Potlatch Corp. v. US
| Decision Date | 27 October 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 24547, No. 24548, No. 24558, No. 24546, No. 24557, No. 24559. |
| Citation | 12 P.3d 1260,134 Idaho 916 |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
| Parties | In re SRBA, Case No. 39576—Wilderness Reserved Claims, Consolidated Subcase No. 75-13605 and Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Claims, Consolidated Subcase No. 79-13597. POTLATCH CORPORATION, A & B Irrigation District, Burley Irrigation District, Twin Falls Canal Co., North Side Canal Co., Harrison Canal Co., Burgess Canal & Irrigation, Peoples Canal & Irrigation, Progressive Irrigation District, Enterprise Irrigation District, New Sweden Irrigation District, Snake River Valley Irrigation District, Idaho Irrigation District, Egin Bench Canal, Inc., North Fremont Canal Systems, Inc., State of Idaho, Dakota Mining Corporation, USMX, Inc., Dewey Mining Company, Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc., Hecla Mining Company, City of Salmon and City of Challis, Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent. |
Givens Pursley, LLP, Boise, for appellants Potlatch Corporation, Dakota Mining Corporation, USMX, Dewey Mining Company, and Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc. Jefferey C. Fereday argued.
Hon. Alan G. Lance, Attorney General, Boise, for appellant State of Idaho. Clive Strong, Deputy Attorney General, argued.
Root & Schindler, P.C., Denver, CO, for appellant Hecla Mining Company. Thomas Root argued.
Ling, Nielsen & Robinson, Rupert, for appellants A & B Irrigation District and Burley Irrigation District. Did not participate in oral argument.
Rolsholt, Robertson & Tucker, Twin Falls, for appellants Twin Falls Canal Company and North Side Canal Company. Did not participate in oral argument.
Rigby, Thatcher, Andrus, Rigby, Kam & Moeller, Chtd., Rexburg, for appellants Harrison Canal Company, Burgess Canal & Irrigation, Peoples Canal & Irrigation, Progressive Irrigation District, Enterprise Irrigation District, New Sweden Irrigation District, Snake River Valley Irrigation District, Idaho Irrigation District, Egin Bench Canal, Inc., and North Fremont Canal Systems, Inc. Did not participate in oral argument.
Beeman & Hofstetter, P.C., Boise; Mt. States Legal Foundation, Denver, CO, for appellants City of Salmon and City of Challis. Did not participate in oral argument.
Hon. Betty H. Richardson, United States Attorney, Boise; United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent. Sean H. Donahue, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, argued.
ON REHEARING
This is an appeal from a Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA) district court decision granting the United States federal reserved water rights to all unappropriated flows in the Frank Church River of No Return, Gospel-Hump, and Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Areas, and the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (HCNRA).
The United States Congress passed the Wilderness Act, Pub.L. No. 88-577, 78 Stat. 890 (codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 1131-1136), in 1964, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System to be composed of congressionally designated wilderness areas. Nearly four million acres within Idaho have been designated as wilderness under the system, including the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area, designated in 1964, the Gospel-Hump Wilderness Area, designated in 1978, and the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, designated in 1980. The Hells Canyon National Recreational Area was established in 1975 by the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Act, Pub.L. No. 94-199, 89 Stat. 1117 (1975) (codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 460gg(1)-(13)) (HCNRA Act).
The United States filed claims in 1996 for reserved water rights in the Frank Church River of No Return, the Selway-Bitterroot, and the Gospel Hump Wilderness Areas (Subcase No. 75-13605) based on the Wilderness Act.1 See 16 U.S.C. §§ 1131-1136. The United States also claimed all the unappropriated flows originating in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area based on the HCNRA Act (Subcase No. 79-13597).2 See 16 U.S.C. §§ 460gg (1)-(13). Additionally, the United States claimed reserved water rights in the Boise, Payette, Clearwater, Nez Perce, Sawtooth, and Salmon-Challis National Forests under the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act (MUSYA) (Subcase No. 63-25239). See 16 U.S.C. §§ 528-531.
