N.D. Cent. Code § 61-24.3-04
The extent and type of water treatment and the location of a water treatment plant or plants for the southwest pipeline project shall be determined by the commission, in accordance with law and as in the judgment of the commission the interests of the state and the water user entities of the southwest pipeline project are best served. In determining the location of the water treatment plant or plants, the commission may only consider alternatives that will provide treated water to all potential using entities at a cost not to exceed the cost of water from the single treatment facility originally provided for in the engineering preliminary design final report for the southwest pipeline project, state water commission project no. 1736, dated September 1982. Any existing water treatment facility that is to be used in the final pipeline design must be made available to the state in operable condition free of deferred maintenance costs and at a cost that does not exceed the actual depreciation, maintenance, and operation costs of that facility. A water treatment facility is in operable condition if, at the time it becomes part of the southwest pipeline project, it is meeting the needs of its current users. Capital improvements necessary for upgrading any existing water treatment facility to be used in the southwest pipeline project must be borne by the state water commission.
N.D.C.C. § 61-24.3-04