Also see - Devils Lake project : President’s Budget Cuts Many of Army Corps’ Most Wasteful and
Environmentally Damaging Projects, Feb. 4, 2003

August 13, 2002

Corps of Engineers delays release of Devils Lake outlet study
By DALE WETZEL Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D.

The Army Corps of Engineers will not release a final environmental study of the impact of a Devils Lake outlet until January, Gov. John Hoeven said Monday. The decision represents another snag in a project already plagued by slowdowns.

Hoeven said Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, the corps' top engineer, told him of the delay on Monday. The governor quoted Flowers as saying that when the study is finished, the U.S. State Department wants the International Joint Commission to examine the project.

The commission referees water disputes between the United States and Canada. It has three members from each nation. Getting the panel involved could delay outlet construction until 2004, Hoeven said.

"I'm disappointed and I'm upset, but I can't say I am particularly surprised," the governor said. "There have been continual delays on this project."

Canadian officials have opposed the outlet, fearing that Devils Lake water could pollute Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg when it moves north.

The project has also drawn opposition from Minnesota and some residents along the Sheyenne River in southeastern North Dakota. The river would carry lake water drained by the outlet.

Hoeven said the state may go ahead with construction of its own temporary outlet project.

"We've been getting easements and doing our preliminary design work," Hoeven said. "We need to press forward, because it just seems to be delay after delay with the corps, and the folks in Devils Lake need help."

The corps had been scheduled to release a final environmental impact statement on the project July 1. The statement is required before the corps may begin construction.

Members of North Dakota's congressional delegation said Flowers had assured them the final environmental study was coming out shortly. Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Rep. Earl Pomeroy issued statements late Monday condemning the delay.

"It's one more broken promise from the corps, and we're tired of it," Dorgan said. "It's long past time to move forward and build this outlet. The Army Corps needs to set a deadline and meet it for a change."

Conrad and Pomeroy said they were "extremely disappointed" by the news. "The people of Devils Lake cannot afford, and should not have to endure, any more stall tactics," Pomeroy said.

Corps spokesmen could not be reached immediately for comment late Monday.

Outlet supporters say the project is needed to relieve Devils Lake's flooding problems. The lake filled like a giant bathtub during the 1990s, rising more than 20 feet, flooding thousands of acres and causing millions of dollars' worth of damage.

An outlet would divert lake water into the Sheyenne, which flows into the Red River near Fargo. The Red River flows north into Manitoba.

Critics of the project say it will harm the water quality of the Sheyenne and Red rivers. It will draw such a small amount of water from Devils Lake that it is not worth the expense, they say.

Estimates of the outlet's cost range from $20 million to more than $100 million, depending on its route.

An opposition group, called People to Save the Sheyenne, has promised to sue to block the project if construction begins.