Court agrees to dismiss Okla. water rights cases 


OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld the dismissal of two lawsuits that sought authorization to transfer water from southeastern Oklahoma to rapidly growing communities in North Texas, rulings Gov. Mary Fallin called "yet another victory for the state of Oklahoma."

Each of the lawsuits asked federal courts to invalidate Oklahoma statutes that govern the appropriation and use of water within its boundaries that North Texas communities alleged posed burdens to interstate commerce. The suits also sought injunctions to prevent the Oklahoma Water Resources Board from enforcing them.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver unanimously affirmed a federal judge's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the Tarrant Regional Water District in 2007 against the board that sought access to surface and stream water in southeastern Oklahoma.

The panel ruled that the Red River Compact, which governs usage of water in the basin that includes Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, insulates Oklahoma water statutes from interstate commerce challenges involving surface water subject to the compact.

The water district, which serves Fort Worth, Texas, and nearby communities, had wanted to purchase more than 460,000 acre-feet of water — about 150 billion gallons — from Oklahoma tributaries of the Red River in far southern Oklahoma.

In a separate decision, a divided three-judge panel ordered a lower court to dismiss a second lawsuit against the board filed by the city of Hugo in far southeastern Oklahoma that sought legal authority to sell water to Irving, Texas. Hugo wanted to sell 200,000 acre-feet, or about 65 billion gallons, of water to Irving, located northwest of Dallas.

The panel's majority opinion said neither Hugo nor Irving, which intervened in the case, had legal standing to sue the board and that the lawsuit should be dismissed for lack of federal jurisdiction. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Scott M. Matheson Jr. of Utah said he believes both Hugo and Irving have legal standing and the case should go to trial.

Former Hugo city manager David Rawls, a member of the Hugo Water Committee, said the city may ask the appellate court for another hearing because the ruling was not unanimous.

James Oliver, general manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District, said in a statement the district wants to pursue a water purchase agreement with the state in spite of the unfavorable court rulings.

"We remain hopeful to sit down with Oklahoma officials to open a productive dialogue to seek an agreement beneficial to all parties," Oliver said. "The water flowing out of Oklahoma every day could bring investment capital to Oklahoma to create jobs and build a better Oklahoma-Texas region, which would be good for everyone's future."

Fallin said she also would prefer negotiating the water disputes outside of the courtroom.

"Given our choice, I think it's always better to be able to sit down and work these things out together, versus going into long, drawn-out litigation," she said.

But she said the state will defend itself against a federal lawsuit filed last month by the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations. The lawsuit seeks to prevent the water resources board from selling and exporting water from Sardis Lake, a reservoir in southeastern Oklahoma, to the Oklahoma City Water Utility Trust without first reaching agreements with the tribes.

"Water rights and water issues, water use, is certainly a huge concern, not only to the tribes but to all Oklahomans," Fallin said.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt said he was pleased with his office's successful defense of the state's water interests.

"The ruling underscores that the people of Oklahoma should not be mandated through litigation to shape water policy," Pruitt said in a statement.

The executive director of the water resources board, J.D. Strong, credited legislation approved in 2009 with strengthening Oklahoma's ability to control the use of its water. The measure said no out-of-state water permit can impair the state's ability to meet its obligations under interstate compacts.

The court rulings were also praised by state Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, an outspoken critic of out-of-state water sales. Ellis has urged state leaders to use southeastern Oklahoma's abundant water resources to create jobs in an area that consistently has the highest unemployment and lowest per capita income rates in the state.

"This has never been about thirsty Texans," Ellis said. "It's about industrial use down there. It's about drilling for oil and gas."

Ellis has been critical of water conservation practices in Texas, which is experiencing the most severe drought since the 1950s.

"They're watering the sidewalks down there. And they expect us to sacrifice," Ellis said. "That's wrong. Our job is to take care of Oklahomans first."