps’ work plan,” Hoeven added.

Also this spring, work will start on the Wild Rice control structure, which will control flows of the Wild Rice River, a tributary that joins the Red River south of Fargo. The Wild Rice structure, which will be about a mile east of the inlet, is designed to significantly reduce flooding along the Wild Rice River between the control structure and the Red River.

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney, chairman of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority board, thanked Hoeven and other members of the North Dakota congressional delegation for securing the funding to keep the project on track.

“This project is successful because of the dedication and partnerships that have been built between our federal delegation, the Army Corps, the states of Minnesota and North Dakota, and with our local team at the Diversion Authority,” said Johnathan Judd, mayor of Moorhead and the board’s vice chairman.

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The money is part of the federal government’s commitment to provide $750 million toward the project. The state of North Dakota also has committed $750 million, although diversion officials last year asked the state to increase that by $120 million to eliminate a gap in funding caused by design changes and escalating costs resulting from litigation delays.

Local sales taxes approved by voters in Fargo and Cass County will provide more than $1 billion. Officials hope the state of Minnesota will contribute $86 million.

During extreme floods, the flood control project will split the flows of the Red River, diverting half the flows through a 30-mile channel that will skirt the Fargo-Moorhead metro area to the west, temporarily impounding water upstream.

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North Dakota lawmakers push for audit of land purchases for Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion

Patrick Springer / Forum News Service — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 11:00:00 GMT

FARGO — North Dakota legislators are pushing for an audit to examine land purchased for the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project to settle long-standing concerns about the process and amounts paid for some parcels.

The Legislature’s Water Topics Overview Committee voted to request the audit, a step that would require approval by the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee and would involve the Office of the State Auditor.

The idea of an audit was proposed by Rep. Bob Martinson, R-Bismarck, when the water overview panel met Tuesday, Dec. 10.

Martinson said his motion was prompted by a letter to the editor that appeared in newspapers, including The Forum, by diversion critics who contend that local governments have paid exorbitant sums on behalf of the diversion project for homes around Oxbow, N.D., as well as the Oxbow Country Club.

That letter, by Trana Rogne and others representing the Richland-Wilkin Joint Powers Authority, urged State Auditor Josh Gallion to audit property purchases for the diversion by the Cass County Joint Water Resource District totaling $248 million over nine years.

“There have been questions about what they’ve paid property owners, particularly the Oxbow Country Club, for quite some time,” Martinson said in an interview Thursday, Dec. 12. “I believe they’re quite serious. I thought, well, let’s get to the bottom of this.”

Rep. Jim Schmidt, R-Huff, the water committee’s chairman, agreed that some legislators have had questions about property acquisitions for the $2.75 billion diversion project for years, and committee members agreed with Martinson that an audit would help resolve those questions.

“There’s a concern about the acquisition process and funding thereof,” Schmidt said, adding that state tax dollars are involved in the buyouts. “The concern is they’re spending too much on these properties.”

Although spending concerns have surfaced periodically over the years, “I think it kind of reached a pinnacle,” he said.

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“I believe they’ve done it correctly, I truly do,” Schmidt added, referring to property purchases for the diversion. “With that thought in mind,” he said, an audit would help to clear the air. “It’s a neutral eye coming in and assessing the situation.”

Mary Scherling, a Cass County commissioner and chairwoman of the Metro Diversion Authority board, said all diversion expenditures are scrutinized by local governments and ultimately are approved by the authority board’s finance committee.

“We have our policies and procedures in place,” she said. “Everything goes through the finance committee. Lots of people have their eyes on the bills as they go up the chain. There’s no lack of people looking at them.”

Joel Paulsen, the Diversion Authority’s executive director, briefed legislators in the Tuesday meeting, including an update on land acquisitions for the project. So far, he said, voluntary agreements have been reached on more than 340 properties, including about half of the land needed for the diversion channel, intended to divert Red River floodwater around Fargo-Moorhead.

