Manitoba Loses Devils Lake Court Battle: War Not Over |
31 August 04 |
A North Dakota judge has rejected Manitoba's legal challenge to appeal a permit issued by North Dakota's Department of Health that will allow construction of the water outlet to drain water from Devils Lake into the Red River system. The Manitoba government, the Minnesota State government, and environmental groups from North Dakota and Minnesota maintain Devils Lake water will pollute the Red River by introducing foreign water, species and pollutants. Supporters of the outlet say it is necessary to ease chronic flooding from the lake, which has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Construction of the $28-million US outlet is already under way. State officials hope to have it complete by 2005. The province has filed a 60-day notice of intent to launch another type of legal action also under the federal U.S. Clean Water Act. Manitoba is lobbying to have the project reviewed by the International Joint Commission, a non-partisan body that resolves cross-border water disputes. The US federal government has stated that it doesn't support the state outlet, but has yet to agree to refer the matter to the IJC. View the CBC online news articles: National and Regional Download the August 24 Winnipeg Free Press article Sources: CBC news online, Winnipeg Free Press
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