Brad Cates is lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Guy Clark, et al v. Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, et al, currently before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver. Case No. 22-2141. This lawsuit seeks to protect the water rights that belong to property owners in the arid regions of the United States.
The plaintiffs are farmers and homeowners on the Rio Grande and San Juan Rivers in New Mexico, including the Albuquerque area. They filed suit against the Secretary of Interior and other federal, state, and tribal officials, to prevent them from wasting water on government projects. Federal law prohibits government officials from wasting water, but bureaucrats are ignoring the law. This reduces the amount of water available to ordinary citizens for their homes, farms, and businesses.The case was briefed and submitted to the Tenth Circuit in April 2023.
Just out of law school, Brad was hired by international aeronaut and natural resources entrepreneur Maxie Anderson at Ranchers Exploration and Development Company in Albuquerque. His experiences included geothermal power generation, water law and conservation, RCRA, PURPA, gold and silver mining, land use regulations , SEC filings to raise hard rock mining capital, and cold war military uranium mill tailings reprocessing. He also negotiated the placement of the famous Double Eagle balloon at the National Air and Space Museum. As a perk, Mr. Anderson also encouraged Brad and the other officers to use the company aircraft to earn their instrument pilots licenses for single, twin, and jet ratings. Maxie was killed in a hot air balloon accident in Germany. Brad next became Counsel to the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. and Director of its Intergovernmental Affairs Office.
Subsequently, Brad became the chief judge (Director of Hearings and Appeals) at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Because of the interest of the Secretary, Brad became an expert in the emerging and conflicting expansion of Indian gaming law, policy, and cash flow. Also, Brad advocated for strict enforcement of Lacey Act violations to cripple illegal killing and importation of endangered animal parts, such as ivory.
A long time member of the World Wildlife Fund, Brad raised exotic animals on his ranches in Texas, Arkansas, Virginia, and New Mexico, including llama, emus, sheep, and assorted birds.
Currently, Brad owns and operates a pecan farm in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Dona Ana County agriculture (the county is the largest producer of chili , pecans, and onions in the country) is threatened by imprudent decisions and diversions of water from Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.