680
Opinion of the Court
flow in violation of Article IV-D of the Compact. Second, Kansas claimed that Colorado's Winter Water Storage Program (WWSP)—a program whereby the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation) and Colorado use excess capacity at the Pueblo Reservoir to store a portion of the winter flow of the Arkansas River—violates the Compact. Third, Kansas claimed that Colorado's failure to abide by the Trinidad Reservoir Operating Principles (Operating Principles) constituted a violation of the Compact. Ibid.
The Special Master bifurcated the trial into a liability phase and a remedy phase. At the conclusion of the liability phase, the Special Master filed his Report, outlining his findings and recommendations. In his Report, the Special Master recommended, among other things, that the Court: (1) find that post-Compact well pumping in Colorado has "materially depleted" the "usable" flow at the Colorado-Kansas border (stateline) in violation of Article IV-D of the Compact, Report 336; (2) find that "Kansas has failed to prove that operation of the [WWSP] program has violated the [C]ompact," ibid.; and (3) "dismiss the Kansas claim arising from the operation of Trinidad Reservoir," ibid.2
Both Kansas and Colorado have filed exceptions to the Special Master's Report. Kansas excepts to the Special Master's rejection of its (1) Trinidad Reservoir claim, see id., at 373-433; (2) WWSP claim, see id., at 306-335; and (3) preferred method for determining the usability of depletions of stateline flows, see id., at 291-305. Colorado excepts to the Special Master's determination that: (1) Kansas was not guilty of inexcusable delay in making its post-Compact well-pumping claim and that Colorado was not prejudiced by this
2 Colorado presented two counterclaims against Kansas. The Special Master recommended that the Court grant Kansas' motions to dismiss those counterclaims. Report 337. Colorado has not filed exceptions to those recommendations. We adopt the Special Master's recommendations on Colorado's counterclaims.
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