The nation’s high court agrees to let Nebraska sue Colorado over water rights. On Monday, the Supreme Court granted Nebraska permission to file its complaint over the South Platte River Compact and the proposed Perkins County Canal.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers called it huge news, saying the state now gets the chance to vindicate its water rights before the nation’s highest court.
Colorado officials have argued the case is premature. Colorado’s governor and attorney general have said Colorado is complying with the compact and is not blocking Nebraska’s canal plans.
“The Supreme Court need not and should not take a case that would put the court and the parties on a long, time-intensive, and expensive path that might well, in the end, put the States right back where they were before Nebraska filed their proposed complaint,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said previously. “Even if the court decides to take up part or all of Nebraska’s case, I’m confident we will win on the merits. Both the facts and the law are on our side.”
In a post on social media, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen said “Nebraska is determined to preserve and protect every drop of water to which it is entitled under the Perkins County Canal Compact. Today’s order from the U.S. Supreme Court makes clear that Nebraskans will have a venue for these important claims.”
He thanked Attorney General Hilgers for carrying the case forward.
The dispute centers on whether Colorado’s water use and permitting posture threaten Nebraska’s rights to South Platte River water. Nebraska says the case is key to the state’s future water supply. Colorado says the facts and the law are on its side.
Nebraska water users have backed the state’s lawsuit.
“The compact is part of ensuring Nebraska’s rights are put together and perfected so that water is there for Nebraskans tomorrow,” Devin Brundage of Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District previously told KRVN and the Rural Radio Network.
“We stand to lose that water that was agreed to years ago, so it’s incredibly important,” Brundage said of Hilgers’ efforts to bring the case to the Supreme Court.
Brundage said the remedy is that Nebraska has the right to the right to capture winter flows by building the Perkins County Canal.
Colorado now has thirty days to answer as the case moves to the next phase.