ST. PAUL, MN – Today, the Fargo-Moorhead Area Flood Diversion Task Force issued
its final report to the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Authority. This report includes the following statement, from Governor Mark Dayton:
“I want to thank our Task Force’s Co-Chair, Governor Doug Burgum, for his excellent leadership throughout this process. We have forged a good working partnership, which will be important for this and other collaborative projects, involving our two states.
“I also thank the Task Force Members for their tremendous work. Their dedication was the key to our successful completion. And I greatly appreciate the enormously important contributions made by Members of the Technical Advisory Committee, by North Dakota and Minnesota agency experts, and by our two staffs. This was a team effort all the way.
“The many important considerations that were presented from a wide range of stakeholders and experts provide a framework for moving forward on flood risk management for the Fargo-Moorhead region. Just as important was the model we established for a truly inclusive, collaborative process, rather than its one-sided, adversarial predecessor.
“Reliable and effective flood protection for the cities of Moorhead and Fargo and their surrounding regions is essential. It is a prerequisite for successful future economic growth, business expansion, job creation, and social vitality. Yet it cannot come at the excessive sacrifice of other people’s lands, lives, and livelihoods. For a project of this magnitude and complexity, those considerations are also essential.
“It would be naive to believe that such a re-routing of massive amounts of water throughout widely divergent climate conditions over the next one hundred years and beyond could avoid any negative impacts on someone. That is why it is so critical to have the different stakeholders represented in this public process. For Minnesota, that would mean representation on the Diversion Authority from the areas both north and south of Fargo-Moorhead, in addition to the Members from those two cities. For the sake of continuity, it would be most desirable to add to the Authority Board individuals, who have served on this Task Force.
“The project that was previously submitted to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources did not meet our state’s laws and regulations. Minnesota is committed to helping identify a solution, but major changes must be made to the proposed project.
“I am hopeful that the Task Force’s work has provided guidelines for the Authority’s re-fashioning of its previous proposal to meet those laws and regulations. I emphasize that the necessary approvals will be decided by the Minnesota DNR, in accordance with those requirements and without interference by myself or anyone else. The active participation on the Task Force by the DNR’s Commissioner and technical experts should not be construed as predetermining their permitting decisions.
“There are other critical components of the project, which were not made known to the Task Force. Most important is the just compensation for any losses, temporary or permanent, suffered by any landowner, business, or other entity, resulting from the project. Committing publicly that fair compensation will be provided without delays or difficulties, is, in my view, absolutely necessary before the project proceeds. Also needed to be made public is a detailed budget, for both the capital investments and the annual operating expenditures, the anticipated sources and amounts of funds, and the intended fiscal and operating authorities.
“The Diversion Authority now has the responsibility to take all of these views and recommendations and combine them into a permittable application to the Minnesota DNR. I stand ready to work with my colleague, Governor Burgum, on other matters regarding this important project.”
