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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=headline11><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT face=Arial size=2><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns
= "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT size=2><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=033390317-23022005>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><STRONG><FONT face=Arial
size=2>The California State Water Resources Control Board, in Decision 1641
(Bay-Delta Hearings Phases 1-7) found that water contractors such as Westlands
(and all CVP,SWP and other contractors) are not "legal users of water" under
Section 1701 of the California Water Code because they don't actually hold a
water right. Therefore, a CVP water contract is not a property right, it's
simply a contract to deliver water.</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><STRONG><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></STRONG></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><STRONG><FONT face=Arial
size=2>The Trinity County Board of Supervisors and the Hoopa Tribal Council have
also sent comment letters to the Bureau of Reclamation requesting specific
long-term water contract language identifying that water from the Trinity River
has a priority right for use in the Trinity River basin so that there can be an
end to these takings cases as it relates to use of Trinity River water.
Reclamation has not responded to the request and apparently intends to renew
these long-term water contracts without specific language to protect Tribal
Trust and County of Origin water rights that are already embedded in federal and
State laws, decisions and orders. </FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial
size=2><STRONG>I can provide more information upon
request.</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial
size=2><STRONG></STRONG></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial
size=2><STRONG>Tom Stokely</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial
size=2><STRONG>Principal Planner</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial
size=2><STRONG>Trinity County Planning/Natural
Resources</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial
size=2><STRONG>530-628-5949</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=headline11><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT face=Arial size=2><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT size=2><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=033390317-23022005><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=headline11><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT face=Arial size=2><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT size=2><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=033390317-23022005><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=headline11><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT face=Arial size=2><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT size=2><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=033390317-23022005><STRONG>WATER RIGHTS
DISPUTE:</STRONG></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=headline11><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><SPAN
class=438555816-23022005><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG><st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">California</SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:State><SPAN
class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
farmers ask high court to help them get paid for water<?xml:namespace prefix = o
ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<DIV>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><st1:City w:st="on"><SPAN
class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Chico</SPAN></SPAN></st1:City><SPAN
class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Enterprise</st1:place></st1:City>
Record<SPAN class=033390317-23022005> -
2/23/05</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><SPAN class=articleheadline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=033390317-23022005>By Erica Werner,
AP</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P></DIV></FONT></SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN><o:p></o:p>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Supreme Court justices waded into the West's contentious
water wars Wednesday, hearing arguments from Central Valley farmers who want the
government to pay them for water they say they were due but never received.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">The government said the water had to be diverted to
protect two threatened fish. Government lawyers also said the farmers don't have
standing to sue the Bureau of Reclamation directly, because water districts, not
individual land owners, negotiate government water deals.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"The water doesn't belong to any one landowner or group
of landowners, it belongs to the whole," said government attorney Jeffrey P.
Minear. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"It would be very disruptive to the system if a minority
of farmers in the district were able to bring a suit," Minear said.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">But the farmers' attorney, William M. Smiland, told the
court his clients should have the right to try to recoup their loss.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"My clients have suffered massive losses, they've been
litigating these claims for 25 years," Smiland said. "We think we should have a
forum and a remedy and a right to our day in court."
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Justices sounded skeptical of Smiland's arguments.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"The whole point of the district was to make it easier
for the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> to know with whom it was
dealing," said Justice Anthony Kennedy. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Justice Stephen Breyer compared the farmers to children
trying to sue to enforce a contract entered into by their parents.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"I might buy a house with the idea of helping my child.
