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Cappaert v. United States

Supreme Court of the United States
426 U.S. 128, 48 L. Ed. 2d 523, 1976 U.S. LEXIS 128 (1976)
ELI5:

Rule of Law:

When the federal government withdraws land from the public domain and reserves it for a federal purpose, it implicitly reserves unappropriated water, including hydrologically connected groundwater, to the extent needed to accomplish the purpose of the reservation. This federal water right vests on the date of the reservation and is superior to the rights of subsequent appropriators.


Facts:

  • Devil's Hole is a deep limestone cavern on federal land in Nevada containing an underground pool which is the sole natural habitat of the Devil's Hole pupfish.
  • In 1952, President Truman issued a proclamation designating a 40-acre tract including Devil's Hole as a national monument to preserve the pool and its unique fish, which were deemed of outstanding scientific importance.
  • The Cappaerts own a 12,000-acre ranch near Devil's Hole.
  • In 1968, the Cappaerts began pumping groundwater from wells on their property, located approximately 2.5 miles from Devil's Hole.
  • The Cappaerts' wells and the Devil's Hole pool draw water from the same underground aquifer.
  • Following the commencement of the Cappaerts' pumping, the water level in Devil's Hole began to drop significantly.
  • The declining water level exposed a crucial rock shelf in the pool, which decreased the spawning area for the Devil's Hole pupfish and threatened the species with extinction.

Procedural Posture:

  • In 1970, the Cappaerts applied to the Nevada State Engineer for permits to change the use of water from their wells.
  • An official of the National Park Service filed a protest, but the State Engineer granted the permits, finding no recorded federal water right and that the Cappaerts' pumping would not adversely affect existing rights.
  • The United States filed suit against the Cappaerts in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, seeking an injunction to limit their groundwater pumping.
  • The State of Nevada intervened as a party defendant in support of the Cappaerts.
  • The District Court entered a permanent injunction limiting the Cappaerts' pumping to maintain the water level in Devil's Hole at or above a specific point necessary to preserve the pupfish.
  • The Cappaerts and the State of Nevada, as appellants, appealed the injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
  • The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's decision, holding that the implied-reservation doctrine applied to groundwater.
  • The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari to review the Ninth Circuit's decision.

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Issue:

Does the President's proclamation reserving Devil's Hole as a national monument to preserve a unique species of fish also reserve federal water rights in unappropriated groundwater sufficient to maintain the water level necessary for that species' survival?


Opinions:

Majority - Chief Justice Burger

Yes, the reservation of Devil's Hole as a national monument implicitly reserved federal water rights in appurtenant, unappropriated water to the extent necessary to accomplish the purpose of the reservation. The implied-reservation-of-water-rights doctrine provides that when the federal government reserves land for a specific purpose, it also reserves the water necessary to fulfill that purpose. The Court found that the intent to reserve water was explicit in the 1952 Proclamation, which sought to protect the pool and its unique fish species. This federal water right vested in 1952 and is superior to the Cappaerts' rights, which were initiated later in 1968. The doctrine extends to groundwater when it is hydrologically connected to the surface water protected by the reservation, as the diversion of either can defeat the reservation's purpose. The Court also held that federal reserved water rights are not dependent on state law or procedures for their creation or perfection.



Analysis:

This case significantly clarifies and expands the federal implied-reservation-of-water-rights doctrine by explicitly applying it to groundwater. The decision establishes that the federal government's senior water rights can preempt subsequent state-law-based rights to groundwater if that groundwater is hydrologically connected to surface water on a federal reservation and is necessary to fulfill the reservation's purpose. This holding provides a powerful tool for the federal government to protect water-dependent ecosystems on national parks, monuments, and other federal lands from the impacts of off-reservation groundwater pumping. It reinforces the supremacy of federal property interests over state water allocation systems when the purposes of a federal reservation are threatened.

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