Black Canyon Irrig Dist v. State / Suez Water, 44636

Background

The United States holds decreed storage water rights in Cascade (≈700,000 AFY) and Deadwood (≈163,000 AFY) Reservoirs from the Payette Adjudication and later the SRBA; those decrees were final and unobjected to.
In January 2013 the United States filed two "Late Claims" asserting junior “supplemental beneficial use storage” rights (priority date Sept. 30, 1965) to allow a physical second fill in years with flood-control releases.
IDWR recommended disallowance because the Late Claims were not claimed in prior adjudication; the district court referred the matter to a special master for recommendation.
The special master recommended disallowance on two bases: (1) claim preclusion (Late Claims not asserted earlier) and (2) the Late Claims were unnecessary because the existing decrees already authorized the asserted storage (an administrative/interpretive conclusion about refill accounting).
The district court adopted the special master’s preclusion finding but rejected the alternative recommendation as exceeding the special master’s orders of reference; BCID appealed.
The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed: claim preclusion bars the Late Claims, and the special master exceeded his authority by addressing administration/interpretation of existing decrees beyond the narrow referral.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Late Claims are barred by claim preclusion	BCID/US argued Late Claims should be allowed (ripeness/accounting change justified late assertion)	State argued res judicata bars claims that predate the prior adjudication and were not litigated	Held: Claim preclusion bars the Late Claims; they arose from the same transaction and should have been litigated earlier
Whether factual changes (IDWR "paper fill" accounting) made claims unripe earlier	BCID: accounting change in 1993 created a new, ripe issue that could not have been litigated earlier	State: accounting method is irrelevant to substantive appropriation elements (diversion/beneficial use); new evidence doesn’t avoid res judicata	Held: Accounting changes do not avoid preclusion; Late Claims had pre-1965 elements and were litigable previously
Whether the special master exceeded the order of reference by finding Late Claims duplicative of decreed rights	BCID: special master properly addressed necessity/duplication of Late Claims	State: special master’s referral was limited to preclusion; addressing scope/administration of decrees exceeded authority	Held: Special master exceeded the order of reference; district court properly rejected that alternative basis for disallowance
Whether appellate attorney fees are warranted under Idaho Code § 12-117	State and Suez sought fees as prevailing parties	BCID argued its position was reasonable	Held: Costs awarded to State and Suez, but not attorney fees; BCID acted with reasonable basis

Key Cases Cited

In re SRBA, 157 Idaho 385, 336 P.3d 792 (Idaho 2014) (discusses storage fill, director discretion, and accounting methods)
United States v. Pioneer Irrigation Dist., 144 Idaho 106, 157 P.3d 600 (Idaho 2007) (irrigation entities hold beneficial interests derivable from federal decrees)
Ticor Title Co. v. Stanion, 144 Idaho 119, 157 P.3d 613 (Idaho 2007) (res judicata principles; same parties or privies)
Berkshire Invs., LLC v. Taylor, 153 Idaho 73, 278 P.3d 943 (Idaho 2012) (elements of claim preclusion)
U.S. Nat’l Bank Ass’n v. Kuenzli, 134 Idaho 222, 999 P.2d 877 (Idaho 2000) (exception to res judicata where subsequent claims were impossible to raise earlier)
City of Pocatello v. Idaho, 152 Idaho 830, 275 P.3d 845 (Idaho 2012) (priority dates and proof required for constitutional appropriation)
Joyce Livestock Co. v. United States, 144 Idaho 1, 156 P.3d 502 (Idaho 2007) (diversion and beneficial use as essentials of constitutional appropriation)
Rangen, Inc. v. Idaho Dep’t of Water Res., 159 Idaho 798, 367 P.3d 193 (Idaho 2016) (decrees’ plain language controls; timely SRBA challenges required)
Olson v. Idaho Dep’t of Water Res., 105 Idaho 98, 666 P.2d 188 (Idaho 1983) (special master's powers limited to order of reference)