12.16.21

Hoeven & Klobuchar Meet with OMB Director, Fargo-Moorhead Leaders to Press for Flood Protection Funding

WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) this week urged Shalanda Young, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to help ensure that comprehensive flood protection in the Red River Valley receives $180 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. This funding would help keep the project on schedule and support completion of the Red River Control Structure, a key feature of the project.

The senators further stressed the importance of including the project in the president’s FY2023 budget request, which would demonstrate the federal government’s intention to fulfill its funding commitment and help provide certainty for the project developers. Hoeven and Klobuchar were joined at the meeting by local leaders from the Fargo-Moorhead region, including Shelly Carlson, the Mayor of Moorhead and Chair of the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Authority (FMDA), and Joel Paulsen, the FMDA Executive Director.

“We’re at a critical stage for building permanent, comprehensive flood protection in the Red River Valley, and this $180 million is needed to keep the project on schedule and complete the Red River Control Structure,” said Senator Hoeven. “We continue making the case to OMB and the Army Corps to both fully fund this project in FY2022 and secure its inclusion in the president’s next budget request.”

“Ensuring we have strong flood control infrastructure in the Red River Valley is crucial as we work to address flooding problems that have affected Fargo-Moorhead communities and surrounding areas for more than a century,” said Senator Klobuchar. “I’m glad to partner with Senator Hoeven to push for the funding necessary to continue construction on the Fargo-Moorhead Flood Diversion project and provide permanent flood protection for more than 200,000 people. As we make progress towards this goal, I’ll keep advocating for resources to prepare for and mitigate against the impacts of major flooding.”

The meeting follows a letter that Hoeven and Klobuchar, along with Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), sent to OMB Director Young last month, urging for the project to be fully funded in FY2022. Hoeven and Klobuchar also held a roundtable earlier this year with state, local and Army Corps officials in Fargo to discuss efforts to move the project‘s construction forward, including the I-29 grade increase and the initial excavation of the Red River Control Structure site.

 

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