Federal Court Allows Conservancy District Suit Against The United States And Municipality To Go Forward

摘要

The United States District Court recently issued an important standing decision in the ongoing battle between the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District (LAVWCD) and the US Bureau of Reclamation in Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District v. U.S. and City of Aurora, 578 F. Supp.2d 1315 (D. Colo. 2008). The United States, through the Bureau of Reclamation, planned, surveyed, and constructed the Fry-Ark Project. The Fry-Ark Project is a transmountain diversion project authorized by Congress for the purpose of diverting water from the Frying Pan River and other tributaries on the west side of the Continental Divide for use in the water-short Arkansas River basin on the east side of the Continental Divide. The Fry-Ark Project includes five dams and reservoirs, only one of which is on the western slope. Pueblo Dam and Reservoir, the largest Fry-Ark Project facility, is the furthest point downstream on the eastern slope.