Phelps Dodge Corp. v. Arizona Department of Water Resources

OPINION

KESSLER, Presiding Judge.

¶ 1 This appeal arises out of a challenge to an application for an appropriative water right to instream flows filed with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (“ADWR”). We are called upon to decide whether Arizona law allows the ADWR to issue permits for instream water rights, and whether the ADWR violated the Arizona Administrative Procedure Act (the “APA”) by using the Guide to Filing Applications for Instream Flow Water Rights in Arizona (December 1991) (“1991 Instream Flow Guide”). We hold that the ADWR has the authority to issue permits for instream…