MINOT (AP) - Devils Lake officials say they're surprised that the Minot City Council is considering accepting garbage from their city, because they never made such a request.

"It's taken everybody on our council by complete surprise," Devils Lake Commission vice president Richard Johnson said. "The City Commission has never talked about this at our meetings. We don't have a subcommittee that talks about this, so there's been no proposal."

Dave Fix, sanitation director for Devils Lake, said he called the Minot Public Works Department about two months ago to informally ask about Minot's interest in taking Devils Lake's waste. Devils Lake currently uses a Grand Forks landfill that will close at the end of 2007.

"This was just an inquiry to see if this was a possibility," Fix said.

Minot public works director Alan Walter, who had spoken with Fix, said he understood from the conversation that Devils Lake was seriously looking for an option for its waste.

Walter said he told Fix that he would take the issue to the City Council and report the council's decision to him.