Morrison: Water Fight Only Beginning

By Anna Staatz

By Anna Staatz

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Kansas has only begun the fight in an ongoing water litigation case, Attorney General Paul Morrison said Monday.

Kansas has been involved for years in lawsuits with Colorado and Nebraska over their use of water in the Arkansas and Republican rivers.

In a current case against Nebraska and Colorado, each state pumps water out of the Republican River Basin.

Morrison told the Senate Ways and Means the state was awaiting the results of a study evaluating water usage from the river basin by Nebraska and Colorado. Morrison said both states were over their legal limits in water usage and Kansas wasn’t receiving its allocated water.

“Nebraska is in worse shape than Colorado in terms of compliance,” Morrison said. “I don’t think the issue is whether they’re out of compliance. The issue is what we are going to do about it.”

Morrison said the state’s options included filing an additional legal suit or seeking arbitration.

“Like all things, I suppose we’ll have several options,” he said. “We’re waiting on the results of a study to see how far out of compliance they are.”

In a separate case involving only Colorado and water usage from the Arkansas River, states are waiting on a final decree.

The attorney general also updated the committee on the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, which was the result of a lawsuit filed in 1996. The agreement between 46 states and four tobacco manufacturers restricted marketing practices and required the companies to remit annual payments to the states for damages to their Medicaid programs caring for patients suffering from smoking- related illnesses.

All tobacco manufacturers were given the opportunity to opt in to the settlement agreement. Those that didn’t were required to keep in an escrow account an amount similar to what other companies paid the states to offset costs from potential litigation to companies not in the agreement and level the playing field among companies.

Morrison said Kansas received $49.4 million in 2004 through the agreement and $48.7 million in 2005. He estimated that the state would receive between $45 and $53 million for a 2006 payment.

Anna Staatz can be reached

at (785) 296-0905

and anna.staatz@cjonline.com.

(c) 2007 Topeka Capital Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.