Judge to decide if work can resume on Fargo-Moorhead flood project

A federal judge said he'll decide shortly whether work may proceed on a controversial Red River flood diversion system in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

The $2.75 billion project would use a 30-mile channel and a dam to reroute part of the Red River around Fargo-Moorhead during floods.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ordered a halt to the project in 2017 amid a lawsuit by opponents, who claim it would shift too much floodwater to Minnesota.

After a court hearing in Minneapolis Monday, Cass County Commissioner Mary Scherling, who is also chair of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, said she is hopeful that Tunheim will lift or modify his injunction so the project can move ahead.

"We just want to get this done. It's frustrating for our taxpayers to sit there year after year trying to fight this flood," she said.

Jerry Van Korff — an attorney for the project's opponents — says Fargo could have its diversion system in place already if city officials had approved a smaller-scale plan the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed in 2010.

Van Korff said the earlier plan would have cost far less. He said Fargo officials want to use federal money to expand the city's footprint.

"I think people should come to their senses and realize that 50 years ago, we discovered that building in the flood plain is not a very good way of fixing flood problems," he said.

In late 2018, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued permits for a revised diversion project known as "Plan B." However, two small towns and a watershed board filed an appeal that puts the permits on hold.

The Diversion Authority wants the judge to drop the injunction, or allow work on the diversion if it meets all requirements of the state permit. The DNR supports revising the injunction, but in court filings says the agency does not support removing the injunction as long as permit appeals are active.