When the Fargo Diversion Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers chose to manufacture the EOE (Expert Opinion Elicitation) datum to justify never before seen Fargo, ND flood conditions…, they really tied their hands in the big picture. Keep in mind that without the proposed dam and staging reservoir Fargo could not get the cost/benefit ratio above .65 (read cited source), which would not fly in Washington.
Moving the impacts upstream is a false argument, since a little better than half of the staging and storage being sought by the Fargo Diversion Authority already exists within the natural flood plain south of Fargo, ND. But there’s a problem! The water from the natural flood plain that is being relocated onto upstream and downstream property owners comes from the area that Fargo has always had their eye on for future development. So why would Vanyo and the Fargo Diversion Authority try and mislead downstream people into believing the impacts have gone away. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hydraulics and Hydrology report Drayton, ND could see as much as 16.944 inches more water than during the record crest of 1997.
The creation of an “alternate benchmark” to support the proposed Fargo Dam and FM Diversion project cannot be used arbitrarily for Fargo’s benefit to the detriment of all others outside Fargo’s jurisdictional boundaries.
So when Fargo Diversion Authority chairman Darrell Vanyo testified in Bismarck September 24th, 2014 in front of the ND Legislative Budget Section to solicit funding he was rather fast and loose with the facts that simply don’t add up in the real world. Albeit, the testimony provided by Vanyo was most likely written via a group effort laced with political public relations talking points, however, this doesn’t absolve the orator from checking the facts and using a little common sense before fully owning the misrepresentations being given to ND lawmakers.
Read for yourself:
Fargo Diversion Authority Chairman
Darrell Vanyo Testimony to ND Legislative Budget Section 9-24-2014
Flood protection for the Fargo metro area cannot be accomplished without creating impacts on land elsewhere. There is simply too much water. The design of this Project has been altered and refined many times over several years to determine how best to accommodate this. The Project map located in with this testimony includes an area to the south referred to as the Staging Area. The Staging Area is an integral part of the Project that makes flood protection possible for metro area by eliminating impacts downstream. It is also the most controversial piece of the Project.
Using USGS datum and the Corps 100 year flood event data found in the September 2013 Appendix D Hydraulics and Hydrology report, the impacts don’t appear to have gone away as Darrell Vanyo claimed in Bismarck.
| Potential Downstream Impacts Caused by Fargo Dam and FM Diversion Flood Protection All Elevations Reference 1988 NAVD |
|---|
| Gage Location & Number | Base River Gage (in feet) |
Record Crest (in feet) |
VE13A Impact (in feet) |
Impact Amount |
| Drayton, ND USGS Gage 05092000 | 756.178 | 801.728 | 803.14 | + 16.944 inches |
| Oslo, MN USGS Gage 05083500 | 773.769 | 812.139 | 813.26 | + 13.452 inches |
| Grand Forks, ND USGS Gage 05082500 | 780.070 | ** 829.930 | 833.40 | + 41.64 inches |
| Thompson, ND USGS Gage 05070000 | 780.076 | 845.256 | 847.58 | + 27.888 inches |
| Halstad, MN USGS Gage 05064500 | 827.739 | 868.479 | 869.09 | + 7.332 inches |
| ** Peak Crest Since Floodwall Completion |
Page 21 Appendix D: Hydraulics and Hydrology – USACE Supplemental EA
So exactly “what impacts” is Darrell Vanyo claiming to have been eliminated downstream?
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the first time public was given the details of the diversion was dec. 09 hagen hall msum. i attended. at the end of the presentation i asked it there had been a down stream impact study. and if yes, how far and what were the results. craig evens of the usacoe said no, there had been and they felt there was no need for one as the water would disapate rapidly as the water left the diversion. we forced them to do an impact study and they found impacts all the way to the canadian border. i do not trust engineers with an agenda. wether it be the corp, houston, moore or anyone else who would slant the table in their favor so as to further their personal career or pocket book versus the best plan for the area.
This is so bad these little towns and poor people will not recover from this we can’t get enough workers in our area now and with little to no housing we will have even less so these little towns will become extinct what is wrong with these idiots get them out of office as they clearly don’t have the best intrest of the people @ heart!!!!
Yes Karen,
The problems both west and east are the result of “me and greed” syndrome not being addressed. It matters little whether or not the government can or does not care the end result is the same. The things we hold dear will be lost. The people we elect must be stand up for our values or be replaced.
Marcus. Excellent. I made a copy for my talking points.
Terry. Thanks for your input. right on.