Intake Water Company v. Yellowstone River Compact Commission
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
769 F.2d 568 (1985)
- Written by Curtis Parvin, JD
Facts
The states of Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota entered into a compact to control the usage of waters in the Yellowstone River Basin. The compact, enacted in each state as state law, received congressional approval. Under the compact, no water could be diverted from the basin without the unanimous consent of the three states. The compact created the Yellowstone River Compact Commission (the commission) (defendant) to oversee the compact. Intake Water Company (Intake) (plaintiff) sought to appropriate Yellowstone River water for use outside of the basin. Intake sued the commission in the United States District Court for the District of Montana, asserting that the states’ laws prohibiting water transfer outside of the basin were an unconstitutional infringement on interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. The commission filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a valid claim. The district court granted the motion, finding that once Congress approved the compact, it became federal law and therefore was not subject to Commerce Clause objections. Intake appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Anderson, J.)
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