“The idea of an audit is something our Finance Committee was already considering and was contemplating the use of an independent local accounting firm,” Paulsen said in a statement. “We have strong transparent financial processes in place, with multiple reviews and financial controls in place.”

Also, he said, reimbursements from the state are reviewed by the Office of the State Engineer. The finance committee will resume the discussion of hiring an auditing firm at its regular Jan. 22 meeting, Paulsen said.

The letter by Rogne and others, published Dec. 5 on Inforum, said about $132 million had been paid to purchase 100 homes in the city of Oxbow, including $32 million paid to Oxbow Golf and Country Club.

Payments, Rogne’s letter asserted, were multiples of the properties’ assessed value. An analysis by The Forum in 2015 found that 17 homeowners in and around Oxbow had been paid an average of 122% of their homes’ assessed value.

Property purchases for the diversion must follow state and federal standards, Scherling said.

“I’m not sure about a cap, but there certainly is a bottom,” that is acceptable for purchases according to the standards, she said. The city of Fargo has a policy of paying 110% of assessed value for flood buyouts.

Local governments want to negotiate buyouts with property owners to avoid having to go to court in an adversarial process, Scherling said.

“We’re sincerely trying to do everything we can to make people whole,” she said. “Maybe not happy, but whole.”

An audit of the property purchases is welcome, Scherling said, “As long as it doesn’t slow us down any further. Time is money. That’s my only concern.”

Martinson said his motivation was not to delay the project, and said he believes local as well as state taxpayers would welcome the scrutiny. He said he has voted in favor of $750 million in state support for the project, and believes the project would benefit the state.

“I don’t see how this would delay it,” he said. “That certainly was not my intent. I think we should all be concerned about the expenditures.”

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Army Corps official pledges support for diversion, ‘sympathizes’ with need for project

Patrick Springer / Forum News Service — Fri, 01 Nov 2019 20:21:52 GMT

FARGO — The top official who oversees Army Corps of Engineers projects and was responsible for boosting federal funding for the diversion met with local officials and pledged his continuing support to keep the $2.75 billion flood project on track.

R.D. James, the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, toured flood-control sites and met with local officials on Friday, Nov. 1, as the Red River continued to recede slowly from an unusual fall flood.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., Gov. Doug Burgum and local officials thanked James for his support — earlier this year he approved increasing the federal government’s commitment to $750 million — and urged the administration to maintain payments on schedule.

The Metro Diversion Authority and Corps of Engineers are working together to complete the diversion channel by 2026, and the project is expected to be fully operational by 2027, an ambitious timeline.

The accelerated construction of the project is made possible by a pioneering process involving federal, state and local governments in partnership with the private sector — what’s called a public-private partnership.

During the meeting in the chambers of City Hall, as photographs of past flood fights flashed on large screens, local officials stressed the need for permanent flood protection in an area confronted by repeated major floods that threaten catastrophic damage to a metro area of 250,000 people.

“We use school children to help us with our flood fights,” Mary Scherling, a Cass County commissioner and chairwoman of the diversion board told James. “We’re just close to losing. We can’t continue doing that.”

James, who grew up on the Mississippi River and served for years on the Mississippi River Commission, called himself a “flood control guy” and said he would continue to do all he can in his official capacity to keep the diversion moving ahead.

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“I have fought floods my entire life,” he said. “I sympathize with you, and I sympathize with what you're trying to do.”

Hoeven thanked James for his support for the project. “He’s been a champion for us,” he said. Money should be available for the diversion, Hoeven said. He noted that funding legislation for fiscal 2020 provides $233 million beyond the administration’s request for flood control projects and $100 million for “alternate delivery” projects including public-private partnerships of the kind driving the diversion.

Over the past year, the diversion has gained momentum, Scherling said, including securing a critical permit from Minnesota regulators and an order from a federal judge allowing work on certain diversion features in North Dakota to go ahead in the face of a lawsuit challenging the project.

