GF seeks water permit from ND for pending project

Grand Forks leaders are readying an application to the North Dakota Water Commission to draw 6.6 million gallons of additional raw water from the Red River each day.

The request is expected to be submitted before the end of the year as part of the package to bring the Fufeng Group to the city.  The China-based company is looking to build a corn-milling facility in north Grand Forks.  City Administrator Todd Feland says the application will also ask the state for a 60% cost share for the needed infrastructure.  “The improvements as part of this project will be to add two pumps to our raw water intake.  At our water treatment plant we will build a pump station.”

The commission is expected to consider the application early in 2022.

Supporters say transportation will also be a key to the Grand Forks project – with an estimated 50 inbound rail cars and 180 outbound rail cars per week.  Over the road traffic counts project 877 inbound trucks and 403 outbound trucks per week.

When up and running the facility is expected to utilize 25 million bushels of corn and employ 233 direct and 525 indirect jobs.