ND Attorney Gen. Asks Judge To Reconsider Diversion Project Order
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has asked a federal judge to reconsider the order issued earlier this month halting construction of a Red River diversion project.
Stenehjem says that differences between the states of Minnesota and North Dakota over the construction project should be settled between officials, rather than by a lawsuit filed by a group of diversion opponents living south of Fargo-Moorhead.
The levee would protect structures in the Oxbow, Hickson and Bakke areas where floodwaters would be staged when the diversion channel is needed. Judge John Tunheim earlier this month ordered the delay until an environmental study on the diversion is complete.
Stenehjem says North Dakota should not be deprived of the right to determine the appropriate balance of protection for its citizens and the environment.
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