Peterson: Not just diversion needs funding

• Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn.

Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn.

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• Officials say Red River diversion plan on schedule

Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., suggested Thursday that an additional $1 billion be devoted to flood protection for the Red River Valley, over and above the $1.5 billion needed for the Fargo-Moorhead diversion.

The $1 billion, spent over 10 years, would be used for various methods of water retention, he told several audiences, including county, township and city elected officials at East Grand Forks City Hall.

Peterson said building dikes higher “is a waste of money and time,” adding that he’s “given up” on building big dams. He said his plan also would help rural properties, not just the cities that qualify for federal help because of the cost-benefit formula in use.

Instead, the money would go to 400 to 500 smaller projects that would hold back water during the spring runoff. His goal is to annually store 1 million acre-feet of water.

Before he could pitch his plan, he needed to allay fears that the F-M diversion would create major flooding problems in the northern valley. “Under the law, the Corps can’t build a project that puts more water on other people. It won’t happen,” he said.

But he added that there’s no stopping the diversion, either. “Fargo is too big of a political force. It will happen,” he said.

As chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, he seemed confident he could get a $50 million annual contribution to the project, which would be in next year’s farm bill. The two states and watershed districts perhaps would need to contribute the matching $500 million over 10 years under his plan.

As Exhibit A in his plan, he held up the water retention project that, combined with a diversion, has stopped flooding in Warren, Minn.

A dynamic part of his plan would be to “tile the entire Red River Valley.” Farmers would be offered low-interest loans to place drain tile to hold the water underground. He said tiling experiments have doubled field yields.

More water could be retained, he said, by:

- Draining wetlands in the fall.

- Keeping lake levels high in the spring.

- Using a scaled-down version of the waffle plan.

“If we can store 1 million acre-feet, there would be no effect from the diversion anywhere in the Red River Valley,” he said. “We’d make the biggest dent in water issues we’ve ever made.

“This stuff is not cheap. But it’s cheaper than a flood.”

Help for Oslo

Peterson also stopped Thursday in Oslo, Minn., to pledge to help the city with its chronic flooding.

The goal is to keep road access open to the town during high water. During flooding, residents are marooned, needing to take boats out of town.

The proposed solution is to raise Minnesota Highway 1 east of town and/or install bigger culverts to move the water. The road would need to be raised for about a three-mile stretch from Oslo to Alvarado.

There may be problems with North Dakota and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in doing the project, Peterson conceded.

Accompanying Peterson to Oslo was Rep. James Oberstar, a DFLer who represents the 8th Congressional District in northeastern Minnesota. Oberstar is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

“It sounds really promising,” Oslo City Council member Scott Kosmatka said. “It’s a long road to get it done, but I’m very optimistic compared to this time last year.”

Reach Bakken at (701) 780-1125; (800) 477-6572, ext. 125; or send e-mail to rbakken@gfherald.com.

Tags: red river, north dakota, news, flood, fargo, moorhead, minnesota