Posted on June 13, 2018
There’s $35 million earmarked to build flood protection in the Red River Valley in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ fiscal year 2018 work plan, according to U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp.
Hoeven, R-N.D., had spoken with Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, who confirmed the planned funding, Hoeven’s office said in a Friday, June 8, news release.
Heitkamp, D-N.D., said the money would be for the Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion Project. Heitkamp pressed the Corps, OMB and others in Congress for the funding, she said in a news release.
Mulvaney also supports a Hoeven-sponsored provision in legislation to ensure fair treatment of projects that use alternative financing methods during the Corps’ cost-benefit analysis, such as the public-private partnership (also known as a P3) used for flood protection in the Fargo-Moorhead area, Hoeven said.
Hoeven is advancing P3s as a solution to help work through the Corps’ backlog of projects.
Hoeven and Heitkamp said they also secured a provision in the America’s Water Infrastructure Act to allow construction of critical flood control structures for the diversion on land purchased with federal hazard mitigation funds.
Source: Inforum
