Associated Press Writer

By BLAKE NICHOLBy BLAKE NICHOLSON

Commissioners in at least three of the nine counties in the Devils Lake basin have voted against taking part in a proposed clean-out of the Tolna Coulee, possibly putting the flood-control project in jeopardy.

Mike Connor, manager for the Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board, said some of the three counties might be open to reconsidering if all of the counties agree to help fund the project.

However, the Walsh County Commission this week refused to change its mind, Chairman Jack Karas said.

The coulee could act as a natural spillway for moving more floodwater in the Devils Lake and Stump Lake areas into the Sheyenne River. The water ultimately would end up in Canada, which has objected to Devils Lake floodwater diversion projects because of worries about unwanted water species.

Karas said some counties are worried that the Tolna Coulee project could prompt a Canadian lawsuit.

"Liability is a big thing," he said. "In my book, if you buy land you own land. What are nine counties going to do standing up to Canada?"

Connor said the first phase of the proposed project, which involves acquiring the needed land, is contingent on all nine counties taking part. If some do not, "Phase One would become a dead issue," he said.

In addition to Walsh County, Benson and Rolette also have declined to take part. Based on the amount of territory each of the nine counties has in the basin, those three counties would be responsible for 27 percent of the estimated $290,000 cost of acquiring needed land, according to data from Connor.

He said counties that have agreed to take part are Cavalier, Nelson, Pierce, Ramsey and Towner.

Eddy County Auditor Darlene Haugen said Wednesday that commissioners there have not made a final decision on whether to participate. That county would be responsible for less than half a percent of the total cost.

Karas said cost is another worry, because it would have to be assessed to people whose land drains into the basin.

The State Water Commission is not participating in the proposed project because it deems it "maintenance," which is a local responsibility, said Todd Sando, an assistant state engineer. He said if the project involved anything more than removing sediment that has been naturally deposited, the Devils Lake water board would need a state permit.

The Water Commission also does not want to be involved in a release of water from the east end of Devils Lake, where the water quality is not as good.

In January, commissioners from the nine counties took an unbinding straw poll and unanimously agreed to proceed with the land purchase. Connor said Wednesday that the proposed clean-out project still is not dead.

He said it will be discussed "at length" at the water board's June 14 meeting, and again on June 22 when the board meets with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials to discuss to what level the coulee could be cleaned out.

"I don't see the joint board pulling this off the table until after the June 22 meeting," Connor said.