Byron Dorgan

I would like to thank you for your leadership as the Chairman of the Committee.

I'm really pleased to be here today in the State of Washington and here at this facility.

I want to take the opportunity to thank you, Senator Dorgan, for your steadfast leadership in obtaining passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act.

In North Dakota we've got 120 rigs drilling a new oil well every month and they never miss.

There hasn't been any consultation.

It has been a great gift to be able to do that and a remarkable privilege.

We intend to abide by the U.S./Canada Boundary Waters Treaty.

I think in the last 30 years that I have served in Congress, I have heard so much and so often about the issue of biota transfer, and its impact on Lake Winnipeg.

It seems to me that this project is a prisoner of a timeline that doesn't add up, at the moment.

The Senator laid out, very well, the possibility of getting the major features of this project done by 2017.

Was that part of the original plan; that the Federal Government would do 65 percent and the rest would be picked up by local, as opposed to, State funding?

I think that's generous of the city of Minot. Not only have you contributed a great deal of money to this, but you've also decided that you wanted to move water through your system to be able to benefit those smaller communities.

But, the point is, you treat it at one level as it's taken from the lake, and then treat it to drinking-water quality here in Minot, is that correct?

The greater likelihood is, if there's a shutoff of water at some point, here, the more communities you put on that system using Minot water, the more likely it is you're going to have problems, if this is going to take 6 or 8 more years.

Let's assume that today you had clearance, or we had clearance in this project of ours to go ahead and do that.

But, you know what, that cannot possibly be serious, in my judgment. With all due respect to the court system, the depletion issue is specious, as far as I'm concerned.

Eight years, it seems to me, should have been enough time for us to resolve the legal disputes.

So, then you respond to the comments, and when does the draft become final?

I have a number of questions.

We want to thank Senator Dorgan again for holding the Energy and Water Subcommittee hearing on August 11, 2010.

The funding we've been able to direct to the Garrison Diversion and NAWS has allowed us to make some exciting progress on the rural water supply in North Dakota.

I thought there was such promise and such optimism the discussions were taking place.

So originally, it wasn't planned to put State dollars in, but that's what it's been coming to.

Now, I am understanding the dilemma.

The question is the timing.