RECENT STATE DECISIONS

January 2010

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Nevada Court Overturns Approval for Southern Nevada Water Authority to Pump Groundwater from Three Rural Valleys
Carter-Griffin, Inc. v. Tracy Taylor, Nevada State Engineer

The Seventh Judicial District Court of Nevada has struck down the approval of key groundwater-rights applications filed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which is under increasing pressure to develop backup supplies for its limited Colorado River allocations. The judge called the approval (which would have allowed pumping of up to 6 billion gallons per year from three rural valleys in northern Nevada) “arbitrary” and “oppressive” because it was not based on evidence that the aquifers could endure that level of pumping. The opinion presents a significant roadblock to Southern Nevada Water Authority’s alternative water supply plans.