05.31.17

Hoeven: FEMA Allows Drayton to Permanently Keep Levee

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Homeland Security, today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has given permission to Drayton to permanently keep its earthen levee which is part of the city’s flood protection. Earlier this month, Hoeven secured a provision in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 funding agreement to allow the city to keep the levee.

“We are glad to see that FEMA has given Drayton the authority to permanently keep its earthen levee which is vital to the community’s efforts to control flooding,” Hoeven said. “I worked to secure this provision in our FY17 funding agreement because by keeping this levee permanently in place, we can help ensure long term flood protection for Drayton and help give residents security and peace of mind.”  

In addition to his work to allow Drayton to permanently keep its levee, Hoeven secured two extensions over the past year to keep the earthen levee from being removed. FEMA policy required the levee to be removed because the structure is built on properties acquired through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) as part of the 1997 flood disaster that affected the Grand Forks region. Due to the Hoeven provision, Drayton and other cities can now permanently retain levees on HMGP land as long as “the levee meets certain criteria: is constructed of naturally occurring materials, is part of a flood control project, and meets other criteria as established by the [FEMA] Administrator.”

A copy of the FEMA letter can be found here.

-###-