01-18-2018
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23 <br /> <br />North Dakota Representatives: <br /> <br />Jason Benson- Cass County Engineer <br />The Governors’ Diversion Task Force was a much needed process to bring all parties to the table. <br />While there are many challenges ahead, I am in concurrence on the following items: 33,000 cfs for <br />the 100-year flood, changes to the eastern and western tieback levee, 37-feet of flow through town, <br />no change to the channel alignment from the inlet north to the outlet, and moving forward with <br />option 7c for the southern embankment. While I concur with the items above, I feel the Task Force <br />process never fully addressed the requirements of the Dam Safety Permit. In the end, the <br />recommendations brought forward increase the cost of the project while decreasing the “dam <br />safety” by making the project less robust, less resilient, and less reliable. <br />The Task Force was an excellent opportunity to learn about the current project. Over eight years we <br />have studied, analyzed, and developed plans in order to reduce impacts and ensure a robust project <br />was developed to protect the Fargo-Moorhead area both now and into the future. I think the Task <br />Force meetings showed the current project design is the most cost-effective design for providing <br />100-year FEMA certifiable flood protection with the ability to fight up to a 500-year flood event. <br />The Task Force meetings also made it clear that changes to the current design would need to be <br />made for the MDNR to permit the project. <br />The changes brought forward were viable, but many of these options fell short when looking at the <br />other criteria. <br />• Costs: Prior to meeting, there were several media interviews given by members of the Task <br />Force in which the public was told there was a cheaper, better option available. It is clear <br />now that every option evaluated increased the cost of the project by hundreds of millions of <br />dollars. Adding substantial cost increases are not viable without a significant influx of new <br />money from Minnesota and North Dakota. Citizens in Fargo and Cass County have already <br />voted to tax themselves until 2084. Our local residents have shouldered their share of the <br />financial burden. I ask both Governors to provide additional state funding to address these <br />new costs. <br />• Reduce Environmental Impacts: The suggested changes reduce the newly impacted acres <br />in Minnesota and better balance the impacts between the states. <br />• Minimize Residual Risk: The suggested changes increased residual risk to the project. <br />• Limit Impacts to Structures: Every significant option presented impacted a significantly <br />higher number of rural farmsteads and residences. In addition, the 37-feet of flow <br />dramatically impacts city and rural properties and cuts off a number of additional access <br />roads.
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