Col. Karl Jansen, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers’ St. Paul district, said work continues on the inlet structure. Late this month, officials hope to award a bid for the Wild Rice control structure and “robust design work” is under way for the Red River control structure and an embankment.

The three structures, along with a 20-mile southern embankment to allow water to temporarily pool when the diversion is operating, comprise the $750 million federal commitment to the project, Jansen said.

“Definitely moving ahead,” he said. “We’re very pleased that we’ve been able to resume our efforts here since April of this year.”

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EPA picks Fargo-Moorhead diversion project for $510 million in low-interest financing

Patrick Springer / Forum News Service — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 21:35:05 GMT

BISMARCK — North Dakota's congressional delegation announced that financing for the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion took a major step forward with an agreement opening the door to apply for $510 million in low-interest financing.

The announcement was made Tuesday, Oct. 8, inviting the $2.75 billion flood protection project to formally apply for the loan package, a critical step in providing access to the low-interest loan program.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, at the Great Plains & EmPower North Dakota Energy Conference at Bismarck State College.

"This hugely important loan will reduce the tax burden of the diversion project and give assurances to taxpayers, state legislators and the private market that the project is affordable and moving forward," Gov. Doug Burgum said in a statement. "We're deeply grateful to the EPA and Administrator Wheeler for making this financing available and signing the MOU" — memorandum of understanding — "renewing the EPA's commitment to this longstanding partnership between the states and federal government."

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and other members of the state's congressional delegation worked with the EPA to enable the diversion project to qualify for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, commonly called WIFIA, loan program.

The low-interest loan program will significantly reduce borrowing costs for the project, according to Hoeven.

"This program provides flexibility and lower rates, which could result in at least $600 million in reduced interest payments," he said.

"We've worked hard in recent years to ensure flood protection in the Red River Valley can use the WIFIA program to reduce project costs," Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. "This is an important element of our efforts to build permanent, comprehensive flood protection for the region, and it bolsters the increased funding we have advanced for Army Corps construction as well as P3" — public-private partnerships — "like this one."

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Wheeler said in a statement that the loan package would help build a "project that would protect hundreds of thousands of North Dakotans from flooding."

Hoeven briefed members of the Metro Diversion Authority board on the low-interest loan program and how it will help to reduce financing costs for the diversion project, which local leaders hope can be completed by 2027, in a round-table meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Mary Scherling, chairwoman of the Diversion Authority board and a member of the Cass County Commission, thanked the congressional delegation for its work on the loan program accessibility, which she called a "critical financial step."

"This loan would not have been possible without their vision and efforts in Washington," she said. "Having a low-interest loan helps solidify our financial plan."

Although the project faces legal and administrative challenges, a federal judge is allowing construction work on the project in North Dakota to proceed.

Under a revised plan stemming from a task force assembled by Burgum and former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, most of the impacts from an upstream water storage area have been shifted to North Dakota, where most of the flood protection benefits will be realized. That compromise plan won a crucial permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, a decision now challenged by upstream opponents.

During extreme floods, control structures will divert half of the flows from the Red River via a 36-mile diversion channel that bypasses the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. To regulate flows to minimize downstream impacts, water will be stored temporarily upstream, south of the metro area.

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Minnesota grants permit for Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion, clearing major regulatory hurdle

Patrick Springer / Forum News Service — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 21:47:00 GMT

FARGO — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources granted a permit for the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion in a move that gives the $2.75 billion project a major regulatory clearance.

The decision, announced on Thursday, Dec. 27, was the culmination of years of planning and preparation. The diversion plan that won approval reflects significant revisions to the original plan in order to satisfy Minnesota officials, whose approval for a dam to regulate flows into the diversion channel was needed.

