Premium
Railroad Liable in Syrup Spill
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1995.tb06444.x
Subject(s) - business , government (linguistics) , endangered species , wildlife , statute , clean water act , law , political science , water quality , ecology , philosophy , linguistics , habitat , biology
The United States entered into a long‐term water service contract with Wetlands Water District (WWD) in 1963. The United States agreed to construct the Central Valley Project (CVP), the largest federal water reclamation project, in part to furnish water to WWD. The contract limited the government's liability for water shortages caused by “errors in operation, drought, or any other causes.” Subsequently, Congress amended the CVP authorization statute to try to balance the demands for the use of CVP water including the requirements of fish and wildlife. One objective was to protect the winter‐run chinook salmon, which was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1993 (ESA). As a result, a Bureau of Reclamation reallocation reduced CVP water allotments to some agricultural contractors by 50 percent. The contractors sought to enforce the original allocation. The trial court ruled for the federal government.