Montana Power Company v. .Carey

The HONORABLE THOMAS A. OLSON, District Judge,

sitting for MR. JUSTICE SHEEHY, concurring and dissenting:

I agree with the majority that the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) has statutory authority to impose conditions or limitations on a new water permit to ensure that senior appropriators are not left short of water. In this case, I would approve of DNRC’s condition that Monforton not irrigate if the senior users needed *100water. The practical effect of such a limitation would vary from year to year, depending upon the availability of water for irrigation. As I shall point…