Gov. Jack Dalrymple chaired a flood protection meeting Wednesday afternoon at Minot's City Hall. Those participating included members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the State Water Commission and Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman.
Most of the discussion centered around two issues of importance to all of those impacted by flooding in the Souris River Basin in 2011 the future operating plan for the Souris River and the possible raising of Lake Darling Dam. A Fish and Wildlife spokesman from the Mountain Prairie Region in Denver, which oversees federal wildlife refuges in North Dakota, somewhat surprised those in attendance by stating, "raising Lake Darling is do-able."
"That certainly is interesting," responded Dalrymple.
Steve Guertin, USFWS Regional Director, said, "We want to evaluate our mission and needs against the citizens of North Dakota and I think we can find a lot of common ground for both."
Following the meeting, Dalrymple acknowledged he was encouraged by what he heard from the FWS.
"I would say it was probably more positive than I expected when I walked in. They do not feel the raising of Lake Darling Dam would have a huge detrimental impact on the management of their refuges, which is news," said Dalrymple. "I think we had always assumed there would be some negative effects, so that's important."
Dalrymple anticipated a FWS request for mitigation acres if land was lost to the raising of Lake Darling Dam, saying such acres were hard to come by today in North Dakota.
"It was a positive opportunity for us to meet with state leadership and try to roll up our sleeves and move forward in a real world way to try and tackle these issues, both short term and long term," added Guertin.
Todd Sando, State Water Commission, stated he believed the raising of Lake Darling Dam was worth exploring.
"I thought the federal agencies were willing to look at it," said Sando. "We had discussions about draw down to provide more flood storage, plus raising the dam to capture more water that way, too."
However, added Sando, "We should be able to change the operating plan faster than building flood control."
Sando's comment was in reference to the complexities of changing the Souris River operating plan that includes Canadian reservoirs and commitments to water supply downstream from Lake Darling. Dalrymple repeatedly asked the panel for a possible timetable for a revised operating plan and the raising of Lake Darling. One response he heard was "decades."
"Was that plural?" queried Dalrymple.
Col. Michael Price, Corps of Engineers, responded, "I would hope for the lower end of that."
Zimbelman expressed the need for speed in adopting a new operating plan for the Souris and for the possible raising of Lake Darling, noting that both subjects would have an effect on the city's proposed flood control structures.
"We're dealing with different countries and different federal agencies," said Sando. "Our environmental law, checks and balances, studies and documentation. Everything takes time, a lengthy amount of time."
Despite not arriving at a definite timetable, Dalrymple found some reason for encouragement.
"I think there is some hope for something a little bit sooner," said Dalrymple. "Changing the so-called target flow downstream from the dam from 5,000 cfs to something higher, that's encouraging. That would allow the Corps to have more flexibility in managing Lake Darling and creating some storage on short notice if they had to."
The operating plan for the Souris River is expected to undergo further scrutiny Feb. 22 when the International Souris River Board meets in Bismarck.