THE STONY CREEK WATER WARS
Glenn County - Tehama County - Colusa County , California.
(c) 2009, Mike Barkley
CASES IN THE EROSION OF WATER RIGHTS IN THE STONY CREEK WATERSHED
(a Table of RELATED CASES)
(roughly in chronological order)
Case number == Case Name
1890 Stony Creek Irrigation Co. v. Towle, Hall & Scearce, Angle Transcript
p. 3062, action brought in Court to condemn land for SCIC ditch, compromised
before the case came up
1894-95 Stony Creek Irrigation Co. litigation?
????? == Stony Creek Irrigation Co. v. [Hall? Scearce?] , condemnation action,
Tehama County Superior Court? 1904 [not yet found] [may be same as 1890 & 94]
????? == USA v. ???; condemnation actions, East Park, South & North Diversion
Dams, Canal rights of way, U.S. District Court, Northern District,
California, Northern Division, 1906 [not yet found, Docket books MISSING]
????? == USA v. ???; condemnation actions, Rainbow Diversion Dam & Diversion
Canal, U.S. District Court, Northern District, California, Northern
Division, 1913 [not yet found, Docket books MISSING]
Equity 30 == USA v. H.C. Angle, et al., Decree 01/13/1930, U.S. District Court,
Northern District, California, Northern Division, May 28 1918, later #80-583;
Eastern District; 40,000 pages; Fraud on the Court produced Decree that
took riparian rights without compensation [MISSING Equity Order Book, Equity
Journal, Minute Book, Angle Bank Account after 07/29/1942, Docket Book
for EQ-30 after 1962, 70 other pieces]
030932 Retzloff surrender of right, 011433 & 012533 Kesselring surrender
of [duplicate?, Decree error?] right; surrender or abandonment of Decreed
Right not provided for in Decree,
020384 - erosion of right to change in place of diversion & use, set up
by Somach filings for USA, 80-583 Doc #38, therafter court permission
seemed to be needed for such changes
110480 dilution of Water Master's authority and accountability by
appointment of a Watermaster Supervision Committee, Doc #19
011086 - erosion of underflow rights, SWRCB actions & Colusa County
Stip, Doc #94
011086 - erosion of diversion & use rights, SWRCB actions & Colusa
County Stip, Doc #94
072591, 072691, & 082191 - erosion of Hall & Scearce stipulated rights;
Doc. #208 & 211
041495 - erosion of Hall & Scearce stipulated rights; Doc. #245
021109 - expansion of Orland Project 7 miles beyond its footprint,
endorsement of Reclamation selling Project water to non-project buyers,
Doc. #295
Ap 2212 == Division of Water Rights, Department of Public Works [Predecessor to
SWRCB] Stony Gorge water right petition, 1921, D 83 11/17/1925;
half of it rendered "excess diversion" by 01/13/1930 Angle Decree
????? == USA v. ???; condemnation actions, Stony Gorge, 1926, U.S. District
Court, Northern District, California, Northern Division, 1926 [not yet
found, Docket books MISSING]
????? == reference in 27382 090178 memo Phillips/Geologist to Files,
"Stony Creek Underflow", to a case in which Watermaster Garland measured
flow at 3 points along Stony Creek, for case that went to litigation and
3 wells were stopped because they were from underflow
#8065, 8178, 8220, 8339, 8464, 8638 == USA v. [various numbers of acres],
condemnation actions, taking lands for pennies on the dollar after Angle
Decree destroyed their value, Black Butte, 1958-62, U.S. District,
Court Eastern District, California, Northern Division, 1926 [7-1/2 boxes,
files at Federal Records Center, San Bruno]
Ap 18115, Ap 19451 == SWRCB Black Butte water Right Petition, D 1100, later
Tehama-Colusa Canal Constant Head Orifice Right on Stony Creek, 1960 & ----, 6,000 pages
????? == reference at
http://www.cwclaw.com/attorneys/attorneyBio.aspx?name=WilliamNorman , website
of William H.G. Norman, litigation partner with Cooper, White & Cooper LLP.
"Successfully defended the project engineer on professional negligence claims
arising out of construction of the Black Butte Dam."
Commander Industries v. Reclamation? over diversion rights at Elk Creek,
suggested in Reclamation Contract, R.O. Draft 8/25-1971 Rev. W.O. 11/15-1971,
Contract No. 14-06-200-5749A, article 6(c);
#6290 #6291 #6293 #8429 #8430 & others == CVP Power Grid condemnation suits,
U.S. District, Court Eastern District, California, Northern Division
[MISSING]
#9062, many others == Tehama Colusa Canal condemnation suits, U.S.
District, Court Eastern District, California, Northern Division [MISSING]
1975 or so, Century Ranch class action suit (water rights presumably a part
of it - jurisdiction & case # not yet found), was it every filed or served?
