Box 2806 211 Ninth Street South Fargo, ND 58108

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Diversion Authority Disappointed with Judges Decision

(May 13, 2015) In an injunction dated May 13, 2015, John R. Tunheim, U.S. district
judge in Minneapolis, ordered work on the Oxbow-Hickson-Bakke Ring Levee Project to stop
until the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources completes its environmental review of the
FM Area Diversion Project.
"While we are still reviewing the decision with our legal counsel, we are extremely
disappointed with the news, and are concerned about what this means for the hundreds of
citizens who live within the levee footprint and who will now be back in limbo, said Darrell
Vanyo, Chairman of the Flood Diversion Board of Authority. We have and will continue to
work with the Minnesota DNR on its Environmental Impact Statement, and do everything in our
power to keep that on schedule.
The Oxbow-Hickson Bakke ring levee is designed to protect these communities from
existing flooding and to protect against water that would be stored upstream of Fargo-Moorhead
by the Diversion Project. Since construction began last year on the Project, residents lives and
real estate prices had stabilized, and the limbo state about their future had been removed.

About the Flood Diversion Authority (FMDA)

Box 2806 211 Ninth Street South Fargo, ND 58108

The Flood Diversion Authority was formed through a joint powers agreement between
the City of Fargo; the City of Moorhead; Cass County, North Dakota; Clay County, Minnesota;
the Joint Cass Water Resource District; and the Buffalo-Red River Watershed District. The
Authority board is made up of nine members representing these stakeholders. The purpose of the
Flood Diversion Authority is to build a flood diversion project to protect the approximately
200,000 residents of the greater metropolitan area. For more information, go to
www.fmdiversion.com