The U.S. Justice Department and North Dakota will file briefs in federal court today in the ongoing lawsuit over the Northwest Area Water Supply project.

Meanwhile, the State Water Commission awarded a contract Thursday to bring NAWS water to Burlington.

Michelle Klose, NAWS project manager with the State Water Commission, said once briefs are filed, the Washington, D.C., judge in the lawsuit will decide whether to call for oral arguments before ruling on the case. The state still hopes to have a ruling before the end of the year, she said.

Manitoba sued over concerns about the transfer of organisms from the Missouri River Basin to the Souris River Basin as a result of the project, which would bring Missouri River water to Minot and area communities. In February, the state of Missouri joined the lawsuit, contending that an environmental assessment in December 2008 never considered alternatives to the water diversion project, nor how it would affect people in downstream states.

The Missouri lawsuit was filed against the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which are represented by the Justice Department. North Dakota is intervening to protect its interests. A group of environmental organizations and the government of Canada filed briefs to support Manitoba and Missouri.

NAWS continues to move forward with construction of pipelines to area communities, using water from Minot until Missouri River water becomes available. Kenmare should be getting water from its new pipeline by early December.

The water commission awarded a contract to connect Burlington and the West River Water & Sewer Districts to the NAWS pipeline that serves Berthold. The contract went to Steen Construction & Associates, Stanley, for $471,782. Construction would begin in the spring and finish before winter.

Construction on the high-service pump station and reservoir near the Minot Water Treatment Plant is scheduled for completion in early February, although Klose said the commission is reviewing the scope of work and could extend the deadline to March 1.

The contractor, John T. Jones Construction, Fargo, is seeking an extra $500,000 to cover work that it claims wasn't in the original contract. Houston Engineering, the engineers for NAWS, denied the claim. Negotiations have been ongoing since May. The water commission met in executive session Thursday to discuss a proposed settlement but reached no agreement.