????? Interstate 5 right of way cases
Ap 24758 == SWRCB mistaken erosion of Decree storage rights, D 1558, WR 80-13,
80-18, 82-10
????? == USA v. [SWRCB?]; [Andreotti], eroding non-USA storage, Colusa County
Superior Court, to direct SWRCB to amend D 1558 11/14/1980 [see WR 82-10]
80-900 == USA v. SWRCB (Andreotti), eroding non-USA storage, U.S. District,
Court Eastern District, California, Northern Division, 11/14/1980 [see
WR 82-10]
Ap. 26378, 26379, 26745, 27750 City of Santa Clara power applications on Stony
Gorge, Black Butte, East Park, & High Line Canal (FERC aps 3193, 3190, 3547
& 7252); 26659, 26658 & 26682 OUWUA competing applications (FERC 3946 for
East Park), unknown SWRCB Ap for High Line Canal by Ray E. Toney FERC
Ap 6981
76650 F 011882 [first amended complaint] Superior Court Butte County, OUWUA
v. City of Santa Clara over power development rights & priorities
14932 == Colusa County v. Westcamp , Colusa County Superior Court, Condemnation,
04/21/1978, SWRCB called in to report on possible underflow
14974 == Stonycreek Water District et al., v. Colusa County, for Injunctions
against Unlawful Diversion of Water , Colusa County, Superior Court ;
diverting from underflow in violation [NO!] of Angle Decree 06/26/1978
Ap 27382 == 6,000 pages, WR 79-6, WR 80-11 - SWRCB mistakes:
erosion of Decree underflow rights,
erosion of Decree place of diversion & use rights,
erosion of Decree right not to be claimed against by other parties
grant to Reclamation of new right to sell water outside of Project
WR 89-25. 91-07, 98-08 == SWRCB mistaken "Fully Appropriated" for all
except USA, D 1100 Ap 18115, D 1042 Ap 19355 ?
1991, settled 1994 City of Santa Clara vs [engineer designing Black Butte
Power Plant], design flaw, 3 years, settled late 1993? ref'd Ap 26379
91-16515 == United States Court of Appeals (Angle), 9th Circuit, an erroneous
decision restoring rights signed away in [coerced?] stipulations, USCA
ignored weasel words in Morton's stip with Scearce, 1,500 pages?
91-1074 == USA v. GCID, Salmon takes, 4,000 pages, filed 08/09/1991, Order
03/10/1992, U.S. v. Glenn-Colusa Irr. Dist, 788 F.Supp. 1126 E.D.Cal. 1992,
later modified, led to
91-1128 == GCID v. USA, Judge Levi, E.D.Cal. 3,500 pages, many errors
rendered useless GCID Stony Creek rights,
impaired Decree storage (diversion & use) rights,
96-00942, 01-01816 == GCID, et al. v. USA, E.D.Cal. Sacramento River Settlement
suits, as with 91-1128 & Angle, USA keeps breaking promises to GCID
More Reimers suits:
Claim 94-660 L, United States Court of Federal Claims, Hollis E.
Reimers, Plaintiff, v. United States of America, Defendant;
Glenn Superior #27859 filed 10/12/1994, Hollis E. Reimers v. The
Orland Unit Water Users' Association, et al.,
05-01207 06-00245 == E.D.Cal. more Reclamation River settlement suits?
TCCA v Interior, 2;10-cv-00357-JAM-KJM, related to unlawful diversions under
18115?
????? == multiplicity of (more than 150?) SWRCB awards to USA in violation of
the Decree, table at Exhibit A-2 to SWRCB filing,
http://www.mjbarkl.com/p3.pdf, many Federal filings not found [MISSING?],
indexing problems, severe copying restrictions
????? == other, non-USA SWRCB filings (170?) within the Stony Creek watershed,
most approved, some not, inconsistent results but most violate the Angle
Decree
????? == records of the State Division of Supervision of Dams, such as for
Wright Dam #371
????? == records of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, such as for
City of Santa Clara Power Plants
????? == records of the BLM and Mendocino National Forest
Other Sources:
- Federal Archives [indexing problems]
- Water Master Records:
- Before 1980, lost [MISSING] except for the Court's end of it in the
Court's Archives
- After 1980, in possession of Water Master George Wilson at OUWUA offices,
access withheld which continues despite Water Master's assertions to the
contrary, 04/2010;
- Newspapers:
- Orland Unit - Chico 1911-1934, Unit-Register 1966-1982; Cal State
9:30-4:00 less furloughs 1911-1949
- Orland Register - Chico State Library?; 1887 - 1914; Cal State ??
- Orland Press, Press-Register 1982 - 2003
- Willows Daily Journal - Cal State Library, Sacramento; 1878-84,1891,1896,
1901-1915,1917-1942,1944-46,1953-82,1996-2003; Chico State 1940-2003;
Willows Library
- Glenn Transcript, Chico State 1902-1942, Cal State 1904, 1945-52
- Willows Promoter, Chico State 1897-1898
- Willows Review, Chico State 1901-1915
- Colusa Sun or Sun-Herald, Chico State 1862-2003, Cal State 1892-1906,
1919-2004
- Colusa Herald, Cal State 1892
- Sacramento Bee
- Sacramento Union
- Internet
- Freedom of Information Act Requests (many outstanding, few answered)
Total well over 100,000 pages?
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Return to Stony Creek Water Wars.
--Mike Barkley, 161 N. Sheridan Ave. #1, Manteca, CA 95336 (H) 209/823-4817
mjbarkl@inreach.com