Validity of Fufeng petitions still under review

The Grand Forks council received an update on the Fufeng project last night (Monday) focusing on the environmental review process and traffic study to date.

It’s expected the corn milling plant will increase rail traffic by 63 cars per week and add another 1,800 trucks into the mix. Several road improvements are suggested to handle the additional traffic demand.

A citizen group has submitted petitions to try and stop the project. The city has a 20 day window to verify the City Attorney Dan Gaustad declined to speculate on the status of the petitions to date saying only that they are under review.

The timeline for the review could make it tight to get the measure on the June primary ballot.
City Administrator Todd Feland says they have also been in contact with the Grand Forks Air Force Base and the National Security Think Tank and so far no red flags have popped up about the China–based company being a security risk.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will get its first look at the project next week.