Opinion: Abatti and friends knock on the U.S. Supreme Court door
The dispute between Imperial Valley farmer Mike Abatti and the Imperial Irrigation District over water rights entered a new chapter last month. Mr. Abatti filed a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to review last year’s California appellate court’s ruling in the IID’s favor. Our local Imperial County Farm Bureau and the California Farm Bureau, along with some individual valley farmers, then filed amicus briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Mr. Abatti’s petition for review. Mr. Abatti and friends claim that last year’s California appellate court ruling has abrogated — cancelled — farmers’ long-held water rights.
-Written by Brian McNeece, a member of the International Boundary & Water Commission Colorado River Citizens Forum.