GRDA loses appeal of lawsuit over Neosho River flooding

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Grand River Dam Authority has lost an appeal of two lawsuit judgments for property owners whose land was flooded in the 1990s.<br/><br/>The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday let

Wednesday, December 8th 2004, 5:54 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Grand River Dam Authority has lost an appeal of two lawsuit judgments for property owners whose land was flooded in the 1990s.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday let stand a $75,000 dollar judgment for Jeffrey and Carolyn McCool and a $67,000 award for Randy and Dena Stoner.

The Miami homeowners were part of a 1994 class-action lawsuit that includes the City of Miami and Ottawa County as plaintiffs.

They accused the GRDA of increasing the elevation of water at Pensacola Dam during more than a dozen floods in the 1990s in the Miami area.

The GRDA is a state agency that was created to be a conservation and reclamation district for the waters of Grand River.

The authority argued that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission controlled the dam, and that the flooding was caused by the Neosho River.

GRDA officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment.