Peace Garden News

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven discussed with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chief LTG Scott Spellmon progress on the Red River Valley’s comprehensive flood protection, including:

• How the project is a first-in-the-nation project, as it’s the first major Army Corps project to utilize both the P3 split-delivery model and a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan.
  • Accordingly, Chief Spellmon will bring Army Corps leadership to the Fargo-Moorhead region next month to review the project and discuss how it can serve as a model for completing projects more quickly and at a lower cost.
• Efforts to keep the federal portion of the project on schedule and within budget. To this end, Hoeven:
  • Secured required federal authorization and fully funded the $750 million federal cost share.
  • Removed roadblocks to construction, while providing the flexibility and annual funding needed to prevent delays in construction.

“The comprehensive flood protection that we’ve worked to advance in the Red River Valley is a first-in-the-nation project and has created a new paradigm for U.S. Army Corps projects. That’s exactly why Chief Spellmon will be holding meetings with Army Corps leadership in Fargo-Moorhead in order to take the lessons learned here and use it as a nationwide model,” said Hoeven. “We’ve worked hard to get this project across every hurdle so it can be built on schedule and within budget, and I appreciate Chief Spellmon’s continued commitment to keep this effort moving forward.”

In addition, Hoeven’s efforts have included:

• Working to pass 16 acts of Congress, including:
  • 9 legislative provisions, such as the project authorization in 2014 and a new construction start authorization in 2016.
  • 7 separate appropriations to fund the project’s construction.
• Coordinating efforts across four federal agencies.
• Providing funding and flexibility to concurrently raise I-29 and begin excavating the Red River Control Structure to keep the project on schedule.
• Helping renegotiate the Project Partnership Agreement to increase the federal funding commitment from $450 million.
• Resolving the easement issue on lands purchased with Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding, allowing the project to use an alternative route.

Original source can be found here.