Supreme Court sides with Oklahoma in water fight [View all]
Source: USA Today
Richard Wolf, USA TODAY 10:21 a.m. EDT June 13, 2013
WASHINGTON -- With water, water virtually everywhere, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that thirsty Texas counties can't run a pipeline into Oklahoma for more drops to drink.
The decision, which upholds two lower court rulings, is a victory for states' rights over multistate water compacts that are common throughout the West. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the opinion for a unanimous court.
On one side of the dispute was Texas, accused of trying to divert water from Oklahoma under terms of a four-state compact that entitled each state to up to 25% of the water from a segment of the Red River. On the other was Oklahoma, asserting that Texas can get the water from within its borders or elsewhere.
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The battle is critical for nearly 2 million residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth area who get water from the Tarrant Regional Water District. The fast-growing area needs far more water than it has; it warns that if it goes dry, other areas reliant on such compacts could as well.
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Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/13/supreme-court-water-texas-oklahoma-compacts/2382849/
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