Concerning the Office of the State Engineer's Approval of the Plan of Water Management for Special Improvement…

Summary

The court affirmed the decreed water-management plan for the Subdistrict, holding that the plan complied with the special statutory framework governing groundwater management in Water Division No. 3. The court held that the plan was not subject to the augmentation-plan requirement of a threshold judicial finding of no material injury, because the statutory scheme provides an alternative mechanism requiring comprehensive planning, replacement of injurious depletions, State Engineer oversight, and retained water-court jurisdiction. The court also upheld the differing standards of review applicable to the State Engineer's groundwater-management approval and the Subdistrict's official plan, as well as the decree's operational conditions and treatment of the Objectors' remaining challenges.