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<br />1 <br />FOREST MITIGATION AGREEMENT <br /> <br />THIS FOREST MITIGATION AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is made and entered <br />into this _____ day of ___________, 2023 (the “Effective Date”), by and between METRO <br />FLOOD DIVERSION AUTHORITY, a political subdivision of the State of North Dakota, and <br />CASS COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA, a political subdivision and home rule county of the State <br />of North Dakota. <br /> <br />WHEREAS, construction of the locally preferred plan for the Fargo-Moorhead <br />Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project (the “Comprehensive Project”) at the Fargo, <br />North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, metropolitan area was authorized by Section 7002(2) of <br />the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, Public Law 113-121; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Authority, the City of Fargo, North Dakota, and the City of Moorhead, <br />Minnesota, are the Non-Federal Sponsors of the Comprehensive Project and entered into a Project <br />Partnership Agreement (the “PPA”) on July 11, 2016, with the United States Army Corps of <br />Engineers (“USACE”) for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Comprehensive <br />Project; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the PPA sets forth a split delivery method for the Comprehensive Project <br />establishing the respective responsibilities of both the Non-Federal Sponsors and USACE; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, for the portion of the Comprehensive Project for which the Non-Federal <br />Sponsors are responsible, USACE completed numerous environmental assessments and issued a <br />permit in accordance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (the “Section 404 Permit”); and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Section 404 Permit requires the Non-Federal Sponsors to complete forest <br />compensatory mitigation as a result of impacts, and the requirements for such forest compensatory <br />mitigation are set forth in the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management <br />Project, Forest Mitigation Plan (the “Forest Mitigation Plan”), created by USACE; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, following the design and planting of the forest mitigation sites, the Non- <br />Federal Sponsors are further required to provide on-going adaptive management and mitigation in <br />accordance with the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project, <br />Adaptive Management and Mitigation Plan (the “AMMP”), to monitor potential impacts over <br />time; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Non-Federal Sponsors assigned their responsibilities under the Section <br />404 Permit and for on-going adaptive management and mitigation to the Authority by entering <br />into the Joint Powers Agreement; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, certain parcels owned by the County were identified as locations in the Forest <br />Mitigation Plan where forest mitigation could occur; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, consequently, the Authority and the County now desire to enter into this <br />Agreement to set forth their respective roles and responsibilities for current and on-going forest <br />mitigation and monitoring.