04/22/08 Judge says Swan Falls agreement is valid

It's a case that dates back to the 1970's and a new chapter has just been written. An Idaho judge says the Swan Falls Water Agreement of 1984 is valid and he rejected Idaho Power Company's call to have it rescinded. Judge John Melanson said Idaho Power relinquished some of its water rights to the state under the agreement worked out in the mid-80's. Melanson didn't buy Idaho Power's argument that it's had to pay higher costs for hydroelectricity because the state of Idaho underestimated how much water was available in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. The Twin Falls judge said it didn't matter how much water was available, Idaho Power transferred its rights in 1984. Idaho law protects farmers' rights to water use under the doctrine based on the date of that right. Former state senator Laird Noh told a Twin Falls newspaper that this was "a very important case; most people didn't even know this suit was going on." Noh chaired the Senate Resources Committee which kept detailed records of the Swan Falls water trust agreement, its definition and state's ability to control it. Noh said the Idaho Power lawsuit did pose a threat to the Swan Falls agreement and to other solutions that have to be made in other parts of the state. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott