FEMA Flood Insurance, Fargo, Cass and the USACE

Eminent Domain Flood Insurance Flood Plain

Joel Heitkamp, 790 KFGO had guests from the USACE on-air – May 18, 2016.

There is a saying: “The best way to lie is to tell the truth, carefully edited truth.”

Without question! Fargo, ND has to complete its long overdue internal flood protection to protect the city that exists.

1997 was a flood for the record books, and 2009 was another wake-up call to get permanent internal flood protection in place.

During the flood of 2009, mother nature defined with indelible clarity, where water naturally pools and where it wanted to go.

The greatest threat to Fargo and related FEMA flood insurance is development encroachment into the last natural flood plain upstream of Fargo.

After listening to the audio clip of Terry Williams, USACE – ask yourself the following six questions.

1) During the 1997 and 2009 floods, were there homes impacted by flood waters in and around areas where Bennett Elementary, Davies HS and Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney’s home were constructed.

2) Is it disingenuous to suggest that homes that existed in the 1997 and 2009 flood would be new impacts if a dam and diversion alignment north of the Wild Rice and Red River confluence is considered a viable alternative?

3) Is it disingenuous to suggest newly constructed homes in areas previously flooded, would become a new impact if a dam and diversion alignment north of the Wild Rice and Red River confluence is considered a viable alternative?

4) Why is development still occurring in the natural flood plain?

5) Where did that water go…, did it become an impact to others (ie: mandatory flood insurance)?

6) Why are the likes of Wayne Stenehjem (ND attorney General), Darrell Vanyo (Diversion Chair), Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney, Nancy Otto, Kevin Campbell, Rodger Olson, Ken Pawluk, Melissa Sobolik, Mike Williams, Mark Broadshog, Eric Dodds (AE2S), Gerald Van Amburg (BRRWRD), Jon Evert, April Walker, Bob Zimmerman, Keith Berndt, former Fargo Mayor Bruce Furness, Clay Dietrich (HBA), Craig Whitney (FMWF Chanmber), USACE, Cass County and Fargo so obsessed with talking points about a MYTHICAL FUTURISTIC flood and not about the Fargo’s land grab where it naturally floods?

You, as the reader, are an intelligent individual.

You be the judge…

 

Joel Heitkamp, 790 KFGO “I just always believe instead of worrying about what you want it to have…, in terms of the city of Fargo as growth area, it could have went for… farther north, Fargo could have paid… a bigger price in terms of its growth area and Terry i’m gonna direct that to you, I, I haven’t heard from you yet today on this but…, y’know, if had gone further north you wouldn’t have had nearly as big a fight even with Minnesota it would strike me.”
Terry Williams, USACE “Well if you go further north, and we’ve talked about this before, you impact many more…, structures many more businesses, it costs more money and the length of dam is longer.”

 

Natural Flood Plain Encroachment - Bennett
Natural Flood Plain Encroachment – Bennett (CLICK for LARGE VIEW)
images courtesy of: www.vernwhittenphotography.com and Google Earth
Natural Flood Plain Encroachment - Davies HS
Natural Flood Plain Encroachment – Davies HS (CLICK for LARGE VIEW)
images courtesy of: www.vernwhittenphotography.com and Google Earth
Natural Flood Plain Encroachment - Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney
Natural Flood Plain Encroachment – Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney (CLICK for LARGE VIEW)
images courtesy of: www.vernwhittenphotography.com and Google Earth

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2 thoughts on “FEMA Flood Insurance, Fargo, Cass and the USACE

  1. What are you doing to prevent future flooding besides being constantly negative about what the majority of the population wants? It must be difficult to live with all the negativity.

    1. Brad,

      There are 2 distinct components to your post and 2 assumptions that lack substance or credibility.

      Component #1: “What are you doing to prevent future flooding”

      Reply: Subsidizing vital internal flood protection via multiple sales taxes. Also, subsidizing internal flood protection via state funding, which has been mis-used by the Fargo Dam and FM Diversion Authority.

      Most North Dakotan’s do not realize that nearly $5 million ND State Water Commission dollars went to fund a new $10+ million private club house at Oxbow, ND – when the entire golf course “including the old clubhouse” was appraised around $1.3 million.

      Component #2: “…about what the majority of the population wants…”

      Reply: Your statement is incorrect. The DPAC (Diversion Project Assessment Committee) vote did not have enough support to pass upon its own merits. Local governmental entities knew that they lacked support and gerrymandered the ballot process and usurped two-thirds of the vote, wherein, they voted against the will of private and business property owners.

      Excerpts from the Fargo Forum: “If local governments didn’t vote and left it to owners of benefiting properties, only 48 percent of those 119 million votes returned would have been “yes” votes, not enough to pass.”

      West Fargo Mayor Rich Mattern: “This is just plain wrong,” Mattern said. “The deck is stacked. The average homeowner, his vote really doesn’t count. In most third world countries they at least try to hide the fact they have stacked the deck.”

      The local governments should have apportioned their votes according to private and business ballots. The mere fact that Cass county cast their usurped votes before the ballot reached private owners is sufficient evidence that the Cass county commission is corrupt and does not represent their constituents.

      The remainder of your posted comment is subjective and lacks substance and credibility.

      FMDam.org was formed as result of biased reporting practices of the Fargo Forum and the lack of responsiveness, transparency or any genuine dialogue with Fargo Dam and FM Diversion Authority (FMDA) leadership.

      Setting all things aside, the proposed dam and diversion is not a foregone conclusion and is rife with over-reach.

      You are more than welcome to reply, but before you do, please mull over the following three items.

      Q1: How do you rationalize natural flood plain development, which FEMA has warned Fargo/Cass against, that changes Base Flood Elevation for the entire metro-area, which Fargo/Cass is attempting to use in their bare assertion fallacy that the dam and diversion is the only way to protect the metro area?

      Q2: Why should taxpayers subsidize flood proofing measures developers are trying to avoid? The USACE placed the flood proofing cost between $40k to $70k per acre, residential and commercial, respectively.

      Q3: Why should Fargo’s land grab disguised as flood control be considered a foregone conclusion, when the project “as a whole” has never been presented directly to the public via a legitimate (straight forward) ballot measure? (Y’know, check Yes or No)

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