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<h1>Judge advances lawsuit over disputed rights to water in Oregon lake</h1>
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<p>A state court made Oregon tell a federal agency to stop
taking water from a freshwater lake, but the U.S. government says that
demand is preempted by federal law.</p>
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<a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/author/nick-iovino/" title="Posts by Nicholas Iovino" class="ydpd2b836f3author ydpd2b836f3url ydpd2b836f3fn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nicholas Iovino</a><span> / March 2, 2022</span> </div>
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<img src="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Sunrise-Place.jpg" data-src="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Sunrise-Place.jpg" class="" style="width: 100%; max-width: 800px;">
The view of Upper Klamath Lake from The Sunrise Place, as two bald eagles fly nearby. (Courthouse News photo / Karina Brown)
<p>SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — In the midst of a devastating Western
drought, a massive freshwater lake in Southern Oregon has become the
focal point of the latest battle in a long-running legal dispute over
water rights in the Pacific Northwest.</p>
<p>Farmers, ranchers, fishermen, tribes and a slew of government
agencies have been fighting in court for over two decades for rights to
obtain water from the Klamath Project, a massive system of dams, tunnels
and canals that irrigates 230,000 acres of agricultural land and
supplies water for four national wildlife refuges.</p>
<p>The most recent dispute erupted in April last year when the state of
Oregon issued an order directing the U.S. government to immediately stop
taking water from the Upper Klamath Lake to provide flows that help
ensure the survival of endangered coho salmon.</p>
<p>The state subsequently issued notices claiming that the Bureau of
Reclamation — a federal agency that manages the Klamath Project —
violated state law by taking “stored water” earmarked for farms, ranches
and others with existing water rights.</p>
<p>A Marion County Circuit Court judge had ordered Thomas Byler,
director of the Oregon Water Resources Department, to issue those
demands after the Klamath Irrigation District sued to halt the removal
of water from Oregon’s 96-square-mile lake.</p>
<p>In October, the Bureau filed a <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/klamath-USA-cross-claim.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cross-claim</a>
in a previously stayed federal lawsuit arguing the state's demands are
preempted by federal laws, which require water for endangered species
and tribal rights be prioritized over commercial interests.</p>
<p>In a virtual hearing on Oregon’s <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/klamath-USA-claim-dismiss-motion.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">motion to dismiss</a>
that claim Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William Orrick said he would
advance the federal government’s case despite Oregon’s insistence that
its directives are fully consistent with federal law.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to grant the motion to dismiss the government,” Orrick said.</p>
<p>Oregon Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeanne Nicole DeFever argued
the state's directives to the Bureau clearly provide enough leeway for
the agency to meet its obligations under federal law.</p>
<p>“The April 6 order and notices of violation say you can come forward
and say why you’re not complying with state law, and one of the reasons
openly stated in the order is 'you’re complying with federal law,'”
DeFever said.</p>
<p>DeFever argued the federal government’s claim hinges on a theoretical
situation — one in which the state of Oregon would enforce its orders
against the Bureau despite its past assurances that compliance with
other laws is a valid justification for disobeying the state’s demands.</p>
<p>“We have an attenuated hypothetical that there could be enforcement,”
DeFever said. “I do not think we have that concrete and certain kind of
injury.”</p>
<p>Noting that the state issued two notices of violation with an intent
to enforce, Orrick said he believes the controversy is more than merely
hypothetical. He signaled that the Bureau has good reason to seek relief
in federal court.</p>
<p>“That creates the well-founded fear,” Orrick said. “I think that issue is ripe.”</p>
<p>Turning to a separate <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/klamath-yurok-sup-complaint.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">supplemental complaint</a>
filed by the Yurok Tribe and two fishing industry groups, Orrick said
he was inclined to dismiss those claims because the federal government
seems to adequately represent the groups’ interests.</p>
<p>The state of Oregon says the groups’ supplemental complaint is
invalid because they failed to file an intent to sue 60 days in advance
as required by the Endangered Species Act.</p>
<p>Noting that her clients previously obtained an <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-sends-water-from-farmers-to-salmon/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">injunction</a>
requiring water flows to help save threatened salmon, Yurok Tribe
attorney Patti Goldman of Earthjustice argued her clients deserve a
chance to weigh in on this dispute, which could affect their tribal
rights and the survival of endangered fish.</p>
<p>“We want to be heard on these issues,” Goldman said.</p>
<p>The judge indicated that all stakeholders will get a chance to weigh
in, whether by filing briefs as intervenors or amici, a Latin term for
“friends” of the court.</p>
<p>“Your fundamental concern is being heard,” Orrick said. “There’s lots of ways to make that happen.”</p>
<p>The judge set an ambitious timetable for resolving the dispute,
requiring both sides to finish gathering evidence by early April and to
file motions for summary judgment by May 27.</p>
<p>Orrick previously <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-wont-divert-water-for-endangered-sucker-fish/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">denied </a>a
request by the Klamath Tribes for a court order to raise water levels
in the Upper Klamath Lake to help protect endangered sucker fish.</p>
<p>In 2020, the judge <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-refuses-to-divert-water-for-endangered-salmon-on-klamath-river/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="enhancr_card_7328945984">rejected</a>
another motion by the Yurok Tribe to require additional water flows for
threatened salmon, a request the Klamath Tribes opposed over concerns
that it would reduce low water levels in the Upper Klamath Lake and harm
sucker fish.</p><div><br></div><div id="ydp4e8f4b0cenhancr_card_7328945984" class="ydp4e8f4b0cyahoo-link-enhancr-card ydp4e8f4b0cymail-preserve-class ydp4e8f4b0cymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:YahooSans, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" data-url="https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-refuses-to-divert-water-for-endangered-salmon-on-klamath-river/" data-type="YENHANCER" data-size="MEDIUM" contenteditable="false"><a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-refuses-to-divert-water-for-endangered-salmon-on-klamath-river/" style="text-decoration-line: none !important; text-decoration-style: solid !important; text-decoration-color: currentcolor !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important;" class="ydp4e8f4b0cyahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-wrapper ydp4e8f4b0cyahoo-ignore-table" style="max-width:400px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard ydp4e8f4b0cyahoo-ignore-table" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-primary-image-cell" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; position: relative; border-radius: 2px 2px 0px 0px; min-height: 175px;" valign="top" height="175" bgcolor="#000000" background="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/_99ZMqeGg_qXi9JhIjRbYg--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/KlamathRiver.jpg.cf.jpg"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/_99ZMqeGg_qXi9JhIjRbYg--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/KlamathRiver.jpg.cf.jpg"/></v:rect><![endif]--><table class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-overlay-container-table ydp4e8f4b0cyahoo-ignore-table" style="width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-overlay-cell" style="background-color: transparent; border-radius: 2px 2px 0px 0px; min-height: 175px;" valign="top" bgcolor="transparent" background="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--><table class="ydp4e8f4b0cyahoo-ignore-table" style="width: 100%; min-height: 175px;" height="175" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top"></td><td class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top"><div class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-info ydp4e8f4b0cyahoo-ignore-table" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-size: auto; position: relative; z-index: 2; width: 100%; max-width: 400px; border-radius: 0px 0px 2px 2px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(224, 228, 233);" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:YahooSans, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0"><h2 class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-title" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-family: YahooSans, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 34, 40); max-width: 314px;">Judge Refuses to Divert Water for Endangered Salmon on Klamath River</h2><p class="ydp4e8f4b0ccard-description" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(151, 158, 168);">Despite claims the federal government is pushing threatened Coho salmon closer to the brink of extinction by cut...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>