For immediate release:
1/31/11
In
water issues case…
GRDA pleased with court decision
Vinita – A recent decision by the
United States Supreme Court has reaffirmed the Grand River Dam Authority’s
ownership claims to the waters of the Grand River and brought to a close a
legal battle that began in 2007.
On January 24, 2011, the United States Supreme Court
declined to hear a dispute challenging GRDA’s rights to sell water from Fort
Gibson Lake, located on the Grand River. By doing so, it ended the legal
challenges first brought by four water districts and two private companies in
2007.
The Plaintiffs, which pull their water supplies from that
lake, claimed the United States government, which owns and operates the Fort
Gibson Dam, had jurisdiction over waters in the lake, and not GRDA.
However the Court of Civil Appeals in Oklahoma ruled that
GRDA -- which was created by the state in 1935 and given jurisdiction over the
Grand River -- was the proper owner of the waters. The Oklahoma Supreme Court
declined to reverse the decision of the Court of Civil Appeals and the
Plaintiff’s thereafter petitioned the United States Supreme Court to hear the
case.
The United States Supreme Court’s decision to not take up
the dispute reaffirms that the case was properly decided in state courts, said
GRDA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Easley.
“We’re very pleased with the ruling,” said Easley. “Not only
is it good news GRDA and it rate-payers across Oklahoma, but it reaffirms state
ownership of state waters.”
Headquartered in Vinita, GRDA is funded by the revenues from
the sale of electricity and water. GRDA built and operates the Pensacola Dam
(Grand Lake), Robert S. Kerr Dam (Lake Hudson) and the Salina Pumped Storage
Project (Saline Creek arm of Lake Hudson) on the Grand River. These facilities,
along with the GRDA Coal-Fired Complex and the Red Bud Gas Plant combine for a
total generation capability of 1,480 megawatts. GRDA transmits and delivers
this wholesale electricity across Oklahoma municipal, electric cooperative and
industrial customers.
# # #
Contact: Justin Alberty, Corporate
Communications Director
Grand River Dam Authority, (918)
256 5545 - jalberty@grda.com