FM Diversion Authority Bubble Will Eventually Burst

The December 31, 2014 Distributed Storage Alternative Screening Analysis is neither a fatal blow to opponents or a victory for proponents. It is simply the Minnesota DNR following it’s process and laws to ensure that their final permit determination, which is supposed to come after a public comment period, is both legal and defensible.

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Craig Hertsgaard MNDak Testimony to North Dakota Legislative Budget Section

This is a federal project designed to have federal participation, but the federal government has no money. The continuing budget resolution funding the government in Washington has had a ban on new project construction funding for the last four years, with no end in sight. If you read the letter to the White House from the Minnesota governor, you’ll see he is requesting that no money or support be given to the diversion project, at least until the DNR is done with their study.

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CASE 0:13-cv-02262-JRT-LIB Document 80

Initial authorization is not the final word on a Corps project. Authorized projects may be modified for a number of reasons including cost changes and design modifications. The Corps may not commence construction on a significant flood control project without both Congressional authorization and a Congressional appropriation(s). Congressional authorization of a flood control project does not guarantee federal funding through a Congressional appropriation.

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CASE 0:13-cv-02262-JRT-LIB Document 79

Nathan J. Hartshorn, MN Assistant Attorney General: The Project would flood thousands of acres of Minnesota farmland in order to expand development opportunities in the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area. The Project also would require construction of a high-hazard dam on the Red River, upstream of Minnesota communities. This high hazard dam requires MDNR dam safety and work in public waters permits, and triggered a mandatory Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under Minnesota law.

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CASE 0:13-cv-02262-JRT-LIB Document 78

Nathan J. Hartshorn, MN Assistant Attorney General: MDNR has a significant interest in this matter because the Fargo-Moorhead Flood Diversion Board of Authority (“Diversion Authority”) asserts that the proposed Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project (“Project”) is not subject to State regulation. The Project would flood tens of thousands of acres of Minnesota farmland in order to expand development opportunities in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area.

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Paul Marquart Questions Fargo Diversion Authority

The lowest existing ground level in the new portion of Oxbow, ND requires a 22.5 foot high levee because it is 10 feet lower than the lowest residential property along Schnell drive in Oxbow, ND. However, the FEMA regulatory flood plain indicates the lowest existing properties along Schnell drive are only 10.8 inches below the FEMA regulatory 100 year flood plain.

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