07.06.15

Hoeven Presses Army Corps Major General to Help Minot Move Forward with Permanent Flood Protection

Senator Worked to Secure New Start Approval for Minot Flood Study

MINOT, N.D. – At a meeting today in Minot with state, local and federal officials, Senator John Hoeven pressed Maj. Gen. Michael C. Wehr, Commander for the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to work with local leaders to move forward in a timely manner on comprehensive flood protection for the Mouse/Souris River Valley. As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Hoeven worked to grant the Corps permission to start new studies for permanent flood protection in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Energy and Water appropriations bill, which is vital for communities like Minot and the surrounding region to develop and build comprehensive flood protection.

“We have worked hard to help Minot re-build and move past the threat of flooding,” said Hoeven. “However, the city needs the Corps to approve a new flood protection study in a timely manner in order to move forward. We’ve included authority for such studies in our Senate appropriations bill, and we will continue to support the community as it works to get the necessary approvals and permits.”

Senator Hoeven has worked since the flood of 2011 to help Minot rebuild and better protect itself from flooding. To date, Minot and Ward County have received more than $650 million in grants, loans and direct assistance. In May, Hoeven announced a $6 million grant to the City of Minot to help build a floodwall and other infrastructure for Minot’s Water Treatment Plant to protect the plant and keep it functioning during a flood. The grant is the first installment of more than $19.8 million federal share for the project’s second phase, which will cost more than $26 million.

Further, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced last month that the City of Minot was selected for the second and final round of National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC). Last year, Hoeven met with Minot city and Ward County officials to brief them about the NDRC and wrote a letter of support for the city’s application to the national competition. The NDRC was created as part of HUD’s Community Development Blog Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program, and Hoeven worked to ensure Minot would be eligible for the program.

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