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Supreme Court Rejects Texas, New Mexico, Colorado Water Agreement in 5-4 Decision

Jun 21, 2024, 02:09 PM

The Supreme Court has rejected a proposed water-sharing agreement among Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado over the Rio Grande River. In a 5-4 decision, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining the liberal justices, the court denied the states' motion to enter a consent decree resolving the allocation of the Rio Grande's water. The ruling emphasized that the federal government must be included in any agreement, as the proposed consent decree would dispose of the United States' Compact claims without its consent. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the majority opinion, while Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Amy Coney Barrett dissented. The case, Texas v. New Mexico, falls under the court's original jurisdiction and involves the 1938 Compact.