After Red River flood battle comes recovery debate

[April 02, 2009]  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- As the Red River slowly recedes into its banks, soggy flood-fighters along its route are facing a different kind of challenge: Navigating state and federal bureaucracies for help in the recovery.

Preliminary estimates suggest tens of millions of dollars in public damages -- not counting losses by homeowners and businesses. It should be enough to put Minnesota and North Dakota in line for federal disaster aid.

The financial toll will climb higher if melting from this week's heavy snowfall causes a second crest at or above record levels seen last weekend. The river's unpredictability is vexing for response teams, who are anxious to get financial assistance flowing quickly but also have to tackle the disaster itself.

"We're recovering and fighting the flood at the same time," said Kris Eide, director of Minnesota's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division.

Government assessment teams are calculating damage to roads, bridges, wastewater treatment plants and other public assets. The review of private property damage is under way in North Dakota and should start in Minnesota by week's end.

Both states received assurances early on that resources they put toward holding back floodwaters would be partially reimbursed by the federal government. About $1.2 million for North Dakota is already moving through the pipeline, said Tito Hernandez, a Federal Emergency Management Agency regional official.

In Minnesota, early evaluations turned up more than $20 million in public damage across seven counties, with the vast majority occurring in Clay County, where Moorhead is located. In North Dakota, Fargo's city administrator said the cost for cleaning up the Fargodome, which was used for filling sandbags to hold back the Red River, could total $1.5 million.

If the preliminary numbers hold, Minnesota would easily earn the major disaster declaration for public infrastructure repair. North Dakota has already met its threshold.

Under the declaration, FEMA picks up 75 percent of costs associated with the flooding and the remainder is left to state and local governments.

Officials in Fargo hope the rebuilding effort will be funded largely by the federal government, and cleanup efforts will pump money into the economy through contractors.

Last week, Fargo officials urged "nonessential" businesses to shut down to keep streets clear for emergency workers. They were only given the green light to reopen Wednesday.

The business disruption will probably cost more than $100 million in Fargo, said David Flynn, who directs the bureau of business and economic research at the University of North Dakota.

John Stern, co-owner of Straus Clothing, a downtown retailer that dates to 1879, estimated that the flood closure would mean a loss of about $10,000. Profits will drop 25 percent for March.

"We're in a garden spot economically," he said of Fargo. "Right now, it doesn't look like much of a garden."

Stern said he's been continuing to pay 14 employees at two stores "because they have bills to pay."

The Red River had dropped to 36.66 feet early Thursday, from a high of 40.82 feet early Saturday but still more than 18 feet above flood stage.

[Associated Press; By BRIAN BAKST]

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