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<DIV><BR><FONT face="Times New Roman"><BR></FONT><FONT
face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><B>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE</B></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana> <BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial><B>Press contact</B>: Michael Wall or Barry Nelson at NRDC in San
Francisco (415) 875-6100 or Daniel Hinerfeld at NRDC in Los Angeles (310)
434-2300<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial>U.S. SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY REJECTS AGRIBUSINESS ATTACK ON
ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS</FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana> <BR><BR></FONT><FONT
size=2><FONT face=Arial>Orff decision blocks extremist property-rights theory
from being used in water cases across the West</FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana>
<BR><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>LOS ANGELES (June 23, 2005)--The
U.S. Supreme Court today unanimously rejected a lawsuit over water rights
brought by California agribusinesses that threatened to undermine basic
environmental and public health protections. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered
the opinion of the court in "Orff v. United States." It is available online at:
http://wid.ap.org/scotus/pdf/03-1566P.ZO.pdf<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>"This is a huge win for
the environment of the western United States," said Barry Nelson, a senior
policy analyst at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), an
intervener-defendant in the case. "The court said unanimously that
agribusinesses cannot use their subsidized federal water contracts to block laws
that protect the public and the environment."<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>The Orff case was the most
recent effort by recipients of taxpayer-subsidized reclamation water to
challenge the federal government’s compliance with environmental requirements
under the Endangered Species Act and other laws. Several California landowners
sued the U.S. government claiming they should be paid when the U.S. Department
of the Interior (DOI) reduced water delivery to comply with environmental
protections. In 1993-94, after a six-year drought, the DOI reduced the amount of
water delivered to water districts south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to
protect threatened wildlife.<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>"The real winners here are
California’s endangered salmon and other threatened wildlife whose protection
depends on the environmental laws that were challenged in this case," said
Michael Rubin, an attorney at the law firm Altshuler, Berzon, which represented
NRDC and the other environmental groups in the case.<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>The case arose against the
backdrop of the water politics of the West, and the increasing effort by
agribusinesses and other private interests to use their alleged property rights
to block laws that protect the public. Appellate courts have consistently
rejected claims by federal water contractors that they have a contractual right
to a full allocation of water regardless of availability or the requirements of
other laws, according to NRDC. <BR></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>"These contracts say in
plain language that the government can reduce deliveries to comply with
environmental laws," said Michael Wall, a senior attorney at NRDC. "The need to
protect water quality and wildlife is an urgent issue around the West and
increasingly around the country."<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>The statute interpreted by
the court (the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982) applies to all 17 Western states
that have major federal water projects.<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>"This ruling blocks
attempts by massively subsidized agricultural interests to force the government
either to bankrupt itself or bankrupt the environment," said Hamilton Candee, a
senior attorney at NRDC. "This is a victory for the American taxpayer as well as
the environment."<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana><BR></FONT><FONT
size=2><FONT face=Arial>The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national,
nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists
dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC
has more than 1 million members and online activists nationwide, served from
offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San
Francisco.<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Verdana><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>