DEVILS LAKE (AP) - Divers who examined the screen on the Devils Lake outlet filter say they found nothing out of order, and the screen about 12 feet below the surface of the water was in good shape.

"We searched from top to bottom of the pipes (connected with the screen) and the screen and found no holes or nothing," diver Steve Heilman, a member of the Lake Region Search and Rescue team, said after Friday night's dive.

State officials are trying to find out how adult minnows got into the open channel below the outlet's rock-and-gravel filter system. The filter is supposed to prevent the transfer of adult fish and other smaller organisms that Manitoba officials worry will pollute their water systems.

The outlet drains Devils Lake floodwater into the Sheyenne River and ultimately the north-flowing Red River.

Bill Delmore, a Mandan attorney representing the Manitoba government and other outlet opponents, e-mailed photos to state officials last week showing adult minnows in the open channel below the outlet.

Canadian officials say the minnows are a violation of the outlet permit granted by the North Dakota Department of Health, and they have demanded that outlet operations cease.

North Dakota officials have been skeptical that minnows could get through the filter, which would involve the fish going through an intake, a screen inside the intake, then pumps and a piping system. They are investigating, but have not stopped outlet flows.

Heilman said he and two other divers checked the pipes and the screen five times. The operation took about 30 minutes.

"Now, it's up to the Health Department to decide what to do next," said Bruce Engelhardt, a State Water Commission engineer.