TIMELINE EVENT
Yuma authorizes participation in litigation to enforce the Queen Creek transfer judgment (MC 2026-172)
What happened
MC 2026-172 is marked Passed on September 16. It authorizes Yuma to participate with Mohave, La Paz, and Yuma counties in litigation seeking to enforce a 2024 federal district court judgment. The judgment required the Bureau of Reclamation to prepare an environmental impact statement concerning the proposed transfer to Queen Creek of the estimated consumptive use associated with GSC Farm’s 2,913.30 acre-foot fourth-priority Colorado River entitlement. This motion concerns that transfer and the existing judgment, not the Department of the Interior’s August 2026 operating decision addressed by MC 2026-173. The authorization does not establish the outcome of the litigation.
- Event date
Sources 1
- Primary source · Meeting recordCity of Yuma, MC 2026-172, legislation details and report
City of Yuma Legistar record for Motion MC 2026-172, passed September 16, 2026. The motion authorizes City participation with Mohave, La Paz, and Yuma counties in litigation to enforce a 2024 federal district court judgment requiring an environmental impact statement for the proposed transfer of GSC Farm’s estimated consumptive use from 2,913.30 acre-feet of fourth-priority Colorado River entitlement to Queen Creek. The motion concerns that transfer and the existing judgment. It is separate from MC 2026-173, which concerns possible legal action over the Department of the Interior’s August 2026 operating decision. The record describes a $100,000 City cost cap.
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- ExplainerYuma Authorized Two Colorado River Legal Actions. They Are Not the Same Thing.
Yuma’s September 16 council actions concern two different Colorado River matters: a potential challenge to federal operating guidelines and enforcement of a judgment in a separate water-transfer case.
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