... That doesn't mean he can enforce the contract," Breyer said.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">At issue is a water service contract between the federal
agency responsible for managing water in the West, and Westlands Water District,
which encompasses 600,000 acres of farmland in western <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Fresno</st1:place></st1:City> and Kings counties.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">In 1993 the Bureau of Reclamation announced it was
reducing Westlands' water allocation by half because of federal requirements to
protect the threatened winter-run Chinook salmon and delta smelt. Westlands and
some farmers in the water district sued. After negotiations Westlands dropped
its suit, but some two dozen individual farmers and property owners continued to
pursue the matter. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Wednesday's arguments focused on the relatively narrow
question of whether the farmers had the right to sue at all. If the Supreme
Court reverses lower courts and says they do, it could open the door for
hundreds of individual farmers to take on the Bureau of Reclamation.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">But environmentalists and water experts were also
watching the case because it touches on a bigger issue: whether the government
must compensate property owners for irrigation water diverted for environmental
purposes. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">The Endangered Species Act requires water to be used to
protect species in some circumstances where food-growers also claim it, and
traditionally no compensation has been given. Changing that could undermine the
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Endangered Species Act by making it too expensive to
uphold, environmentalists say. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">But conservatives and property rights supporters are
increasingly arguing that such diversions of water must be regarded as a
government "taking" of private property like any other, and compensation must be
made. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">That view got encouragement when the Bush administration
spent $16.7 million in December to settle a lawsuit by four <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State> water
districts over water diverted a decade ago to help the winter-run Chinook salmon
and the delta smelt. Environmentalists had hoped the government would appeal a
ruling in favor of the water districts rather than settle.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">The case is Orff et al v. <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United States of
America</st1:country-region></st1:place>, 03-1566. <SPAN
class=438555816-23022005>#</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><A
href="http://www.chicoer.com/Stories/0,1413,135%7E29409%7E2728167,00.html">http://www.chicoer.com/Stories/0,1413,135%257E29409%257E2728167,00.html</A></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><SPAN class=headline1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><SPAN class=headline1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Farmers
claim land rights in water fight against fish</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
class=dateline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=dateline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><STRONG>Contra
Costa Times – 2/23/05<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=byline1><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">By
Dean E. Murphy</SPAN></B></SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">,
<SPAN class=creditline1><SPAN
style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-font-size: 14.0pt">New
York Times Staff writer</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=dateline><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></B></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><SPAN
class=dateline><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">SAN
FRANCISCO</SPAN></SPAN></st1:City></st1:place><SPAN
class=dateline-separator><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> -
</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black">In a series of
lawsuits, including one to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court today,
farmers and water districts are pushing property-rights claims to the forefront
of the debate over how to divvy up water among farms, cities and the
environment.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT face="Times New Roman">In
doing so, they are demanding compensation from the government for irrigation
water diverted for environmental purposes, calling into question rules in the
Endangered Species Act that favor the protection of fish over the growing of
food when water is in short supply.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT face="Times New Roman">It
is an approach that has won sympathy from the Bush administration, which in
December agreed to pay $16.7 million to farmers in <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tulare</st1:place></st1:City> and Kern counties
in one lawsuit to compensate for reduced water supplies. But the claims have
alarmed <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State> officials and many conservation
groups, who fear that demands for payment for lost water could spread to other
Western states and undermine protections for
wildlife.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"This is hugely important, a growing storm cloud over the
American West," said Richard M. Frank, <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>'s chief deputy attorney general,
who oversees water litigation and who opposes paying farmers for water diverted
to endangered fish. "We will be seeing a lot more of these kinds of claims
brought not only against the federal government, but state
governments."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">William S. Smiland, a <st1:City w:st="on">Los
Angeles</st1:City> lawyer representing the farmers in the Supreme Court case,
Francis A. Orff v. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region>, said they and farmers in the other
lawsuits long had gotten the short end of the stick and were only demanding
their due.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"Nobody really cares about them," Smiland said. "I don't
mean to be melodramatic, but they have no political clout. So this is law
against politics."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT face="Times New Roman">In
the early 1990s, many farmers in the <st1:place w:st="on">Central
Valley</st1:place> had their irrigation water halved by federal officials
because of severe drought. Flows that normally would have gone to crops were
left in rivers for salmon and other fish struggling to
survive.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT face="Times New Roman">The
water shortage took a financial toll on the farmers, whose fields extend across
an arid ancient seabed that is the country's most productive farmland owing to a
system of dams and canals that brings snowmelt from distant
mountains.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Some
of the farmers, including Orff of Fresno County, sued the federal government for
damages. The case has undergone changes over the years, and today the Supreme
Court will consider only a narrow contract issue that focuses on whether
farmers, rather than their irrigation districts, have legal standing to sue the
federal government.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT face="Times New Roman">But
the reverberations of the case are considered much broader because a victory for
the farmers could open the door to many more
lawsuits.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Environmentalists and some state officials worry that
hard-won federal protections for endangered species could be weakened. They fear
that the government will not make use of protections included in the Endangered
Species Act because courts could make the protections too expensive by forcing
the government to pay costly damages.<SPAN class=438555816-23022005> #
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=ti size=4><A
href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/science/10969581.htm">http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/science/10969581.htm</A></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></SPAN><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=5>
<P class=sl-headline style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><STRONG><SPAN
class=488480217-24022005>WATER RIGHT
DISPUTE:</SPAN></STRONG></SPAN></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=sl-headline style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><STRONG>Valley
farmers go before high court; Their bid to sue feds over undelivered water meets
with supreme skepticism<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=sl-headline style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Fresno</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
Bee – 2/24/05<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P class=sl-byline style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><STRONG>By
Michael Doyle, staff writer<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">WASHINGTON
— Some San Joaquin Valley farmers had a tough row to hoe Wednesday as Supreme
Court justices showed skepticism over the farmers' bid to sue the federal
government. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
roughly two dozen Westlands Water District farmers and farming partnerships want
money for undelivered irrigation water. It could add up to millions of dollars.
