Court action ends Canada-US legal battle over NAWS project

BISMARCK, N.D. – A 16-year legal battle between the U.S. and Canada over a $244 million Missouri River water project in North Dakota is over.

The two countries last week reached an agreement and asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to dismiss the case over the Northwest Area Water Supply project. The court did so Wednesday.

The NAWS project aims to bring Missouri River water to as many as 82,000 people in northwestern North Dakota. Manitoba sued in 2002 over concerns about the possible transfer of harmful bacteria or other agents to the Hudson Bay Basin.

The agreement gives Canada a say in water treatment and monitoring.

The state of Missouri is still fighting the project in court, fearing a depletion of river water it needs for drinking, farming and shipping.