The permit, for a revised diversion proposal called Plan B, includes more than 50 special conditions governing project design, construction, operation and maintenance, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

"Plan B, with the conditions included in DNR's permit, represents a balanced approach to reducing the flood risk in an important metropolitan area while protecting public safety and the environment," Tom Landwehr, Minnesota DNR commissioner, said in a statement announcing the permit.

Local officials applauded the permit decision, but also noted that a lot of work remains to be done to complete the project.

"This is a major milestone for the project, but we still have a long way before we cross the finish line," Mary Scherling, a Cass County commissioner and board member for the Diversion Authority, said in a statement. "This project is critically important for our citizens, economy and the future of the Red River Valley."

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said the permit decision moves the diversion another step closer to implementation.

"We look forward to working with our federal and state partners to the remaining funding commitments needed for the project," he said in a statement. "Today was a momentous occasion."

Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams thanked officials in Minnesota and North Dakota for their work on the project.

"We know our work has really only just begun," Williams said in a statement. "It is up to the Diversion Authority to now review the permit conditions and begin the next steps to implement the project, which includes working with the DNR and the upstream entities to resolve the ongoing litigation."

Construction this spring

Plan B, the revised diversion proposal, altered the levees that contain a temporary water impoundment area upstream of the dam south of Fargo-Moorhead, so more of the water will be pooled in North Dakota, which will receive most of the flood protection benefits, minimizing impacts in Minnesota.

The new plan means construction can resume on the diversion this spring. Construction on the inlet structure near Horace was suspended because of a lawsuit. A task force led by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum drafted recommendations that helped guide the revised project to meet Minnesota's concerns.

Prompted by the record 2009 Red River flood, which threatened to devastate large areas of Fargo especially, the diversion project has been authorized by Congress and ranks high on the Army Corps of Engineers' priority list.

Without diversion protection, about 169,000 acres in Fargo-Moorhead is subject to flooding in a 100-year flood, Landwehr said. "Plan B will provide 100-year protection for about 57,000 of those acres, while exposing approximately 12,000 acres to new flooding potential. Most of the acreage newly subject to flooding will be south of Fargo-Moorhead."

Local governments are expanding their home-buyout programs to remove properties that are vulnerable to flooding from the revised diversion.

Under the revised plan, an additional 12,000 acres upstream of the diversion dam, including about 3,700 acres in Minnesota, will be inundated when the diversion operates during an extreme flood.

The permit issued Thursday governs dam safety and public works associated with the project, and is the major permit needed for the project. But additional DNR permits and approvals also are required. A federal court injunction on the project also must be addressed.

SEE THE REVISED F-M DIVERSION MAP HERE

Conditions attached to the permit granted Thursday include required mitigation measures, including acquisition of property rights for all impacted property in Minnesota, and fish passage at Drayton Dam. The dam will be replaced with rock rapids that will enable fish to move downstream. That will mitigate difficulties the diversion will impose on fish swimming in the Red River.

Oxbows also will be restored on the Lower Otter Tail River, which will increase acres of public waters in Minnesota to compensate for acres of public waters that will be removed from the diversion project, a condition required for the project to meet Minnesota law.

Minnesota regulators will review and approve all final engineering plans before each construction phase, a process the DNR expects will take more than 10 years. The DNR also will review operating and maintenance plans for the diversion and will coordinate with the Buffalo-Red River Watershed District on a Wolverton Creek crossing structure.

Challenges remain

The diversion project still faces significant obstacles, even though it appears to have cleared its final major regulatory hurdle. Escalating costs, from inflation and the design changes, mean the Diversion Authority is asking the state of North Dakota and federal government each to contribute another $300 million for the project.

Cass County and Fargo will contribute more than $1 billion for the project with money raised from sales taxes approved by voters. North Dakota has committed to pay $570 million, and the federal government has committed to pay $450 million. Minnesota will be asked to pay $86 million, half for the project and half for in-town protections in Moorhead.

