Legislature passes bill funding Minot, Fargo flood projects

Published 10:03 am Saturday, April 20, 2019

BISMARCK, N.D.  — The North Dakota Legislature has passed a water budget bill that includes funding for flood control projects in Fargo and Minot.

The bill that passed the House on Friday and the Senate a day earlier contains $82.5 million for the ongoing Mouse River flood control project in Minot and a long-term commitment of $750 million for a project to divert the Red River to protect flood-prone Fargo and nearby Moorhead, Minnesota.

Funding approved for the Red River diversion project was $120 million short of the amount sought by the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Authority and Gov. Doug Burgum.

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The cost for the flood protection project in Minot is about $1 billion. The Red River project is pegged at about $2.75 billion.

Both projects rely on substantial federal funding.