9th Circuit orders U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reevaluate Fort Huachuca water use

By Greg Hahne
Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
Published: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 - 2:22pm
Updated: Thursday, December 7, 2023 - 11:03am
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The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to revisit its conclusion that Fort Huachuca was adequately resupplying water it was drawing.

The court ruled the service incorrectly accepted arguments that the Army installation should get credit for conservation easement for no longer drawing San Pedro River Basin Water for a farm.

Robin Silver is a founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that filed the suit.

"That changed their water budget, the annual groundwater budget, from a deficit to a surplus, instantly, even though nothing happened," Silver said.

The ruling orders the federal agency to reevaluate its water analysis and issue a new biological opinion from Fort Huachuca’s impact. 

Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services joined The Show to talk more about the ruling and what impacts it could have.

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