Besides the financial challenges, officials believe another lawsuit is likely from Minnesota's Wilkin County and North Dakota's Richland County, both located upstream, where opposition to the project is notable.

The revised design calls for flows on the Red River to reach a level of 37 feet through Fargo-Moorhead, where major flood stage begins at 30 feet. The 2009 flood reached 40.8 feet.

Once the diversion is operating, half of the Red River's flows will be diverted during extreme floods to run through the diversion channel, which will bypass Fargo and West Fargo, and return to the river via an outlet downstream of Georgetown, Minn., north of Fargo-Moorhead.

Local officials hope to complete construction within 6 1/2 years, since the longer the project takes to build, the higher the cost could climb due to inflation. In 2015, before the design changes, the cost estimate for the diversion was $2.2 billion.

Landwehr said the extensive discussions and revisions that were made to enable Minnesota to grant the permit stemmed from "an exercise in modification. Compromise might be a word, negotiations might be a better word."

Granting the permit does not automatically end Minnesota's participation, along with the upstream opponents, in the federal lawsuit, Landwehr said. That lawsuit still must be resolved, he said.

More information about the diversion can be found online at the

Diversion Authority website.

Minnesota grants permit for Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion, clearing major regulatory hurdle

A revised plan for the F-M Diversion will seek a permit based on changes to the levee, which expands water-holding areas in Cass County while trimming retention in Minnesota's Wilkin and Clay counties. The revisions also increase the amount of river water flowing through Fargo-Moorhead. There would be no changes to the diversion inlet or channel skirting the metro area. Troy Becker / Forum News Service

Ames Construction, Inc., from Burnsville, Minn., checks the depth of ground frost Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, at the future site of the diversion inlet structure, near Horace, N.D., southwest of Fargo.Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

The Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials break ground Monday, April 17, 2017, on the flood diversion at the site of the dam inlet structure south of Horace, N.D. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

Appointed January 2011

Minnesota grants permit for Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion, clearing major regulatory hurdle

Appointed January 2011

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Pawlenty visits Moorhead to talk F-M diversion, gubernatorial campaign

Raju Chaduvula — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 22:19:21 GMT

MOORHEAD, Minn. - Gubernatorial candidate Tim Pawlenty and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach, made a stop in Moorhead to talk about the issues they will be running on in Minnesota this year.

In front of a room of reporters Monday morning, June 4, Pawlenty and Fischbach outlined their platform and ideas, including reducing health care costs, cutting back on health care costs, eliminating taxes on Social Security and improving the educational system.

Pawlenty said the general goal of his campaign is to relieve the pressure on hard-working Minnesotans and bring back a "common-sense conservative vision."

Issues

The candidates briefed through several issues Monday, ranging from education to national security and immigration.

Pawlenty said education is a top priority and called for Minnesota to re-emphasize vocational and technical education and opportunities in high schools. He said this kind of education can help people get good-paying jobs, especially if high schools provide students with internship incentives.

On the topic of national security, Pawlenty said he opposes holding terrorists from Guantanamo Bay in Minnesota. He also opposed turning Minnesota into a "sanctuary state," which he said makes it difficult for law enforcement to work with federal officials on immigration issues.

Pawlenty also spoke about the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project and said he needs to side with Minnesotans on the issue. The diversion project is a 36-mile channel to divert flood water away from the communities.

The project was halted when it was discovered the project began without a required permit from Minnesota regulators.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton created a task force with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum in 2017, which increased participation from Minnesota on the project. The task force came up with new compromises between the two states, creating the current so-called "Plan B" version of the project.

Pawlenty said he would work closely with all the stakeholders involved and would advocate for Minnesota to make sure the diversion plan will not flood and lose Minnesota farmlands.

If a permit for the project is approved this year, construction is expected to start in 2019 and be completed by 2025. The price for the project is about $2.4 billion.

Pawlenty skipped the Minnesota Republican Convention this past weekend, instead choosing to force an August primary vote. The GOP endorsed Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson as its candidate.

