ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20034
No(s). 19-1498 (BAH) (D.D.C. Jan 31, 2020) (Howell, J.)

A district court dismissed a lawsuit challenging two protocol agreements entered into by Native American tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs that established procedures for enforcement of the tribes' water rights in the Upper Klamath Basin. A group of ranchers and landowners argued that the agreements unlawfully delegated federal power to the tribes, and sought to have the agreements vacated. The Bureau moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The court found that while members of the group had suffered hardships from curtailing irrigation, the two agreements were not the cause of those hardships. Further, it concluded that vacating such agreements would not prevent the tribes from enforcing their water rights. The court therefore dismissed the suit for lack of standing.