The United States, the State of Idaho and other parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment in each of the subcases. The SRBA district court consolidated Subcase Nos. 75-13605 and 79-13597 along with Subcase No. 63-25239, and issued an order granting in part and denying in part the United States' motions for summary judgment. The SRBA district court ruled that the United States is not entitled to reserved water rights in Subcase No. 63-25239 based on the MUSYA. The decision was affirmed by this Court. United States v. City of Challis, 133 Idaho 525, 988 P.2d 1199 (1999). The SRBA district court held that the United States is entitled to an implied reserved water right to all unappropriated water within the Frank Church River of No Return, the Gospel-Hump, and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Areas based on the Wilderness Act. The SRBA district court's ruling was interpreted by this Court to include all naturally flowing water into the wilderness areas, which would invalidate subsequent appropriations of water granted under state law on water that would otherwise flow into the wilderness areas. Finally, the SRBA district court held that the HCNRA Act expressly reserved all unappropriated flows of water in tributaries to the Snake River originating within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
On rehearing the United States indicates that it does not claim water rights to the mainstem of the Salmon River under the Wilderness Act. However, the United States does make an express reservation of water claim to the mainstem of the Salmon River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. That claim addressed in Potlatch Corp. and Hecla Mining v. United States, 134 Idaho 912, 12 P.3d 1256 (2000). The State of Idaho, the City of Challis, the City of Salmon, Potlatch Corporation and a number of other objectors have appealed. This appeal and rehearing only concerns the claims of the United States pursuant to the Wilderness Act and the Hells Canyon National Recreational Area Act.
In an appeal from an order granting summary judgment, the Court applies the same standard of review as that used by the district court when originally ruling on the motion. Mitchell v. Bingham Mem'l Hosp., 130 Idaho 420, 422, 942 P.2d 544, 546 (1997). Summary judgment is appropriate where there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. The determination is to be based on the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any. Id. (quoting I.R.C.P. 56(c)). However, the Court will liberally construe the facts in favor of the party opposing the motion, together with all reasonable inferences from the evidence. Id.
THE WILDERNESS ACT DOES NOT CREATE IMPLIED WATER RIGHTS.
As outlined by this Court in United States v. City of Challis, 133 Idaho 525, 988 P.2d 1199 (1999), in order to determine whether there is a basis for a federal reserved water right the Court will assess (1) whether there has been a reservation of land, and, if so (2) whether the applicable acts of Congress contain an express reservation of water, and (3) if not, whether the applicable acts imply a reservation of water. Section 2(a) of the Wilderness Act sets forth the statement of policy which must be considered in this case:
SEC. 2. (a) In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. For this purpose there is hereby established a National Wilderness Preservation System to be composed of federally owned areas designated by Congress as `wilderness areas,' and these shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and for the gathering and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness; and no Federal lands shall be designated as `wilderness areas' except as provided for in this Act or by a subsequent Act.
In this case it is unnecessary to determine if there has been a reservation of land since other elements necessary for a reservation of water in the United States do not exist. The Wilderness Act does not expressly reserve water to fulfill any purpose of the Act. The question is whether federal water rights must be implied in the absence of an express reservation in the Act. The United States Supreme Court has discussed the question of reserved water rights in a variety of cases.
In Winters v. United States, 207 U.S. 564, 576, 577, 28 S.Ct. 207, 211, 212, 52 L.Ed. 340, 346, 347 (1908), the Supreme Court considered the effect of an agreement between the United States and various Indian tribes whereby the United States acquired considerable property previously held by the tribes. The Supreme Court was interpreting a negotiated agreement intended to provide habitable land for the tribes as they moved from a nomadic to a pastoral way of life. The Supreme Court determined that there was an implied right to water included in the agreement for the benefit of the land retained by the tribes. To hold otherwise would have meant the tribes gave up a lot...
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