"We're confident we're going to win the primary in August," Pawlenty said.

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F-M diversion permit decision delayed for environmental review, but federal judge OKs work on two related flood projects

Patrick Springer — Thu, 03 May 2018 00:24:11 GMT

FARGO - Minnesota regulators have decided they must conduct a supplemental environmental review of the revised Fargo-Moorhead Diversion, and now local officials hope permit approval for the $2.4 billion project can come this fall.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which must grant a permit for a dam on the Red River in order for the project to proceed, notified the Diversion Authority that it needs more information about the impacts of the modified project under its permitting process.

In another diversion development on Wednesday, May 2, the federal judge in Minneapolis who is hearing a legal challenge seeking to block the diversion ruled that requests to allow work on two construction projects can continue.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim gave permission to allow work on a ring dike to protect Oxbow, N.D., and to provide flood protection near downtown Fargo. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources had agreed to allow work at the two locations in a stipulation with the Diversion Authority.

"To us it's a good sign," Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said of Tunheim's order allowing the work to continue. The court approval reflects the cooperation between the Diversion Authority and the Minnesota DNR on the flood project, he said.

"I'm really excited," Mahoney said of Tunheim's order, granting a request made last month.

Meanwhile, Mahoney and Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams said the Minnesota DNR's decision to go ahead with an environmental review of the revised diversion project was expected, and still could enable a permit to be issued this fall, perhaps in September or October.

"We didn't think anything was going to happen in April or May," in terms of a decision on a permit for the revised project, Williams said. "It was going to take time to do the permit review. I'm not really surprised."

In March, the Diversion Authority released a plan that altered the alignment of the embankment for the flood project. It's needed to contain water that will pool temporarily during severe floods to allow a controlled release of floodwaters through the diversion and Red River as it winds through Fargo-Moorhead.

As modified, the project shifts the embankment north, downstream, with the result being more water from the diversion's dam will be impounded in rural Cass County, sparing upstream areas of Richland and Wilkin counties, which oppose the project.

The Minnesota DNR's environmental review will coincide with a review of the revised project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. To the extent possible, Minnesota officials will rely on technical data developed by the corps and will try to dovetail their review.

"There's no need to reinvent wheels," Williams said. "That's good."

A permit decision by September or October "is not out of the question," she said. "It really does seem to be going kind of on a pace that we thought. This is fine."

Mahoney agreed.

The judge's order means the city of Fargo can open bids on floodwall work in mid-May, start construction in June, with completion in two years, said Nathan Boerboom, an engineer for the city. The work is on the Second Street floodwall south of Main Avenue.

F-M diversion permit decision delayed for environmental review, but federal judge OKs work on two related flood projects

This is a rendering of the inlet structure near Horace, N.D., looking downstream from the dam. / Image credit: Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Authority.

Tim Mahoney

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Board votes to submit new plan for Red River flood diversion project to Minnesota regulators

Patrick Springer — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 22:35:57 GMT

FARGO - Board members have voted unanimously to accept all recommendations from a task force for a project to divert some flood waters around Fargo-Moorhead and will submit a new permit application to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The expected vote by the Diversion Authority, which came Friday, March 16, followed months of talks by task force members, appointed by the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota, aimed at coming up with an acceptable plan that would obtain a permit from the Minnesota DNR.

"It is time for the Diversion Authority to make this official," Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams, who is the board's chairwoman, said in a statement. Last week, diversion officials announced the new plan.

"We are looking forward to working with the DNR over the next several months through an iterative and detailed review of the permit application," Williams added.

The Minnesota DNR refused to grant a permit for the original diversion plan, concluding that it would allow too much development in the floodplain, and Minnesota officials complained it had adverse impacts in Minnesota that exceeded the state's benefits from the project.

A permit from the DNR is required for a dam across the Red River that will temporarily store water to control downstream releases during severe floods estimated to occur once every 20 years.

