Mount Emmons Mining Co. v. Town of Crested Butte

Mount Emmons Mining Company (Applicant) applied for a conditional water right to operate a molybdenum mine in Gunnison *1257County. The water court denied the application, finding that Applicant failed to establish sufficient water availability to support a conditional decree. The water court based its denial upon an earlier ruling out of the same Water Division that affected the Gunnison River basin. The earlier order found 60,000 acre-feet of water available for in-basin users such as Applicant, but also found that a contract was necessary to access that water. We now hold that such a…