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Supreme Court Tosses Out Navajo Nation’s Water Access Suit in 5-4 Ruling

Neil Gorsuch was the only conservative justice to dissent.

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday against the Navajo Nation in a case contending the federal government is treaty-bound to ensure the nation has reliable access to water. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the court’s 5-4 conservative majority, which ruled that the U.S. doesn’t have an obligation to proactively ensure water access to the Navajos. “In light of the treaty’s text and history, we conclude that the treaty does not require the United States to take those affirmative steps,” Kavanaugh wrote. “And it is not the Judiciary’s role to rewrite and update this 155-year-old treaty.” Instead, the court ruled that it falls to Congress and the president to pass laws that ensure water access. A shortfall of infrastructure to pump water has been a persistent obstacle for the Navajo Nation, NBC News reported.