Lake Agassiz meeting pauses plan to transfer PPA drafting authority after dispute with Garrison Diversion

Lake Agassiz Water Authority members heard a technical and legal critique of the Red River Valley Water Supply Project's project participation agreement (PPA) and operating plan and briefly moved to authorize LAWA to take lead on drafting project agreements before rescinding that authorization amid objections from Garrison Diversion.

The LAWA board invited water-rights attorney Brian Nazarinas and engineer Shane Coors of Precision Water Resources Engineering to present an outside review of the PPA and the draft Operational Plan 2. Nazarinas told the board that LAWA members “should have control over the project after an agreed upon break point” and recommended that LAWA contract on behalf of members with Garrison Diversion for delivery of project water to that break point. He also urged water-supply contracts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for storage and release from Lake Ashtabula, and said an operational plan acceptable to LAWA members should be developed before final participation agreements are executed.

Why it matters: LAWA members and project participants will live with multi‑generational contracts and scarce water in dry years. Nazarinas and Coors told the board that unresolved…