FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Supporters of a Red River diversion project say the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is inventing reasons to oppose a related upstream ring dike project.
A federal judge has halted construction of the levee south of Fargo until the DNR completes its environmental study of the diversion. The Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Authority is appealing the decision.
Lawyers for the diversion authority say in court documents that the DNR is not exercising its policies "in an evenhanded way." It says the agency's recent complaint about the width of the levee is a rationalization that does not affect Minnesota.
The authority's lawyers also deny accusations by diversion opponents that levee construction continued after the injunction. The authority says it is performing erosion control work on previously constructed portions of the dike.