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May 19, 2010                                                                                              

Contact: Don Canton or Lance Gaebe
(701) 328-2200

HOEVEN CALLS ON CORPS TO CONTINUE TO ISSUE ACCESS PERMITS DURING MISSOURI RIVER WATER ALLOCATION STUDY

BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to authorize the Omaha District to continue its long-standing policy of issuing access easements on the main stem reservoirs in North Dakota, even if the easements are issued concurrently with the District’s proposed water allocation study of the Missouri River.

Hoeven pressed the case in a phone call with Omaha District Commander Col. Robert J. Ruch on Tuesday and also in a letter to the Corps’ Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy at Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. sent this morning.

The Corps is considering a water allocation study of the Missouri River main stem reservoirs in North Dakota, and the Omaha District currently plans to suspend issuing water access permits until the completion of the study, which could take several years.

‘I am concerned that important water projects throughout North Dakota could be delayed or stopped during this period,” Hoeven said in his letter to Darcy. “Clearly, such a step would have an adverse effect on North Dakota’s rural and municipal water supplies, as well as on industrial uses such as oil recovery activities. Specifically, you need to authorize the Omaha District to continue its long-standing policy of issuing access easements to reservoirs in North Dakota.”

The Governor said the Corps’ plan also includes a provision to charge the state a fee for water storage and consumption, an unprecedented practice in the state’s relationship with the Corps.

“Bear in mind that water from the Missouri River, the Yellowstone River, and their tributaries are a public trust, owned by the State of North Dakota for the people of North Dakota,” Hoeven wrote. “The Corps, by compelling such a fee, would force the state to access water from the rivers, rather than from the reservoirs. That makes no sense and you should reject any such fee.”

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