03.05.19

Hoeven: Assistant Secretary of the Army Approves PPA Renegotiation for Red River Valley Flood Protection with Increased Federal Participation of $750 Million

Senator Worked to Advance New PPA with Acting White House Chief of Staff, OMB Acting Director, ASA James & Army Corps Chief

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that R.D. James, the Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for Civil Works, has approved the renegotiation of the Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) for comprehensive flood protection in the Red River Valley. Further, James directed the Army Corps to increase the federal participation in the project to $750 million, up from $450 million. The full memorandum approving the changes to the PPA can be found here.

This will help to both secure future federal funding in Army Corps work plans, building on the $100 million in construction funding Hoeven has helped secure for the project to date, and provide certainty to the North Dakota legislature as it considers funding for the project. Hoeven has worked consistently in recent months to advance the new PPA with administration officials, both in person and over the phone, including:

  • Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
  • Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russ Vought.
  • ASA R.D. James.
  • Army Corps Chief Todd Semonite.

“Renegotiating the PPA is a vital step in advancing the construction of comprehensive flood protection in the Red River Valley,” Hoeven said. “We’ve been working closely with officials across the administration to bring the new agreement to completion as soon as possible. We appreciate ASA James’ recent action, which includes the increased federal commitment of $750 million. This is essential in our continued efforts to move Plan B forward, as well as in working with the state legislature to fund the project.”

In addition to the new PPA, Hoeven is working to secure continued federal funding to support the implementation of Plan B, which will address the concerns of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and reduce upstream impacts. To this end, Hoeven recently organized a meeting between officials at the OMB and leaders from the Fargo-Moorhead region to urge that the project be included in the President’s forthcoming budget request.

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