DORGAN SAYS RED RIVER VALLEY WATER SUPPLY PROJECT CLEARS KEY HURDLE
Senator says he'll hold hearings in Fargo, Bismarck on the project
Monday, December 8, 2008
CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said action last Friday by the federal Office of Management and Budget removes a significant hurdle to the effort to ensure Fargo, Grand Forks and other communities in eastern North Dakota can have a reliable water supply for decades to come.
The Office of Management and Budget released a report on the Red River Valley Water Supply project to Congress late last week. That clears the way for the Department of Interior to issue a Record of Decision, which is a formal declaration of their preferred project to get water to the Red River. Dorgan said he expects that to happen in the coming weeks.
Dorgan, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, said he will hold two official Senate hearings in North Dakota in the months ahead to allow citizens in the Bismarck and Fargo regions to have a voice in the decision.
“When the Interior Secretary issues the Record of Decision, it’s my intention to ensure North Dakota citizens have the opportunity to weight in with their testimony on how the preferred alternative meets the need and objectives of ensuring adequate water supply to eastern North Dakota in case of a drought,” Dorgan said. “A severe drought in eastern North Dakota in the future would put some of our largest cities at risk if there is not sufficient water in the Red River to meet their needs.”
—END—