north dakota legislative water projects

NORTH DAKOTA LEGISLATIVE MANAGEMENT
Minutes of the
WATER-RELATED TOPICS OVERVIEW COMMITTEE
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Roughrider Room, State Capitol
Bismarck, North Dakota
Senator Tom Fischer, Chairman, called the
meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
Members present: Senators Tom Fischer,
Arden C. Anderson, Joan Heckaman, Gary A. Lee;
Representatives Rick Berg, Curt Hofstad, Jon Nelson,
Darrell D. Nottestad
Member absent: Representative Duane DeKrey
Others present: See Appendix A
Chairman Fischer addressed the committee. He
thanked each member of the committee for serving on
the committee and thanked Representative Curt
Hofstad for agreeing to serve as vice chairman of the
committee. He said he planned to hold a minimum of
seven meetings and the committee would meet during
the Annual Joint North Dakota Water Convention and
Irrigation Expo in December. He said the committee
will also travel to Fargo and Grand Forks and perhaps
Wahpeton to review flood control projects in those
cities. Also, he said, the committee may travel to
Dickinson or Williston to study the use of ground water
for fracturing to enhance oil and gas production from
the Bakken Formation.
At the request of Chairman Fischer, committee
counsel reviewed the Supplementary Rules of
Operation and Procedure of the North Dakota
Legislative Management.
At the request of Chairman Fischer, committee
counsel reviewed a background memorandum entitled
Water-Related Topics Overview Committee -
Background Memorandum. The memorandum
reviews water in North Dakota, including the state's
surface water resources, ground water resources,
water permitting, and water project funding. The
memorandum reviews the history and current status
of the Garrison Diversion Project and the Garrison
Diversion Conservancy District. The memorandum
also reviews the Red River Valley Water Supply
Project and water-related legislation enacted in 2009.
At the request of Chairman Fischer, committee
counsel also distributed copies of the 2009 State
Water Management Plan and the executive summary
for the 2009 State Water Management Plan. Copies
of these documents are on file in the Legislative
Council office.
STATE WATER COMMISSION
At the request of Chairman Fischer, Mr. Dale Frink,
State Engineer, State Water Commission, addressed
the committee. A copy of Mr. Frink's PowerPoint
presentation is attached as Appendix B; a copy of a
schedule of the State Water Commission's project
revenues and needs for the 2009-11 biennium is
attached as Appendix C; and a memorandum from
Mr. Patrick Fridgen, Planning Division, State Water
Commission, to Mr. Frink, concerning the status of
current flood-related studies is attached as
Appendix D. Mr. Frink also distributed a copy of the
State Water Commission's and State Engineer's
strategic plan for 2009-11, a copy of which is on file in
the Legislative Council office.
Mr. Frink said water in North Dakota is governed
and regulated by two separate agencies. He said the
State Engineer's office was created by the Legislative
Assembly in 1905 to regulate and administer matters
concerning the allocation of North Dakota's water
resources. He said the State Water Commission was
created in 1937 by the Legislative Assembly in
response to the 1930s drought and for the specific
purpose of fostering and promoting water resource
development throughout the state. He said the office
of the State Engineer is a regulatory agency that
regulates drainage, water rights, and the appropriation
of water while water development is promoted by the
State Water Commission.
Concerning specific projects, Mr. Frink said the
current primary project of the State Water Commission
is Fargo flood control. He said this is a United States
Army Corps of Engineers project to develop a plan for
flood damage reduction in the Fargo-Moorhead
metropolitan area. He said the State Water
Commission is a cooperating agency in the
environmental impact statement and National
Environmental Policy Act process. He said the Fargo
flood control project is actually two projects with a
state flood control project in south Fargo and the main
project in the center and northern portions of the city.
He said the United States Army Corps of Engineers
has estimated the total cost of Fargo flood control at
between $650 million and $1 billion, depending upon
which alternative is selected. He said which plan is
selected will be a local decision. He said there are
currently two plans under consideration for south
Fargo flood control. He said one plan is a diversion
plan while the other is a dike project. He said the
drawbacks to the diversion plan are the cost of the
plan and land acquisition issues.
In response to a question from Representative
Berg, Mr. Frink said the State Water Commission will
provide a timeline for the two Fargo flood control
Water-Related Topics Overview 2 August 12, 2009
projects. In addition, he suggested the committee
invite representatives of the city of Fargo, the entity
most familiar with the projects, to brief the committee
on the projects at a future meeting.
