SANTA FE, N.M., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court has thrown out its earlier ruling that water stored for future human use in New Mexico could be used to save an endangered fish.
New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid hailed the decision by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as a "clear and important victory" for the state, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, but environmentalists disagreed.
Letty Belin, a lawyer for environmental groups that sued to secure water for the Rio Grande silvery minnow, said the decision has no real effect on current management of the river
A three-judge panel of the appeals court last year upheld U.S. District Judge James Parker's ruling that water from the federal San Juan/Chama Project could be used to keep the minnow alive. The state appealed the ruling because several New Mexico cities plan to use that water in the future.
Belin told the New Mexican the new ruling leaves the original order of the judge intact so more hearings can be held and the issue is not dead.
The New Mexico congressional legislation is pushing a bill that would prohibit the stored water from being used for endangered species. Parker's temporary injunction expired at the end of 2003 so the future of the legal fight is uncertain.
