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Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District
v. United States, ___F.3d___, Case No. 98-101 (Fed. Cl. April 30,
2001).
The opinion's oft-cited conclusion is blunt and straightforward: "The
federal government is certainly free to preserve the fish; it must
simply pay for the water it takes to do so." Id.
at 324.
On April 30, 2001, the United States Court of Federal Claims ruled on
cross-motions for summary judgment between Plaintiffs, Tulare Lake
Basin Water Storage District et al., and Defendants, United States.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services' Restrictions on Water Outflows to
Protect the Delta Smelt and Chinook Salmon under the ESA Constitutes a
Fifth Amendment "Taking".
Plaintiffs claimed that the United States -- in clear and direct
violation of the Fifth Amendment -- had taken their contractual water
rights.
This "taking" occurred when the United States Fish &
Wildlife Service (USFWS) imposed restrictions on water outflows in
California's primary water distribution system to "protect"
the [listed] delta smelt and winter-run chinook salmon.
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