FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A Fargo city commissioner said Tuesday that the group managing a Red River diversion project has waited too long to apply for a construction permit from the state and it could wind up costing city and county taxpayers.
The $2.1 billion channel is designed to move water around the flood-prone Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota, metropolitan area. Construction on the project is slated to begin this year if all the regulatory reviews and permits are granted.
Fargo City Commissioner Tony Gehrig, citing a letter that state engineer Todd Sando sent the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Authority board last month, told The Associated Press Tuesday he’s disappointed that the diversion authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have yet to apply for a permit in North Dakota. Gehrig said the authority will not be able to sign the necessary agreements for federal and state funding without the permit.
“The diversion authority and the Corps of Engineers have said for so long that they don’t need a permit from North Dakota,” Gehrig said. “It’s way too late.”
Corps officials did not respond Tuesday to email and phone messages seeking comment. Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said that while some people have “latched on to Sando’s letter,” he expects the corps to get all the necessary permits.
“I’m not these engineers and I’m not the corps, but we’ve been given a project that people think would work best for the city,” Mahoney said. “If we don’t do the diversion, we are going to have half of our population paying for expensive flood insurance and that’s not going to be good.”
The project requires a staging area south of the metro area that would be flooded in times of high water. It would stretch from Cass County, where Fargo is located, south into Richland County. Gehrig pointed out a question from Sando’s letter on whether the diversion authority will be able to secure land rights from unwilling owners in Richland County.
“As Richland County is not a member of the diversion authority, it is uncertain whether the diversion authority has the power of eminent domain in Richland County,” Sando wrote.
Mahoney said the diversion authority prefers to work with landowners on securing property rights, but is confident the diversion authority can use eminent domain as a last resort.
“If you go to eminent domain it takes a little bit longer, but we do have the ability if we have to,” the mayor said. “There is clear language written for a project this size on how to do that and there are mechanisms set up. It’s just the engineers who don’t understand how this all works.”
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