But because the district already had settled its own suit against the
government, the farmers first require a judicial green light in order to sue on
their own. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The result
could be a legal and administrative mess, some justices suggested.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"The whole
point of the districts is to make it easier for the government to deal with the
farmers," Justice Anthony Kennedy said, cautioning that allowing individual
lawsuits would "undermine efficiency." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Justice
John Paul Stevens likewise noted that "the government probably thought it would
be efficient for the district to represent all the farms," rather than allow
dissident farmers to challenge the government in court. Westlands' managers
agree, though they've often fought the federal government on other fronts.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"How in
the world are we going to be able to administer a water contract if at any given
time, a [single] landowner is able to go into court?" <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Sacramento-based
attorney Stuart Somach asked on Westlands' behalf during the hourlong oral
argument Wednesday. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">But the
individual farmers maintain that having lost both water and money, they deserve
a chance to seek compensation. By one estimate, about $32million could be on the
table for Francis Orff and the other farmers. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"The
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region></st1:place> breached the [irrigation] contract. The
<st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> cut the water
and doubled the charge," said William Smiland, the <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:City> attorney for
Orff and the other farmers. "My clients have suffered massive losses. We should
have a forum, a remedy and our day in court." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Now in his
80s, Orff began farming about 800 acres in the Westlands Water District
following World War II. Like others in the 600,000-acre Wetlands district, he
was unhappy when the federal government began cutting irrigation deliveries to
preserve endangered species. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Under the
1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act, more than 1 million acre-feet of
water was diverted away from farms and into environmental protection. Westlands
and other water districts sued, adding their lawsuit to the long string of legal
challenges that have dogged Western water decisions. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">In 1995,
Westlands dropped its lawsuit as part of the newly adopted Cal-Fed program
emphasizing state-and-federal collaboration on solving water problems. Orff and
his allies, who represent a small fraction of the entire Westlands district,
chose to press on. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We would
have hoped the district would keep going," Smiland said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Although
the federal government is customarily immune from lawsuits, the 1982 Reclamation
Reform Act permitted some suits over water contracts. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The legal
question facing the court Wednesday was whether the individual farmers can be
considered "intended third-party beneficiaries" of the Westlands water contract,
and thus eligible to sue through the waiver of sovereign immunity granted under
the 1982 law. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We don't
give a broad construction to waivers of sovereign immunity," Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor cautioned. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Associate
Solicitor General Jeffrey Minear, representing the Bush administration, likewise
added that the water contract was "rendered to Westlands" rather than individual
farmers, and that it was Westlands that had "the authority to act on behalf of
all of its members." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The one
justice who sounded sympathetic to the farmers' position was Justice Antonin
Scalia. Other justices wondered why the case wasn't simply brought in the U.S.
Court of Federal Claims, where judges have previously issued million-dollar
awards to aggrieved farmers. <SPAN
class=488480217-24022005>#</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://www.fresnobee.com/business/v-sl-opinion-stories/story/10019238p-10851472c.html">http://www.fresnobee.com/business/v-sl-opinion-stories/story/10019238p-10851472c.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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