Seeking New Paths to Disaster Recovery
By Tim Pugmire
April 28, 1997

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Clean up along the Red River in Minnesota and North Dakota is just beginning, but some government representatives are already busy looking at the long-term policy questions raised the floods. State officials say they'll need new ideas to pay for Minnesota's costliest natural disaster. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

AT ITS DAILY BRIEFING ON FLOOD NEWS, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's office of Emergency Management reported the Red River was cresting lower than expected at Saint Vincent, the last stop on the river's northern flow into Canada. With the dikes in Saint Vincent holding, and the water levels dropping in East Grand Forks, state officials say they've had a few successful days in the flood fight and recovery. Emergency Operations Center Director Jim Franklin says Minnesota's recovery costs will break all records.

WE'RE CURRENTLY LOOKING AT INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGES THAT ARE PROBABLY 400-MILLION DOLLARS. WE'RE LOOKING AT HOUSING ISSUES THAT ARE PROBABLY GOING TO BE IN NEIGHBORHOOD OF AN ADDITIONAL 400-MILLION DOLLARS. AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO ISSUES OF AGRICULTURE AND OTHER KINDS OF PROBLEMS THAT ARE RELATED THERE. SO, WE'RE REALLY CONFRONTED WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY CLOSE TO A BILLION DOLLAR EXPENSE.

Franklin says government needs new ideas and programs to address the escalating costs of natural disaster assistance. He says Minnesota could be a test site for new approaches. Governor Carlson has named Franklin and Kit Hadley of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency to head up an in-depth study of the state's disaster recovery effort. A third leader will be selected from the private sector. The study will consider infrastructure repair, economic development, housing, health and human services, agriculture, and flood control. Franklin says the issue is about more than money.

WE'VE MADE IT CLEAR THAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR JUST HOW MUCH MONEY MINNESOTA CAN GET, BUT WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN WHAT'S GOOD PUBLIC POLICY LONG-TERM ON DISASTERS THROUGH THE WHOLE COUNTRY. THIS IS NOT JUST A GRAB FOR JUST MINNESOTA, BUT IT IS TRUELY HOW CAN WE MAKE DISASTER MANAGEMENT REALLY EFFECTIVE, AFFORDABLE. HOW CAN WE DO SOMETHING INOVATIVE FOR THE WHOLE NATION.

Franklin says some of the new ideas for disaster assistance include private sector funding, tax credits and eliminating government red tape. He says the Governor's team will search for all kinds of ideas that make sense for Minnesota's recovery and for future disasters anywhere in the country.

Return to Flood of 1997.