The Klamath Irrigation District has filed a motion asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to certify two crucial questions to the Oregon Supreme Court regarding water rights and federal authority, following an earlier ruling in California federal court. The case centers on determining the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s power to control and use water under Oregon state law.
The dispute originated from a 2021 Oregon Water Resources Department order that restricted the Bureau of Reclamation from releasing stored water from Upper Klamath Lake for any purpose except irrigation. The Bureau’s Link River Dam, constructed in the early 1900s, manages water storage for the federal Klamath Project, which serves approximately 230,000 acres of agricultural land spanning southern Oregon and northern California.
The U.S. government, joined by the Yurok Tribe and fishing industry groups, challenged the Oregon order in California federal court. They argued that the order should be preempted under the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause due to conflicts with the Endangered Species Act. U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick agreed, ruling in February 2023 that the Oregon department’s order was barred by the ESA, citing potential harm to downstream coho salmon populations and the Southern Resident killer whales that feed on them.
