Out of the Wreckage, A Light for Flood Mitigation

Image by mthaeg via Flickr

The State of Minnesota has emerged from a 20-day government shutdown with a new budget approved by the legislature and signed by the governor.  Included in that agreement is a State bonding bill funding, which had been previously defeated in May.

Among the many capital improvements now funded are several flood mitigation items, including (says House Research):

Subd. 3. Flood hazard mitigation. $50,000,000. Requires levee projects, to the
extent practical, to meet the state standard of three feet above the 100-year flood
elevation. Lists possible projects. Includes set-asides: $3 million for Georgetown, up to
$16.5 million for Moorhead, up to $6 million for Roseau, and $1 million for New Ulm.
Local share for property acquisitions in Clay county not to exceed $1 million. To the
extent the cost of a project exceeds 2 percent of the median household income in the
municipality multiplied by the number of households in the municipality, the
appropriation is also for the local share of the project.

And this for my neighborhood:

Area II Minnesota River Basin. $1,000,000 for grants to local
governments in Area II for floodwater retention systems. Requires at least $1 nonstate
for every $3 state.

Minnesota Public Radio notes that while much of the bonding money is headed to the Red River Valley, these cities have put a lot of work into flood mitigation—Moorhead alone has already bought out over 100 homes to date.

Interesting how things work out.

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Related articles

• MN House Committee Reduces Proposed Mitigation Funding (allhazards.wordpress.com)
• Misnomer: 100-Year Flood (allhazards.wordpress.com)

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