Richland/Wilkin Joint Powers v. Fargo-Moorhead Flood Diversion, No. 15-2123 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseThe Authority is in development of a diversion project on the Red River with the Corps. In this appeal, the Authority alleged that the district court made numerous errors in granting a preliminary injunction to JPA, prohibiting the Authority's continued construction of a ring levee in communities in North Dakota (OHB ring levee). The court concluded that the district court’s finding of fact that the OHB project is a part of the larger diversion project is not clearly erroneous and broadly supports the district court’s decision to grant the injunction; the district court found adequate procedural harm and harm to the JPA’s specific environmental interests sufficient to support a preliminary injunction; and the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the balance of harms favored an injunction. The court also concluded that the district court did not err in finding that the dormant Commerce Clause does not preclude JPA’s Minnesota Environmental Procedure Act (MEPA), Minn. R. 4410.3100, claim. Finally, the court concluded that it was permissible for the district court to waive the bond requirement based on its evaluation of public interest in this specific case. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Shepherd, Author, with Beam and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Environmental law. The district court did not err in granting a preliminary injunction to plaintiffs prohibiting defendant, the sponsor of a Red River diversion project,from continuing construction of a ring levee around the communities of Oxbow, Hickson and Bakke, North Dakota; the district court did not err in determining the ring levee was a component of a larger diversion project the planning and approval of which had not been completed; the court did not err in determining the dormant Commerce Clause did not prevent application of the Minnesota Environmental Protection Act as a portion of the larger project will take place inside Minnesota's borders; the district court did not abuse its discretion in waiving the requirement of a bond based on its characterization of the suit as public interest environmental litigation.
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