Hoeven helps negotiate federal, state agreement to cover increased flood protection plan costs

U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) has secured agreement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to renegotiate its project partnership agreement to provide the additional funding needed for a flood protection project in his district’s Red River Valley.

“The steps we’ve taken will help keep this project moving forward and deliver this much-needed flood protection infrastructure for the region,” said Sen. Hoeven, who serves as a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.

A new funding plan for the flood protection project was requested by the North Dakota Diversion Authority to cover a new route and associated delays that added $600 million to the project’s cost. The negotiated deal means the State of North Dakota and the federal government now will fund $300 million each to cover the additional costs, according to a statement released this week by Sen. Hoeven’s office.

“Despite the funding requirements of the new route, the fact remains that the residents of the Fargo-Moorhead region need the certainty and security of comprehensive flood protection,” Sen. Hoeven said. “That’s why we’ve worked hard to secure continued support from the Army Corps to provide increased funding over the coming years.”

The senator worked with administration officials to ensure the Army Corps of Engineers had authority to provide the increased funding without passing additional legislation, according to the lawmaker’s statement.

Additional congressional authorization wasn’t required, the Army Corps told Sen. Hoeven, but the public-private partnership needed to be renegotiated, according to Hoeven’s office.

Some of the officials Sen. Hoeven worked with included Army Corps Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James, Army Corps Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations Scott Spellmon, Army Corps Mississippi Valley Division Commander Maj. Gen. Richard Kaiser, and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, according to his statement.