ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

GARRISON DIVERSION UNIT COMMISSION RECORDS

COLLECTION: OGL #1041

DATES: August - December 1984

SIZE: 1.5 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Garrison Diversion Unit Commission Records were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection in 1985 (Acc.#85-1417).

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

The United States Congress authorized the Flood Control Act, later to be known as the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, on December 22, 1944. The main purpose of Pick-Sloan was to divert water from the Missouri River for flood control, navigation, irrigation, and hydro-electic power. In 1965, the United States Congress authorized construction of the Initial Stage of the Garrison Diversion Unit. This would have irrigated 250,000 acres and provided municipal and industrial water delivery, recreation, fish and wildlife mitigation and enhancement, and flood control in the state of North Dakota. Opposition to the Initial Stage, however, delayed program development.

On August 11, 1984, the Garrison Diversion Unit Commission was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. The Commission's goals were to review the controversy surrounding the authorized Initial Stage of the Garrison Diversion Unit, to evaluate the contemporary water needs of the state of North Dakota, and to make recommendations.

Public meetings were held in several North Dakota communities from September through December, 1984. The "Commission Plan" was articulated in a final report, dated December 20, 1984. Among the plan's recommendations:

• " Over 130,000 acres of land be irrigated, none of which would drain into Hudson Bay "
• $200 million in federal grant monies be set aside to assist municipal, rural, and industrial water service for as many as 130 communities and three Indian reservations "
• A water treatment plant be constructed to treat water which would drain into Hudson Bay by way of the Sheyenne River and the Red River. This would allow for municipal, rural, and industrial water service for communities such as Fargo and Grand Forks

The total cost of the Commission Plan was estimated at $1.12 billion in capital costs, including expenditures to date, along with $15.8 million in annual operation, maintenance, and replacement costs.

The state of North Dakota, as well as the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, supported reauthorization of the project along the lines indicated by the Commission. The Garrison Diversion Unit Reformulation Act of 1986 was signed into law on May 12, 1986.

Sources:
Final Report of the Garrison Diversion Unit Commission, December 20, 1984 (Box 1, Folder 1)
Garrison Diversion Homepage, "Garrison Diversion--Public Information--History,"<www.garrisondiv.org/pages/publicinfo/history/index.epl>

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Garrison Diversion Unit Commission Records date from August-December 1984, and have been divided into four series as follows:

Series I: Reports
This series contains the Commission's final, published report, dated December 20, 1984. The report is 59 pages in length, and contains an executive summary, a synopsis of the Commission Plan, conclusions and recommendations, and six appendices. Also included is the supplement to the "Interim Staff Report on Issues and Alternatives," dated November 28, 1984. The supplement was the result of information requested by the Commission following public hearings and a business meeting held in Fargo on November 16-17, 1984. Box 1

Series II: Business Meeting Minutes
This series contains minutes of meetings held in Washington, D.C. on August 30, October 17, and November 28, 1984. Box 1

Series III: Transcripts of Public Hearings
This series consists of the transcripts of public hearings, held in Minot on December 13-14, 1984. Box 1

Series IV: Transcripts of Proceedings
This series contains transcripts of proceedings held in Bismarck on September 10-11, Oakes on November 16, and Fargo on November 16-17, 1984. The series also contains written statements from persons appearing before the Commission. Box 1 - Box 2

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder
Series I: Reports

1. Final Report of the Garrison Diversion Unit Commission: December 20, 1984
2. Supplement to the Interim Staff Report on Issues and Alternatives: November 28, 1984

Series II: Business Meeting Minutes

3. Business Meeting Minutes, Nassif Building, Washington, D.C.: August 30, 1984, Pages 1-140
4. Business Meeting Minutes, Nassif Building, Washington, D.C: August 30, 1984, Pages 141-284
5. Business Meeting Minutes, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.: October 17, 1984, Pages 1-150
6. Business Meeting Minutes, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.: October 17, 1984, Pages 151-335
7. Business Meeting Minutes, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.: November 28, 1984, Pages 1-150
8. Business Meeting Minutes, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.: November 28, 1984, Pages 151-292

Series III: Transcripts of Public Hearings

9. Public Hearing, Minot, North Dakota: December 13, 1984, Pages 1-150
10. Public Hearing, Minot, North Dakota: December 13, 1984, Pages 151-300
11. Public Hearing, Minot, North Dakota: December 13, 1984, Pages 301-430
12. Public Hearing, Minot, North Dakota: December 14, 1984, Pages 1-150
13. Public Hearing, Minot, North Dakota: December 14, 1984, Pages 151-300
14. Public Hearing, Minot, North Dakota: December 14, 1984, Pages 301-475

