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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) ― North Dakota officials want to loosen restrictions on the operation of the outlet that moves water off Devils Lake, to slow the lake's rise and pump saltier water into the Sheyenne River, the agency's chief engineer says.

The state Water Commission endorsed the idea Friday, and approved spending $50,000 to explore whether it would be practical to increase the outlet channel's maximum flow from 100 cubic feet per second to 250 cfs.

The 14-mile outlet is intended to siphon Devils Lake floodwaters into the Sheyenne, which flows south through Valley City before turning east and north. The river joins the northward-flowing Red River north of Fargo.

Its operation has drawn opposition in southeastern North Dakota, Minnesota and the Canadian province of Manitoba, which fear Devils Lake water's high sulfate levels and the possibility that the water will transfer unfamiliar waterborne organisms.

An increase in the maximum flow would require a second intake for the existing outlet, probably near Minnewaukan, said Dale Frink, the Water Commission's top engineer. Frink said the new intake may require a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Gov. John Hoeven, the commission's chairman, said the steps are necessary to slow the rise of the lake and head off the possibility that its overflow could spill naturally into the Sheyenne River through the Tolna Coulee on the lake's east side.

"We've got to start moving more (water) out of the lake, not only so we protect people living in the basin, and the farmers ... but also to protect downstream interests," Hoeven said.

A state Health Department water discharge permit currently regulates how the outlet is run. The Water Commission voted unanimously on Friday to ask the agency to abolish the permit in favor of negotiating a separate agreement for running the outlet. Frink said eliminating the permit would give officials more flexibility.

Federal environmental rules no longer require the permit, said Dave Glatt, chief of the Health Department's environmental health section. "We'll take a look at this. It does make sense," Glatt said of the Water Commission's request.

An Environmental Protection Agency rule change last year said discharge permits similar to the one that governs the Devils Lake outlet are not needed for water transfers from one body of water to another, as long as the water is not changed during the transfer. The rule is being challenged in federal court.

In recent days, the Sheyenne River has had sulfate concentrations of about 340 milligrams per liter of water, said Todd Sando, an assistant state engineer. The Health Department permit allows the outlet to divert water into the Sheyenne if the flow does not increase its sulfate level by more than 15 percent above normal.

Frink said if the state permit were abolished, the Devils Lake outlet will be able to divert water into the Sheyenne as long as the water does not raise the river's sulfate levels above 450 milligrams per liter.

Bruce Engelhardt, an assistant Water Commission engineer, said sulfate levels are about 590 milligrams per liter in Devils Lake's west bay, from which the outlet draws its water. The EPA's sulfate guideline for drinking water is a maximum of 250 milligrams per liter.

Years of wet weather have caused the lake to triple in size since the early 1990s. It surpassed its modern-day record high of 1,449.2 feet on April 29, and it has continued to rise this spring, fed by rain and the melting of heavy winter snowfall.

On Friday, Devils Lake was measured at 1,450.44 feet. Frink said he expected the rising lake will flood 20,000 more acres of agricultural property. It has already flooded more than 140,000 acres.

"A lot of the land that is being flooded now, it's almost Red River Valley-quality land. It's some good land," Frink said. "Tensions are high."

The Devils Lake outlet began operating in August 2005, but it has pumped water only sporadically most of the time.

It began pumping this year on May 29, and has already moved more water in a week than it has since it first began operating, Sando said.

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