"Today's vote demonstrates that with strong communication and a common goal, we can work together to achieve permittable flood protection for the greater F-M area," North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said in a statement.

Burgum expressed appreciation for a "partnership" with Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney and Williams, as well as other community leaders, and said he looked forward to "continuing our shared commitment to this project."

Flood diversion officials hope a permit can be obtained this year and to resume construction next year, with completion in 2025 on the $2.4 billion project.

Notable changes in the revised plan include allowing an additional 2 feet of water to run through Fargo-Moorhead when the 36-mile flood diversion channel is operating, or a river level of 37 feet instead of the originally planned 35 feet.

The higher river level will require additional levee work and home acquisition in low-lying, flood-prone areas of Fargo, Moorhead and rural Cass County.

Another change, a levee on the Minnesota side, will limit the extent of impacts in Minnesota from temporarily storing water, including eliminating any impacts to the city of Comstock as well as the need to elevate stretches of U.S. Highway 75 and railroad track.

In North Dakota, the revised plan calls for moving the embankment further north in rural Cass County, which officials say strikes a better balance between North Dakota and Minnesota and reduces impacts to the upstream areas in both states south of the metro area.

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New diversion plan shifts more flood water into rural Fargo, decreases rural Minnesota impacts

Patrick Springer — Sat, 10 Mar 2018 01:54:22 GMT

FARGO - A revised F-M diversion significantly reduces impacts in rural Minnesota but increases impacts in rural Cass County while allowing more water to flow through Fargo-Moorhead during severe floods estimated to occur once every 20 years.

The FM Diversion Authority, eager to resume progress on the stalled project, will submit an application for the revised proposal to Minnesota regulators later this month.

Members of the Diversion Authority board and engineers for the cities of Fargo and Moorhead presented the new plan in a meeting Friday, March 9, with The Forum Editorial Board.

The new plan is tailored to win approval from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which says it cannot permit the previous concept.

The new diversion plan, which carries a preliminary price tag of $2.4 billion, up from $2.2 billion for the original, will be presented Monday, March 12, to the Fargo City Commission and Moorhead City Council, the first of about 20 public meetings to air the proposal in the next several weeks.

The Minnesota DNR denied a permit, required to build a dam that will hold back water until it can be released in a controlled way, because it too greatly impacted Minnesota and provided most benefits to North Dakota.

The revised plan stems from recommendations made by a task force assembled by the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota, and the mayors of Fargo and Moorhead both expressed optimism that the Minnesota DNR will approve the new permit application expected to be filed later this month.

"This seems to be our best option," Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said.

Cass shifts

The project needs a permit to proceed. Diversion officials hope to get permit approval this year to enable construction to resume in 2019, with completion expected in 2025.

If built, the diversion would keep 11,000 homes out of the flood plain, enabling those property owners to buy flood insurance at the lowest rate. But if not built, those properties' flood insurance rates would soar.

The location of the inlet structure south of Horace has not changed, but the new plan moves the location for the southern embankment of the staging area further north in North Dakota. That shifts more impacts to Cass County in North Dakota, which also has a larger protection area, and reduces impacts to North Dakota's Richland County and Minnesota's Wilkin County, which filed a lawsuit challenging the original diversion plan.

The new alignment adds about 2,500 acres in the impact area in rural Cass County, an area that includes farmsteads, residences and a few businesses. Farming could continue after the diversion is built in that area, described as a "bump-up notch" that moves part of the levee 2 miles further north in the county.

As a result, about 20 more residences will have to be bought out in rural Cass County, some of whom already know they would be affected.

"We're not thrilled" about the increased impact to rural Cass County, said Mary Scherling, a Cass County commissioner and Diversion Authority board member. But, she added, "The metro area is our economic engine and we need to protect it."