Series IV: Transcripts of Proceedings

15. Transcripts of Proceedings, Bismarck, North Dakota: September 10, 1984, Pages 1-130
16. Transcripts of Proceedings, Bismarck, North Dakota: September 10, 1984, Pages 131-229
17. Report on the Fish Screen Test Facility, Turtle Lake, North Dakota: May 1983
18. Notes on Commission Tour of Garrison Diversion: September 10, 1984
19. Statement of North Dakota Governor Allen Olsen
20. Statement for the State of South Dakota, Warren Neufeld, Secretary, Department of Water and Natural Resources
21. Statement of Douglas Eiken, Director, North Dakota Parks and Recreation
22. Statement of State Senator Rolland Redlin, Minot, North Dakota
23. Statement of Ken Fuhrman, City Commission of New Rockford, North Dakota
24. Statement of Kenneth Ruby, Director of Utilities, City of Fargo, North Dakota
25. Statement of Nathaniel Reed, Chairman, National Audubon Society
26. Statement of Wayde Schafer, Vice-Chair, North Prairie Group Sierra Club
27. Statement of Lorne W. Sterner, North Dakota Wildlife Federation, Inc.
28. Statement of Robert Nelson, North Dakota Wildlife Federation
29. Statement of Bruce Hagen, President, North Dakota Public Service Commission
30. Statement of Hilda Hochhalter, Regan, North Dakota
31. Statement of Robert W. Lewis, President, Grand Forks Audubon Society
32. Statement of David Warren, Pierre, South Dakota
33. Statement of Sheila Robinson, Coleharbor, North Dakota
34. Statement of Lynn A. Greenwalt, National Wildlife Federation
35. Article by David C. Campbell, "The Pick-Sloan Program: A Case of Bureaucratic Economic Power," Journal of Economic Issues, v18 (June 1984): 449-456
36. Statement of Wayne E. Burbank
37. Statement of Murray Sagsveen, Special Assistant Attorney General, State of North Dakota
38. Statement of Raymond Cross, Attorney, Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation
39. Statement of Joe Goeen
40. Statement of Ed Hagen, President, Bismarck, North Dakota, Chamber of Commerce
41. Statement of Herb Nathan, McLean County Representative on the Garrison Conservancy Board
42. Statement of Raymond Ross, Commercial Fisherman's Federation of Manitoba
43. Statement of Peter E. Westgard, Plaza, North Dakota
44. Statement of Jan Alferts, Bismarck, North Dakota
45. Statement of R.D. Bain, President, The Lake Audubon Association
46. Statement of Duane Bender, Fargo, North Dakota
47. Statement of Steven Lian, Sierra Club-North Prairie Group, Minot, North Dakota
48. Statement of Wade Williams, State Representative, Eldridge, North Dakota
49. Statement of Douglas Roberts, McClusky, North Dakota
50. Statement of Roger Ebel, Fessenden, North Dakota
51. Statement of Leonard Johnson, Turtle Lake, North Dakota
52. Statement of Frank L. Larson, Valley City, North Dakota
53. Statement of Chester Schmid, New Rockford, North Dakota
54. Statement of Anne C. Lian, Minot, North Dakota
55. Statement of Benjamin Axtman, President, Baker Electric Cooperative, Inc., Cando, North Dakota
56. Statement of Sandra Wolfe, Secretary, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
57. Statement of Ray Sigurdson, Vice-President, Union of Manitoba Municipalities
58. Statement of Jeffrey Stant, National Taxpayers Union
59. Statement of Warren Chappelle, Member, Missouri Breaks Chapter of the National Audubon Society
60. Statement of Roger Johnson, Executive Director, Committee to Save North Dakota, Turtle Lake, North Dakota
61. Statement of Henry Cline, Oakes, North Dakota
62. Statement of H. Lewis Batts, Jr., Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan
63. Statement of United States Senators Quentin Burdick and Mark Andrews
64. Statement of Charles Unmack, Sentinel Butte, North Dakota
65. Statement of Ed Stegner, Executive Director, Conservation Federation of Missouri
66. Statement of Stephen Sawyer, President, Minnesota Waterfowl Association
67. Statement of J.D. Haugen, President, Williston City Commission

Box 2
Folder

1. Transcript of Proceedings, Bismarck, North Dakota: September 11, 1984, Pages 1-120
2. Transcript of Proceedings, Bismarck, North Dakota: September 11, 1984, Pages 121-286
3. Transcript of Proceedings, Oakes, North Dakota: November 16, 1984, Pages 1-47
4. Transcript of Proceedings, Fargo, North Dakota: November 16, 1984, Pages 1-130
5. Transcript of Proceedings, Fargo, North Dakota: November 16, 1984, Pages 131-251
6. Transcript of Proceedings, Fargo, North Dakota: 8:00am session, November 17, 1984, Pages 1-100
7. Transcript of Proceedings, Fargo, North Dakota: 8:00am session November 17, 1984, Pages 101-218
8. Transcript of Proceedings, Fargo, North Dakota: 1:00pm session November 17, 1984, Pages 1-53

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