News Releases for April 2002
April 30, 2002
For further information, please Contact the Governor's Office
Hoeven Announces $2 Million FEMA Mitigation Grant To Benson, Towner, Ramsey (BTR) Elevator
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded a grant totaling $2 million to the Benson, Towner, Ramsey Elevator for a relocation project. The project will involve the relocation of buildings from their current location at Churchs Ferry to a developed site nearby, known as the BTR Industrial Site, in Benson County.
“This relocation project signifies a continuing partnership between the State of North Dakota and the BTR Elevator. It will lessen the impact on the area because of the flooding of Devils Lake,” Hoeven said.
The grant represents 75 percent of the projected total project costs and is being made available through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which is designed to help break the recurring cycle of damage and rebuilding, common in disaster prone areas.
“This elevator is vital to the area’s farmers and their livelihood,” Hoeven said. “Moving the site is crucial to the area to keep this elevator open.”
BTR’s fertilizer plant, office building, steel bins, seed bins, and anhydrous ammonia plant will be moved. The elevator will receive buyout funding for the main terminal and concrete annex. The main terminal and concrete annex will be rebuilt at the new site.
The BTR Industrial site is located between Churchs Ferry and Leeds. The elevator will sit next to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad line that runs adjacent to Highway 2. The site will be provided with a 7,317-foot railroad loop that will allow grain cars to be moved along the track as they are filled.
The BTR elevator began its service to the area in 1930 and serves farmers in the Benson, Towner, and Ramsey counties. The elevator currently employees 15 full-time and 5 seasonal employees.
E-mail comments to the Governor