The new plan also calls for increasing Red River flows through Fargo-Moorhead during severe floods, but the frequency of having to impound water now is estimated to happen once every 20 years, instead of once every 10 years under the original design.

Under the revised plan, the Red River would reach 37 feet through Fargo-Moorhead during a severe flood, up 2 feet from the original design. As a result, more low-elevation properties in Fargo and Moorhead would be affected.

Moorhead City Engineer Bob Zimmerman estimated "two or three dozen" more Moorhead homes will have to be bought out in low-lying areas near the river.

In Fargo, six or seven homes in scattered locations will be affected. The city already has been trying to arrange buyouts with those homeowners, said Nathan Boerboom, an engineer for the city of Fargo.

Technical changes

The new plan was shaped by an eight-person technical team that included three members from the Minnesota DNR who provided input as the team changed the levee alignment defining the staging area that will temporarily store water during severe floods.

"When they don't like something, they say so," Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams said, referring to feedback from DNR officials for the plan as it was shaped. "They wouldn't say yes or no, but they would say hot or cold."

Minnesota DNR officials agreed to a phased-permitting approach, and worked "hand in hand" with the technical team, she said.

"We feel very good about where this is going," Williams added.

But a representative of the Richland-Wilkin Joint Powers Authority, which sued to block the original diversion plan, expressed skepticism that the revised project would win approval from the DNR.

Tim Fox, who was a member of the governors' task force to revamp the diversion and is a consultant for Richland and Wilkin counties, said he believes the new plan still allows too much development in the floodplain, a key Minnesota DNR concern.

"We'll see what they put in their permit," Fox said, referring to the permit application. The Joint Powers Authority offered its own plan with a smaller upstream staging area, but the Diversion Authority did not embrace it, Fox said.

"Apparently the Diversion Authority isn't interested in that," he said.

Fox and another Richland-Wilkin representative met with the Diversion Authority, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Minnesota DNR on Thursday, March 8, in St. Paul to be briefed on the new diversion plan.

The upstream impact area originally would have affected 20,600 acres, or 58 percent of the total, in North Dakota and 14,700 acres, or 42 percent, in Minnesota. Under the revised plan, the impact in North Dakota increases to 22,585 acres, or 81 percent, and decreased to 5,400 acres, or 19 percent, in Minnesota.

The upstream impact area south of Fargo-Moorhead originally would have affected 44 structures in North Dakota, a figure that increases to 60 under the new plan. In rural Minnesota, the number of affected structures decreases from 25 to 11.

The reduced impact in Minnesota eliminates the need for a ring dike to protect the city of Comstock and also eliminates the need to raise a stretch of Highway 75 and a section of Burlington Northern Railroad.

The adjustments also removed five cemeteries from the upstream staging area, and the impact to organic farms has been reduced almost 90 percent, from an estimated 2,900 acres to 300 acres.

The diversion will protect 95,000 households and an estimated 140,000 jobs, as well as prevent more than $10 billion in property damage, according to the Diversion Authority.

Maps and renderings for the project can be found online at www.fmdiversion.com/media/maps.

New diversion plan shifts more flood water into rural Fargo, decreases rural Minnesota impacts

Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams talks about the revised flood diversion project plan on Friday, March 9, 2018. David Samson / Forum News Service

Diversion Authority officials Rocky Schneider, Mary Scherling, Tim Mahoney and Bob Zimmerman look over maps of the new flood diversion project on Friday, March 9, 2018. David Samson / Forum News Service

Moorhead City Engineer Bob Zimmerman shows a map of the revised plan for the flood diversion project to protect the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. David Samson / Forum News Service

New diversion plan shifts more flood water into rural Fargo, decreases rural Minnesota impacts

Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams talks about the revised flood diversion project plan on Friday, March 9, 2018. David Samson / Forum News Service

Moorhead City Engineer Bob Zimmerman shows a map of the revised plan for the flood diversion project to protect the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. David Samson / Forum News Service

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