Blog: Ninth Circuit restricts irrigators’ rights to seek judicial review of Klamath Project operational decisions
On September 8, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) issued its decision in Klamath Irrigation District et al. v. United States et al., Case No. 20-36009, affirming the United States District Court for the District of Oregon’s dismissal of two actions filed by various Klamath Project (Project) irrigation parties challenging United States Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) operating procedures for the Project. In April 2019, Project irrigation parties, including the Klamath Irrigation District (KID) and a group that included the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) and several Project districts and individual farmers filed two complaints challenging Reclamation’s 2019-2024 operating plans or procedures for the Project in the District Court.