MINUTES OF MEETING
RED RIVER RETENTION AUTHORITY
WEST FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA
JUNE 12, 2012
The Red River Retention Authority (RRRA) met June 12, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. at the
RRRA office, West Fargo, North Dakota.
Present were John Finney, Jim Lyons, Jerome Deal, Rodger Olson, Ron Osowski and
Gary Thompson, Board members; Sam Schellenberg, non-voting member; Carol
Harbeke Lewis, Secretary-Treasurer; Chad Engels, Moore Engineering, Inc. and those
whose names appear on the attached roster. Present by telephone were Pat Fridgen,
non-voting member; Matt Mikulecky, Corps of Engineers; Gary Sands, University of
Minnesota; and Blake Carlson, Widseth Smith and Nolting.
John Finney called the meeting to order and introductions were made.
Approval of agenda order
It was moved by Rodger Olson, seconded by Gary Thompson and unanimously carried
to approve the order of the agenda.
Minutes
It was moved by Gary Thompson, seconded by Jerome Deal and unanimously carried
to approve the minutes of the May 8, 2012, meeting.
Tiling
Mr. Olson said the Board invited Hans Kandel, North Dakota State University, and Gary
Sands, University of Minnesota, to the meeting to discuss their concepts on tiling. Both
were involved with the BTSAC project to compile Water Management Options for
Subsurface Drainage Briefing Paper #2, but neither signed off on the report. Mr. Olson
said they may have some things that water districts can implement with tile permitting.
Mr. Sands commended the BTSAC group on a job well done and he was happy to
participate. He said overall, it was a good piece of work, but thought it was premature
to put out to the public. The way the university approaches writing, there would have
been much more review before putting out the report. He said it could evolve to that
point, if they are interested in doing that. Mr. Sands said the product is on the right
track, but it would need to go further before universities would sign on.
Diane Ista questioned whether previous reports used information relating to the Red
River Valley. Mr. Sands said the preliminary modeling study used weather and climate
information from Crookston, Minnesota. The second phase of the study is now
underway and will use more field surveys and measured soil data from the Red River
Valley and could help form decisions at the watershed level.
Hans Kendal said tile helps land become more productive, but it can also help with
water management. Areas within tile fields can retain some water. When frost is in the
ground, tile would have zero influence on flooding. He explained that removing some
water in the fall provides additional capacity and demonstrated how the use of control
structures can help control water, capture water for crop production and provide a tool
to help water management. Mr. Kendal said ridges in fields can also help slow down
surface runoff. Mr. Sands said he could not agree more. Tile systems could be
designed to implement control structures to manage water. Bill Hejl said a tile company
told him that in order to prevent tile from blowing out, the maximum elevation to hold
back water is 1.5’. Mr. Kandel said lift stations could be used as controls. Mr. Hejl said
caution would be required to prevent blowing out the tile by the pump.
Mr. Finney asked Mr. Kandel and Mr. Sands to write a dissenting opinion to the BTSAC
report or to sign-off on the report. Mr. Kandel respectfully disagreed and refused the
request.
Chuck Fritz thanked Mr. Kandel and Mr. Sands for their participation in the project. He
said it took a year, was vetted, and cost $35-40,000. He read the list of participants that
signed the report and emphasized the diverse group of participants involved. Mr. Deal
said the paper served the RRRA’s purposes and demonstrated what needs to be done
with all tile being installed.
Mr. Olson thanked Mr. Kandel and Mr. Sands for their presentations.
Mr. Finney said the Red River Watershed Management Board has moved ahead with
controls on tile drainage and would like to see North Dakota do the same, to come up
with some criteria.
Mr. Deal reminded everyone about the workshop on August 28 and 29 in Hankinson.
There will be a tile demonstration.
Retention Committee
Mr. Hejl updated the Board about progress on the Farm Bill. Frank Lucas, House Ag
Chairman, is encouraging action on the Farm Bill this year to prevent sequestration and
cuts.
North Dakota State Water Commission meeting
Pat Downs will attend the North Dakota State Water Commission (SWC) meeting
tomorrow. Requesting cost share from the SWC for administration was discussed.
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Prioritization
Dan Thul said the committee has agreed on 3 components for the prioritization process.
They are recommending that the Corps of Engineers put together a plan to finalize all
models together so they can be utilized to evaluate the potential value of projects in the
basin. A simplified prioritization process may be necessary if funding is received sooner
than thought.
Diane Ista said she would like to see the committee meet and prepare a list of projects
that are ready to go and look at alternatives if funding does not come in.
Executive Director Report
Mr. Downs reported on various meetings he attended and issues he has been working
on. A flow chart for project implementation and action steps was reviewed.
RRRA Office Open House
The Board decided to hold an open house on July 10, 2012, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Natural Resources Conservation Service report
Keith Weston reported that the temporary duty biologist is working on several Wetland
Reserve Program (WRP) applications.
The 9-step Natural Resources Conservation Service Planning Process was reviewed.
The process works with individuals or groups of property owners.
Peter Mead showed potential retention sites in the basin. The WRP Program can be
used to manage wetlands.
Mr. Weston informed the Board that he is currently working unilaterally as a District
Conservationist under Don Baloun.
Office issues
It was moved by Ron Osowski, seconded by Jim Lyons and unanimously carried to
appoint Gary Thompson, Pat Downs, Carol Harbeke Lewis, Ron Harnack and Sean
Fredricks (as needed) to the RRRA Administrative Committee. The committee will work
on budget issues as well as any office issues that may arise.
Policy review / approval
It was moved by Rodger Olson and seconded by Gary Thompson to participate, through
the Red River Joint Water Resource District, in the North Dakota Public Employees
Retirement System and offer the plan to all eligible employees of the RRRA, as follows:
 Defined Benefit Retirement Plan; and
 Supplemental Deferred Compensation Program.
Upon roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.
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It was moved by Rodger Olson and seconded by Ron Osowski to approve the Credit /
Debit Card Policy. Upon roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.
Bills
It was moved by Gary Thompson and seconded by Ron Osowski to approve Checks
#1017 through #1031, as presented.
Upon roll call vote, the motion carried
unanimously.
Adjournment
There being no further business to be considered by the Board, the meeting adjourned
without objection.
APPROVED:
________________________________
Jim Lyons
Co-Chair
________________________________
John Finney
Co-Chair
ATTEST:
________________________________
Carol Harbeke Lewis
Secretary-Treasurer
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