FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 18, 1998
CONTACT: Dana Hagerty 202/225-2165
Washington, DC -- Congressman Collin C. Peterson (DFL-7th District) has told officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cut through their own red tape and grant a waiver to regulations currently preventing construction of dikes in East Grand Forks.
"Last week, I called the Director and asked that this problem be dealt with immediately," Peterson said. "Anyone with a little common sense recognizes that the regulation ought to be waived in this case."
Because the current guideline considers dikes and levees to be "structures", it prohibits their construction on land that has been purchased with federal funds from the Section 404 Hazard Mitigation program. FEMA Director James Lee Witt is the only person with the authority to grant a waiver in this matter.
"I have asked the Director to move quickly on this request for a waiver," Peterson said, "and I hope that we will get a favorable decision on this in the very near future so that the communities of East Grand Forks and Grand Forks can get this project under construction."