Thursday, April 2, 2009

Swan Falls: A smashup averted

I include the following from the Ridenbaugh Press Northwest because I am acutely aware of Idaho Power's propensity to "suck dry the desert land. . ."

Swan Falls: A smashup averted
by Randy Stapilus under Idaho.

A few quick thoughts on the (week ago) Thursday announcement of an agreement between Idaho Power Company and various others, including the state of Idaho, about water rights linked to the Swan Falls Dam on the Snake River.

Swan Falls has a big place in Idaho water law, most critically because of the state Supreme Court decision from 1982 which said that Idaho Power had the rights to more water upstream of the dam (which is more or less south of Kuna) than almost anyone had previously suspected. That decision unleashed a couple of years of political and economic chaos until state and Idaho Power officials reached the agreement they more or less had to, which still gave Idaho Power the water it needed but didn’t suck dry the desert land east of Boise. . .

. . . Over the years, though, Idaho Power inevitably took renewed looks at the (Snake River Adjudication), and a couple of years ago challenged (in SRBA Court) some of its key terms.

The new agreement essentially puts that challenge to rest. . .