ST. PAUL  — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it’s moving ahead with a planned flood diversion project to protect the Fargo-Moorhead area, even though Minnesota denied a key permit for the project.

The Corps said in a statement Wednesday it anticipates awarding its first contract for the project this month. It’ll be for building a diversion inlet in North Dakota. No construction is planned in Minnesota until 2019.

The Corps said it’s committed to working with Minnesota to address its concerns and completing the project.

According to a press release, the St. Paul district commander, Col. Sam Calkins, said relying on emergency measures such as sandbagging, as Minnesota regulators advocate, is not a long-term solution. He says the potential loss of life and economic losses that would result if emergency measures fail are not acceptable.