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Red River Basin leaders seek $48.6 million for flood-hazard mitigation projects
Summary
Representatives of the Red River Watershed Management Board told the committee their request would fund multiple water-storage and flood-impoundment projects that together provide large-scale water storage and nutrient reductions.
Officials representing the Red River Watershed Management Board asked the House Capital Investment Committee to fund several flood-hazard mitigation projects in northwest Minnesota, reporting the package would add substantial water storage and water-quality benefits to the basin.
"We're a joint powers board of seven watershed districts," Robert Sipp, executive director of the Red River Watershed Management Board, said. He testified in support of a House measure that would provide roughly $48,600,000 for multiple projects in the Red River Basin. Sipp said the board’s seven projects would create about 100,000 acre-feet of new water storage on the landscape and include water quality improvements that would reduce sediment and nutrient loads.
Chad Engles, a professional engineer representing a member watershed district, described one large project already under construction — the Red Path impoundment and Mustinka River rehabilitation — and said it is about 60 percent complete with $36.5 million spent to date. Engles requested $13,700,000 to keep that work advancing and said the project has multiple state and federal partners.
Tracy Halvinsgaard, administrator for the Roseau River Watershed District, described the Roseau Lake rehabilitation project and asked for $9,000,000 for the next phase. Witnesses said many projects have multiple funding partners and that the projects on the board’s list are partially funded and some have been on the DNR list since about 2016–17. The hearing was informational; no committee vote occurred.
