(KXNET)— In continuing coverage, The Red River Valley Water Supply Project is set to take place and many are not happy.
Adrienne Oglesby has been following the story from all sides and has learned more.
We took a walk through Sykeston landowner Fred Richter’s land.
Growing soybeans, corn, and other crops have been his love for many years.
“I’ve farmed this since 1970 so this is my 52nd year of farming it, but I didn’t buy it till the early 90s. I have farmed this since 1970. It was my first crop here, so it’s part of me. We’ve done a lot of cleaning up. There were all kinds of stuff to clean up on this quarter, but it’s a highly productive quart of land,” Richter says.
Richter tells us though his land is extremely important to him, it’s just as important to others.
He says he rents part of his land to someone else.
“Actually this was the first piece of ground that I acquired to rent, so this was my big first start. The first thing I have to deal with is my renter: why should he have to put up with this too? I’m going to take the lowering of the land or less rent or something. I don’t expect him to pay for this after they go through. I will take a hit. There’s no doubt and it’s not going to be what they’re offering this is going to be year after year,” Richter says.
Richter’s concern, and other landowners who rent their property, is the possible loss of rental income.
He says renters should not have to deal with a pipe going through their land, and it should not be their problem as well.
He also has some fears. Richter said culverts need to stay open for natural drainage, and this project could affect this.
“Well, I’m afraid what it’s going to take to get it back to what this looks like today. It’s a 6-foot pipe in the ground buried 8 feet, if you ever worked in agriculture, they call them corn pits they dig down and see how far the roots go down it’s a part of agriculture, and I’m a little afraid that a corn pit across there isn’t going to look so pretty and I don’t think the crops are going to look so pretty. It’s all a toss-up. That’s what hurts me so much. Knowing that we’re locked into this,” Richter tells us.
If the pipe is laid through Richter’s land the tall, prospering crops you see today, will no longer be, and once the land is “restored,” the ongoing question is — will they ever be the same?
Earlier today, Senator John Hoeven came to meet with the BOR commissioner in North Dakota to discuss efforts to advance the Red River Valley water supply intake and other projects to get water to all those in need in North Dakota.
We followed the senator as he took a tour of the initial intake and through his other stops.
KX News was able to secure an exclusive interview with him answering many questions from our viewers.
Stay tuned tomorrow, where we will release that and more.
This is a developing story.