News Releases for October 2007
October 22, 2007
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Hoeven Meets With Officials In Washington, D.C. On Farm Bill, Water Projects, Transmission, Transportation Issues
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven is in Washington, D.C. on Monday and Tuesday to meet with congressional and White House officials on a range of issues important to North Dakota, including the renewal of the Farm Bill, wind energy development, several water projects and transportation issues.
Wind Energy Development: Hoeven will meet Monday with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Joe Kelliher and members Suedeen Kelly and Jon Wellinghof. Hoeven is pressing the board to expedite interconnections for wind energy projects with the Midwest Independent System Operators (MISO) grid, which serves the upper Midwest and the Province of Manitoba. Wind energy access to the grid is an important issue to further expand the industry in North Dakota.
Farm Bill: Hoeven will also meet Monday and Tuesday morning with leaders in the Senate to further the passage of the Farm Bill, which expired September 31 and has been extended while Congress completes work on details of new legislation. Hoeven will meet with Sen. Chuck Grassley; Sen. Pat Roberts, as well as Sen. Kent Conrad. He is also meeting with Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner and White House Agriculture advisor Hunter Moorhead.
Hoeven is pushing key priorities for North Dakota, including:
- A countercyclical safety net for producers, with increases in some target prices, including wheat.
- Direct payments, with increases for North Dakota crops such as wheat, barley, soybeans and oil seeds.
- Either a disaster title or improved crop insurance to help address weather-related agriculture disasters.
- Solid renewable energy and conservation titles.
Water Projects: Hoeven will meet with Environmental Protection Agency leadership to advance North Dakota water projects, including the Northwest Area Water Supply project and the Red River Valley Water Supply project. Hoeven met in July with Interior Secretary Kempthorne to press for funding for a water treatment option selected by the Bureau of Reclamation for the Northwest Area Water Supply Project. The option emerged from the process of drafting an environmental impact statement.
Hoeven is in Washington to push Interior and other cooperating agencies, including the U.S. State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, to help develop an action plan for funding and implementing the treatment element.
Transportation: Hoeven will meet with Deputy Transportation Secretary Thomas Barrett to discuss a federal variance exempting agriculture trucks from having rear-end bumpers, which interfere with the efficient transportation of harvested crops. The North Dakota legislature passed a bill in the last session to study the matter, but a federal waiver is necessary.
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