Nebraska v. Wyoming, 507 U.S. 584, 10 (1993)

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Cite as: 507 U. S. 584 (1993)

Opinion of the Court

fere with state sovereign interests "in the first instance." Second Interim Report 13.

We disagree with the Master to this extent. Paragraph XIII perhaps eases a plaintiff's burden of establishing, as an initial matter, that a claim falling within its purview is "of that character and dignity which makes the controversy a justiciable one under our original jurisdiction." Nebraska v. Wyoming, 325 U. S., at 610. After all, a variety of changed conditions may "promis[e] to disturb the delicate balance of the river" created by the decree. Id., at 625. But when the plaintiff essentially seeks a reweighing of equities and an injunction declaring new rights and responsibilities, we think the plaintiff still must make a showing of substantial injury to be entitled to relief. That is so not only because a new injunction would work a new infringement on sovereign prerogatives, but also because the interests of certainty and stability counsel strongly against reopening an apportionment of interstate water rights absent considerable justification. Cf. Arizona v. California, 460 U. S. 605, 615-628 (1983).

III

With these principles in mind, we turn to the summary judgment motions. To the extent that we agree with the Master, we have found it unnecessary to repeat in detail his careful evaluation of the voluminous evidence.

A

The Inland Lakes are four off-channel reservoirs in Nebraska served by the Interstate Canal, which diverts from the North Platte at Whalen, Wyoming. Both the Inland Lakes and the Interstate Canal are part of the North Platte Project, a series of reservoirs and canals operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau). Since 1913, the Bureau has diverted water through the Interstate Canal for storage in the Inland Lakes during nonirrigation months

593

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