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Corps awards emergency work contracts for Fargo and Grafton, N.D.

Published April 23, 2013
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, awarded contracts to build temporary emergency levees in Fargo, N.D.

On April 18, the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers awarded two contracts for the Fargo area. H&S Contracting Inc. and Tunheim Construction LLC, both of Moorhead, Minn., were awarded contracts to build to a levee height of 44 feet. Construction of these levees began on April 22. Depending on actual river crests, the Corps could build anywhere from 4 to 7 miles of levees. In addition, the St. Paul District awarded a contract to R.J. Zavoral & Sons on April 22 for temporary levee construction in Grafton, N.D. Construction of those levees began today.

While there are inherent risks associated with all levee systems, emergency levees constructed during a flood fight are not engineered structures and are intended to be temporary. Local officials should still have evacuation plans in place in the event of an emergency.

Under Public Law 84-99, the Corps of Engineers may provide assistance to communities to save human life, prevent immediate human suffering or mitigate public property damage. Emergency assistance will be undertaken only to supplement state and local efforts. An imminent threat of unusual flooding must exist and a state must request Corps' assistance. North Dakota has requested the Corps' assistance.

The nearly 700 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

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Release no. 13-046