A three-judge panel weighing whether to revive a lawsuit challenging a water rights settlement between Montana’s Crow Nation and the federal government appeared open Tuesday to arguments that the Obama administration may have unintentionally nullified the deal.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit panel heard arguments in the case that enters on the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010.
The settlement authorized nearly $500 million for the Crow Nation to develop and improve irrigation projects, as well as granting the tribe authority to develop hydropower facilities.
Plaintiffs, including eight members of the Crow Tribe and the nonprofit Apsáalooké Allottees Alliance, have sought to nullify the agreement, arguing that the settlement undercuts their senior water rights, diminishing the value of those claims while also putting their owners at risk of losing access to water during shortages.
