Opinion ID: 2604584
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Issue Four: Can the BOR Reclassify YTID's Acreage?

Text: After ordering that YTID's water right be appurtenant to the irrigable lands within the District, the court stated, The current irrigable acreage is subject to change based on future reclassification of the Bureau of Reclamation. Clerk's Papers at 764. YTID objects to the inclusion of the reclassification language in the trial court's order. YTID's objection is without merit. As mentioned above, the category of irrigable acres is used by the BOR to allocate costs of operating the project. According to the Reclamation Act, the BOR can, upon the request of an irrigation district, recalculate the number of irrigable acres within a district and make amendments to the district's repayment contract. 43 U.S.C. §§ 485, 485b, 485g. YTID reads the trial court's language regarding reclassification as somehow allowing BOR to unilaterally reclassify YTID's acreage without regard to the statutory requirements for undergoing such a reclassification under 43 U.S.C. subch. X (sections 485-485k). This fear is unfounded. The trial court's language regarding reclassification merely recognizes the possibility that the number of irrigable acres in the District may be recalculated in the future, under federal law. Nothing in the trial court's order purports to interfere with the statutory requirements necessary for a reclassification of acreage to occur. We remand this case for further proceedings consistent with our holdings. SMITH, MADSEN, ALEXANDER, TALMADGE and SANDERS, JJ., concur.