12.21.20

Hoeven: Year-End Funding Bill Includes Authorization for Minot Flood Protection, Allows Federal Funding for Project's 4th Phase

Legislation Will Also Extend Minot’s NDRC Award Deadline, Continue Senator’s Prohibition on Corps Storage Fees for Missouri River Surplus Water

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement after Congress released year-end legislation that includes authorization for the Minot region’s flood protection project. The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which is part of the larger legislative package, will enable the project to receive federal funding through the Army Corps’ work plan. This is a key step in advancing the construction of the project’s fourth phase and comes as a result of the signed chief’s report, which Hoeven worked to finalize by securing more than $1.3 million for the project’s feasibility study, among other efforts. 

The senator hosted Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, then-Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, in Minot last year for the report signing ceremony. Hoeven further secured support for the project with Maj. Gen. Scott Spellmon during his recent confirmation process as the Corps’ new Chief. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, of which Senator Kevin Cramer is a member, approved legislation in May that included the project authorization. 

“This is a critical part of our efforts to protect the Minot region from the risk of flooding,” said Hoeven. “With this authorization, we will continue working with Chief Spellmon and others to ensure the project’s fourth phase is funded in future Army Corps work plans. At the same time, this legislation gives Minot additional time to utilize disaster recovery and resiliency funding we had previously secured, while also maintaining an important protection we secured in prior WRDA bills to protect our state’s water rights and prohibit the Corps from charging storage fees for Missouri River water.”

In addition, the legislation includes: 

  • A one-year extension for the use of funds awarded under the National Disaster Resiliency Competition (NDRC).
    • This will help ensure the City of Minot and other awardees are able to fully implement their plans to recover from previous disasters, protect against future risks and improve long-term community resiliency.
    • This provision aligns with bipartisan legislation Hoeven introduced earlier this year to extend the NDRC deadline through September 30, 2025.
  • A four-year extension of a provision Hoeven originally secured in the 2014 WRDA bill that prohibits the Army Corps from charging storage fees for water drawn from the Missouri River.
    • Hoeven had initially introduced his legislation as a standalone bill, theStates’ Water Rights Act. 
    • With this extension, Hoeven’s provision prevents the Corps from charging fees for using water from the Missouri River reservoirs through 2030. 

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