Thread by @ByIanJames

A federal judge dismissed portions of a water lawsuit by the Agua Caliente tribe, ruling against its attempt to quantify its rights to groundwater. desertsun.com/story/news/env… @EvanWyloge

This decision comes after an earlier court ruling that the tribe holds groundwater rights dating back to the creation of its reservation in the 1870s.

That ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stands. But the federal judge ruled this time that the tribe “does not have standing to pursue its quantification and quality claims.”

The judge said in the ruling that the tribe “must provide evidence of injury to its ability to use sufficient water to fulfill the purposes of the reservation.”

Another key point from the ruling: ‘The Court finds that an overdraft condition—whether currently or cumulatively over many years—is not enough to satisfy the Tribe’s burden to provide evidence of injury related to its quantification claim.” #CAwater

So, under the judge’s decision, the tribe’s ability to get groundwater rights quantified hinges on its ability to show harm: “the Tribe has not provided any evidence of actual or imminent injury such that it has standing for this Court to
adjudicate its quantification claim.”

.@AguaCalienteNDN could decide to appeal. Here’s what the tribe said: “The Court’s latest ruling does not change that Agua Caliente has senior federally reserved rights to groundwater in the Coachella Valley. The Tribe is reviewing and considering its options...” @EvanWyloge