Texas Farmers Take Water War to Canada

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"If Mexico doesn't pay any penalty, it's easier for them to do it again," said Ray Pruitt, president of Texas Citrus Mutual.

A call to the Mexican Consulate in McAllen late Tuesday was not immediately returned.

"This is their water," said Nancie Marzulla, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney handling the farmers' case. "This is a water fight."

The farmers can sue Mexico under the NAFTA rules because they have property _ water _ in Mexico that Mexico appropriated, Marzulla said.

NAFTA is the only way the farmers can seek redress, because the 1944 treaty between the United States and Mexico has no provisions for individuals suing a country.

The state will file a brief supporting the farmers with the Canadian court. A Canadian attorney, retained for $10,000, is handling the paperwork.

Texas is joining the fight because if it hurts the farmers, it hurts the state economy, Combs said.

"You must call (legislators). You must try everything," Combs told the farmers. "This is really important to the state. It's important to the valley."

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