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Foster County board waives counsel conflict and approves subsurface water permit for Zink with conditions
Summary
At its Feb. 11 meeting, the Foster County Water Resource Board waived a conflict-of-interest for its legal counsel, Rinke Noonan, and approved Subsurface Water Management System Permit No. 2026-0001 for Doug Zink, imposing erosion-control and restoration conditions and requiring amendments for outlet changes.
The Foster County Water Resource Board on Feb. 11 waived a conflict-of-interest for its legal counsel, Rinke Noonan, and approved Subsurface Water Management System Permit No. 2026-0001 for permittee Doug Zink with conditions.
Chairman Brent Bachmeier presided at the meeting in the Foster County Courthouse in Carrington. Board member Alex Stedman moved to approve the permit; Ronn Stangeland seconded, and the motion carried with all members present voting in favor.
The board approved the permit with three conditions: that proper erosion control be installed and maintained at all outlets; that disturbed areas be restored to previous conditions; and that the permittee must obtain an amendment to the permit if outlet locations change, new outlets are added, or improvements result in drainage of additional acres. The board directed its counsel, Rinke Noonan, to send the notice of decision to the North Dakota Department of Water Resources (DWR) and to Doug Zink.
Earlier in the meeting, Rinke Noonan presented a letter explaining why the firm sought a waiver to represent the board on matters adverse to Zink Real Estate Limited Partnership. Board members voted unanimously to waive the conflict and Chairman Bachmeier signed the waiver.
Attorney Kale Van Bruggen and Engineer Jennifer Malloy participated via Microsoft Teams. Malloy had earlier noted a separate discrepancy in a Stream Crossing determination letter and said she had contacted the state to verify findings; the board put sending letters to townships on hold pending the state's response.
The board did not record individual roll-call vote tallies beyond noting the motion carried unanimously. The board adjourned at 7:30 a.m. and set its next meeting for March 11, 2026.
