Hoeven Meets with Mississippi River Commissioners, Pushes for Red River Valley Flood Protections

WASHINGTON – In a meeting today with members the Mississippi River Commission (MRC), Senator John Hoeven emphasized that flood control needs to be the Army Corps of Engineers’ number one objective, and he emphasized the importance of an effective Fargo-Moorhead diversion project to protect the community from flooding while reducing impacts to upstream communities.

The MRC is charged with preventing destructive floods and oversees the Corps’ St. Paul District, which is working with the state of North Dakota to design a major Red River Valley flood diversion project.

“Infrastructure on the nation’s inland waterways, including the Missouri and the Red, is either wearing thin or not yet built, like the Red River Valley flood diversion project,” Hoeven said. “That poses risks to both people and property, so we need to continue to work collaboratively to find cost-effective and practical ways to repair and build vital flood protection and other river infrastructure.”

Hoeven and Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, both of whom serve on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, cosponsored a supplemental appropriation to the Army Corps of Engineers’ budget this year that provided $700 million to the agency specifically to repair and reconstruct sections of the Missouri and Mississippi river systems following last year’s severe flooding. The commissioners said the funding has enabled the Corps to complete that work and ensure functioning river systems throughout both the Missouri and Mississippi river basins.

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