Mr. Frink said the State Water Commission has
committed $75 million, $45 million this biennium, for
the south Fargo flood control project. He said the
Legislative Assembly appropriated $500,000 to the
State Water Commission to conduct a Red River
Basin long-term solutions study. He said this money
is going to the Red River Basin Commission to match
money provided by the Minnesota Legislature to
conduct the study. He said the Red River Basin
Commission is in the process of hiring a facilitator and
then will begin the study. He said the study process
involves three phases--an inventory of potential
solutions, an analysis of solutions and how the
solutions might be integrated, and development of an
implementation strategy.
In response to a question from Senator G. Lee,
Mr. Frink said the Red River Basin Commission is a
grassroots advisory organization with a board of
45 members which advises political subdivisions on
water issues in the Red River Basin.
In response to a question from Representative
Nelson, Mr. Frink said upstream and downstream
interests will be protected because the state and the
federal government must issue permits for any Fargo
flood control project.
In response to a question from Representative
Hofstad, Mr. Frink said he does not anticipate any
Canadian objections or concerns to the Fargo flood
control projects. He said any objection and the
solution to the objection will come within Cass and
Clay Counties.
In response to a question from Representative
Berg, Senator Fischer said the Red River Basin
Commission receives $200,000 each from North
Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba, for a total of
$600,000. He said the North Dakota portion is
composed of a $100,000 contribution from the State
Water Commission and a $100,000 contribution from
counties and cities in the Red River Valley.
Concerning the Southwest Pipeline Project,
Mr. Frink said the Trotters Pocket, Grassy
Butte-Killdeer Mountain, and Fairfield service areas
are nearing completion. Up next, he said, is the
Oliver-Mercer-North Dunn water treatment plant and
construction of a pipeline from the water treatment
plant to Hazen.
Concerning the Northwest Area Water Supply
Project, Mr. Frink said water was delivered to
Berthold, Minot's south hill region, and the North
Prairie Rural Water District in 2008. He said water is
scheduled to be delivered to the Kenmare-Upper
Souris and Mohall-All Seasons area in 2009.
However, he noted, Manitoba is still objecting to the
project and the case will be scheduled for oral
arguments in the near future.
In response to a question from Senator G. Lee,
Mr. Frink said Lake Sakakawea water is not being
supplied to Minot. He said the city of Berthold is being
supplied with water from the city of Minot.
In response to a question from Representative
Nelson, Mr. Frink said the two aquifers from which
Minot is drawing water are nonsustainable, and thus,
the Northwest Area Water Supply Project is
necessary. Also, the North Prairie Rural Water District
is drawing water from these aquifers which is
complicating matters, he said. In response to a
further question, Mr. Frink said if the state receives a
favorable decision from the courts, it will take
approximately three years to design and construct the
necessary water treatment and pumping plants.
Thus, he said, it will take three years to deliver Lake
Sakakawea water to the Northwest Area Water
Supply Project once the project is approved.
Concerning Devils Lake, Mr. Frink said the lake
rose three feet in 2009 and has caused significant
damage.
Concerning Missouri River management, Mr. Frink
noted runoff into the two major Missouri River
reservoirs in North Dakota--Lake Sakakawea and
Lake Oahe--is above normal, the first time in nearly a
decade. He said Lake Oahe ended July at
1,612.4 feet mean sea level, 18.5 feet higher than at
the same time in 2008, and Lake Sakakawea ended
July at 1,842.2 feet mean sea level, 16.6 feet higher
than July 31, 2008.
Concerning sovereign land management, Mr. Frink
said the State Water Commission has assumed
management for the state's sovereign lands from the
Board of University and School Lands. He said the
commission works with the Game and Fish
Department on enforcement issues and with the Land
Department on mineral ownership under sovereign
lands in northwest North Dakota.
Mr. Frink said another new issue facing the
commission is water for oil development in western
North Dakota. He said fracturing the Bakken
Formation uses a tremendous amount of water.
Mr. Frink said State Water Commission staff spent
a great deal of time on emergency response and
mitigation relating to the spring floods in North Dakota.
