On May 13, 2010, WLF filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, urging it to overturn the federal felony conviction of a farmer in Idaho for alleged technical violations of an Idaho statute. The farmer took melting snow and injected it into his irrigation wells, to ensure that he had adequate water supplies during the summer to irrigate his crops. Although there was no evidence that the practice endangered any drinking water supplies, federal officials obtained felony convictions based on evidence that the farmer did not obtain necessary state permits for his well injections. WLF argued that the prosecution exceeded the federal government’s powers under the Commerce Clause. The evidence at trial demonstrated that the water at issue was intrastate in nature and contained no contaminants. WLF noted that State officials determined that the violation of Idaho’s rules should be addressed civilly and argued that federal officials should defer to that decision.

Awaiting oral argument.