FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Authority to halt construction on a ring levee south of Fargo until an environmental review is completed.
Opponents of the planned $2 billion Red River diversion filed a lawsuit against the dike project, which is meant to protect structures in the Oxbow, Hickson and Bakke areas that would be flooded by a staging area in times of high water.
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim of Minnesota says in a ruling released Wednesday that the law requires all federal and state environmental reviews be completed before construction.
Tunheim says the delay may result in higher construction costs and uncertainty for homeowners in the area, but that the environmental studies should be completed soon and the delay "need not be a lengthy one."