U.S. District Court Judge John A. Tunheim last week placed a temporary injunction on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the FM Area Diversion Board of Authority, forcing all construction work on the FM Area Diversion Project to cease.
The injunction temporarily halts construction on the FM Area Diversion Project.
The court concluded that “ there is no question that communities along the Red River, particularly, need permanent flood protection .” The ruling also stated “T he Court strongly encourages all parties to work to agree on a flood protection project that can serve the interests of both states and the affected communities.”
“ This ruling delays the protection of every family, business, and home in our community ,” Fargo Mayor and Chair of the Board Tim Mahoney said. “ We will keep working hard toward establishing flood protection for the Fargo and Moorhead communities, hopefully we can do that in partnership with Minnesota.”
Following the ruling, the Diversion Authority announced that it will seek additional clarification from the District Court as outlined in the Judge’s order on flood protection construction efforts underway along the Red River through Fargo and in Oxbow.
New updates on the project will be posted on the fmdiversion website.