Metro Flood Diversion Authority

The Metro Flood Diversion Authority (MFDA) serves as the governing authority for the Congressionally authorized FM Area Diversion comprehensive project. The enormous flood mitigation infrastructure project addresses regular flooding of the Red River, which forms the border between North Dakota and Minnesota. It is the first P3 flood management project in North America, the first P3 civil works project with the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the first climate resiliency P3 transaction in the United States. As the governing body, the MFDA comprises multiple entities across city, state, and county lines. In an area often fraught with partisanship, the MFDA entities are showing that partnership is not only possible, but beneficial. To make the FM Area Diversion comprehensive project a reality, the MFDA and its member entities have collaborated with more than 50 organizations, tracked more than 2,000 permit conditions across 200 permits, worked on more than 180 utility adjustments, and have acquired nearly 800 of the roughly 1,200 property acquisitions needed. Fourteen pieces of federal legislation were involved in getting the project off the ground.