Stop the presses!
Extra Extra!
Read all about it!
The US Senate passes the WRDA bill. The first since 2007.
The bill is chock full of pet projects and language that potentially unleashes the USACE to spend at will…
Diversion Authority Chairman Darrel Vanyo expressed: “…the senate vote should provide momentum for the project…”.
After-all, if lawmakers slowed down and really looked at the truly irresponsible nature of the proposed Fargo Dam and FM Diversion project more closely and objectively, the chances of the destructive project moving forward in its current form would be slim to none…, even without the $60 billion strong backlog in authorized projects ahead of it.
Oh yeah, did anyone mention the Corps of Engineers 500 year flood level dropped from 46.7′ to 43.1′ in the MN DNR Environmental Assessment Worksheet? Which would arguably change the cost benefit ratio which is also a key component to prioritizing funding for bills. You can thank the Fargo Foolem’ for keeping the region up to date with their investigative recitations handed to them from the propaganda machine.
View Document→ Environmental Assessment Worksheet?
Dave Kolpack, associated press, paraphrased: “The diversion has drawn strong opposition from upstream farmers, homeowners and businesses, who don’t like the idea of a staging area that would be needed to hold water in times of serious flooding”.
Kolpack misses the entire picture and will have the remainder of his career to live with the consequences of compromising incremental bits and pieces of journalistic integrity by ignoring severe discrepancies in the proposed project.
Upstream interests support responsible flood protection but are opposed to unjust displacement of water from the natural flood plain, that provides vital flood staging capacity, during times of serious flooding for the sole purpose of a Fargo land grab for developers. Compounding the issue is having taxpayers fund an endeavor, where impacted interests have been denied a vote, which expressly benefits elite land developers.
Yet, diversion proponents consume each headlines as though it were gospel and selectively forget when reality produces a different version of the facts.
Three points to ponder regarding the sizzle that Fargo is selling:
#1) How is it possible for Fargo to move to the top of the funding list when there
are other projects that have a better cost benefit ratio and have been waiting longer?
#2) How can one trust a process that leaves the impacted stakeholders out of the
process for the political and financial agendas of select few?
#3) Does is make any fiscal sense to spend over $23.6 million dollars per year over
the next 50 years and maintenance costs in perpetuity to allow land developers
tax payer funded access to natural flood plains, whose encroachment will only
serve to increase future flood threats to Fargo?
** NOTE ** Every flood crest has been increased as a result of Fargo’s irresponsible encroachment into the natural flood plain, which in turn costs taxpayer more in flood fighting costs due to those water displacements. Fargo could have easily addressed flood threats since 1997 but was not only negligent in doing so, they willfully have destroyed a major portion of the natural flood plain that provided direct flood protection for Fargo.
Is it the federal governments job to bail out the city of Fargo’s irresponsible city planning and development encroachment into the natural flood plain?
Quick dose of reality…
If early indications are anything, talk of a veto or the US House stripping much of the bill could happen. That is..,, if the US House chooses to even take up the bill.
Good for the Fargo Delusion Authority! They have a headline bought and paid for which is a least something for the $60+ million in tax payer dollars spent thus far on a project that is headed directly for federal court on the basis of everything that the USACE and Diversion Authority have ignored and the American rights that they cast asunder.
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Right on Marcus. Pretty disillusioned with our Senators.
Have to remember them come election time.
We hope our Representatives represent us better. Doug