He said the State Water Commission provided
technical assistance 24 hours a day 7 days a week
during spring flooding. As a result of the spring flood
efforts, he said, the livestock water supply program
has been suspended. Also, he said, the State Water
Commission is providing supplemental funds with the
Natural Resource Conservation Service to construct
ring dikes around farmsteads. He said ring dikes are
much more economically feasible than the type of
dikes used in Fargo and Grand Forks for flood control.
Concerning State Water Commission project
revenues and needs for the 2009-11 biennium,
Mr. Frink said the State Water Commission is
anticipating revenues of $74 million from the
resources trust fund, $20 million from the water
development trust fund, and $59.5 million of
uncommitted carryover from the contract fund. He
said the State Water Commission is anticipating
Water-Related Topics Overview 3 August 12, 2009
$25.5 million of bond payments which leaves
$128 million for new projects.
WATER RESOURCE DISTRICTS
IN NORTH DAKOTA
At the request of Chairman Fischer, Mr. Michael
Dwyer, Executive Secretary, North Dakota Water
Resource Districts Association, discussed the
organization and operation of water resource districts
in North Dakota. He distributed a map of water
districts-related political subdivisions in North Dakota,
a copy of which is on file in the Legislative Council
office. He said the Legislative Assembly enacted
authority to establish legal drain boards in 1895. In
1935, he said, the Legislative Assembly established
water control and conservation districts separate from
legal drain boards. In 1973, he said, the Legislative
Assembly determined that each county should have a
water conservation and resource district and also
change the name of these districts to water
management districts. In 1977, he said, the
Legislative Assembly authorized joint boards under
which authority two or more water management
districts could do what one board could do alone. He
said the first joint board was the Red River Joint
Board, which was created in 1979.
Mr. Dwyer said during the 1979-80 interim the
Legislative Council studied water organizations. At
that time, he said, there were drain boards, water
management districts, and joint boards--all of which
were designed to manage water. He said the
Legislative Council reviewed the Nebraska system
under which one district does all of the functions done
by separate North Dakota water organizations and
which are organized on watershed boundaries as
opposed to political boundaries. He said the result of
this study was to change the name of water
management districts to water resource districts and
to change the name of legal drains to assessment
drains. Also, he said, legal drain boards were
abolished and authority for drainage was placed with
water resource districts.
Mr. Dwyer said rural water systems patterned after
the rural electrification movement of the 1930s began
to be established in the 1970s. He said these
systems were developed to supply water to
underserved rural areas. Today, he said, there are
31 rural water systems in North Dakota. He said the
Legislative Assembly next authorized water districts
with additional powers and most rural water systems
have converted to water districts.
Mr. Dwyer said the Legislative Assembly also has
created two regional water governance entities or
water authorities. He said these are the Garrison
Diversion Conservancy District and the Southwest
Water Authority. He said these entities were
patterned after other entities created in other states to
partner or be the local sponsor of Bureau of
Reclamation projects.
In summary, Mr. Dwyer said North Dakota has
water resource districts that operate on water
management issues and water districts that supply
water. In the early 1990s, he said, Governor
Edward T. Schafer noted that the Governor was
hearing different recommendations from different
water organizations. Governor Schafer recommended
that water organizations speak with one voice unless
there were clear disagreements among the
organizations. Following this recommendation,
Mr. Dwyer said North Dakota's water organizations
formed the North Dakota Water Coalition to develop a
consensus on different water issues and then promote
those priorities. During this timeframe, he said, the
type of projects also became larger which
necessitated large authorities or state involvement.
He said the North Dakota Water Education
Foundation was also created at this time. He said the
North Dakota Water Education Foundation is a
nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization designed to provide
water education and water information in North
Dakota.
Mr. Dwyer said that in his opinion North Dakota
has an excellent water management system. He said
it is nonduplicative, effective, and serves the people
with an emphasis on local governance.
GARRISON DIVERSION
CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
At the request of Chairman Fischer, Mr. David
Koland, General Manager, Garrison Diversion
Conservancy District, Carrington, presented an
overview of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy
District and its current projects. A copy of
Mr. Koland's PowerPoint presentation is attached as
Appendix E. He also distributed the mission
statement of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy
District, a brochure relating to the Red River Valley
Water Supply project, and the 2008 Annual Report of
the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, copies of
which are on file in the Legislative Council office.
Mr. Koland said the Garrison Diversion Project was
authorized by