Finance committee approves agreements to protect cell tower site and limited nondisclosure for utility information

On Sept. 24, 2025, the Diversion Authority Finance Committee approved three memorandums and agreements related to utility facilities affected by diversion work. John Shockley, staff member, explained that rather than relocating an existing AP Wireless tower inside the protected area, the authority will build an embankment around the tower and maintain existing carriers on the structure to save time and cost. A second agreement is a joint-defense agreement under which the authority and Cass County Joint Water Resource District would jointly defend AP Wireless if easement-related litigation arises from eminent-domain proceedings. The third agreement is a nondisclosure agreement with utility company Scenics to protect sensitive location information for facilities that cross under the Cheyenne River; Shockley emphasized the NDA is expressly subject to North Dakota’s open records law and that exemptions asserted by the utility will be applied only where the law permits. Commissioner Pippkorn moved to approve the three documents and Mr. Redlinger seconded; the committee approved them by roll call. Staff said there is no direct cost associated with the joint-defense agreement at present.