Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT BENNETT, District Judge. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................U97 II. STANDARDS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT...............................U99 III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND................................................1501 A. Undisputed Facts.....................................................1501 B. Disputed Facts .......................................................1502 IV. LEGAL ANALYSIS.......................................................1503 A. The Nature Of RWS # l’s Claims.......................................1503 1. A cause of action for a “violation” of § 1983 ..........................1503 2. Other ways to enforce § 1926(b) .....................................1505 B. The Timeliness Of RWS # l’s Claims....................................1507 1. The timeliness of the § 1983 action..................................1507 a. The applicable statute of limitations .............................1507 b. “Accrual” and “Continuing violations”...........................1508 2. The timeliness of a declaratory judgment action.......................1509 C. The Merits Of The Claims..............................................1510 1. Is RWS # 1 entitled to the protections of§ 1926(b) ?....................1511 a. The applicable statutes.........................................1511 b. Judicial interpretations........................................1512 i. Scioto Water..............................................1512 ii. Grand Junction...........................................151b c. Plain meaning................................................1516 i. Rules for “plain meaning” construction......................1516 ii. Plain meaning of subsection (f) .............................1517 Hi. Ambiguity of subsection (g).................................1518 d. Legislative history.............................................1521 e. RWS # l’s entitlement to § 1926(b) protection.....................1523 2. Has the City violated or threatened to violate § 1926(b) ? ...............152b a. Elements of a claim for violation of § 1926(b).....................152b b. “Made service available”........................................1525 i. Tests.....................................................1525 ii. Interplay of legal right and physical ability to serve ...........1525 Hi. Preemption of state-law determinations of service area.........1528 iv. Interplay of state and federal law............................1529 c. Where did RWS # 1 make service available?......................1530 i. Legal authority to serve....................................1530 ii. Physical ability to serve....................................1533 V. CONCLUSION...........................................................153b This “turf war” is not between rival gangs over control of the distribution of some dlegal substance in a disputed territory, but between such staid entities as a municipality and a non-profit corporation over distribution of a legal, commonplace, substance: water. Furthermore, the disputed “turf” is not some section of urban jungle; rather, it is an area bordering the city limits of a quiet rural Iowa town. Finally, the weapons in this “turf war” are not guns or knives, but legal arguments. For example, the parties assert that to determine who has the right to supply water in the disputed area, the court must examine issues as diverse and complex as the nature of the cause or causes of action the plaintiff asserts; the statute of limitations applicable to that action or those actions; the proper interpretation and the constitutionality of an obscure federal statute that provides certain protections to rural water associations from encroachment on their service areas by adjacent municipalities; preemption of state law by federal law; and the applicability here of Iowa statutes defining service areas for various kinds of entities providing rural water services. Yet, however civilized the weapons of the combatants and unremarkable the substance each of the disputants wishes to supply, this “turf war” is as hard-fought as any other. I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Rural Water System # 1 (RWS # 1), a non-profit corporation, filed the original complaint in this lawsuit on November 2, 1995, against defendant City of Sioux Center, Iowa (the City), alleging generally violations of 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b), which protects rural water associations indebted to the United States from encroachment on their service areas by adjacent municipalities. RWS # 1 filed an amended complaint on October 22, 1996, in which its claims are clarified somewhat. In the amended complaint, RWS # l’s claims are alleged to arise pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202, the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Attorney’s Fees Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1988, and state law. RWS #l’s federal claims are premised on alleged violations of 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b) and “willful blindness resulting in bad faith” violation of § 1926(b). Its state-law claims assert tortious interference with customers, tortious interference with prospective business advantage, and conversion of property. Rather more specifically, the statute RWS # 1 contends the City has violated or is threatening to violate, 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b), prohibits “curtailment” or “limitation” of the service area of a rural water service association that is indebted to the United States by inclusion of any portion of that service area within the boundaries of a municipal corporation. 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b). RWS # l’s federal claims, as well as its state-law claims, allegedly arise from the City’s annexation of portions of RWS # l’s asserted service area, the City’s demands that it, not RWS # 1, supply the water needs of customers in the annexed areas and within two miles of the City’s new boundaries, and the City’s actual service to some of the customers in the disputed area, allegedly resulting in “curtailment” or “limitation” of RWS # l’s service area. As relief, RWS # 1 requests preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting the City’s alleged curtailment of RWS # l’s service area in violation of 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b); declaratory judgment concerning the rights of the parties to serve the disputed area and alleged violations of state and federal law; equitable relief; damages, both compensatory and punitive; and attorney’s fees and costs. The City answered the original complaint on January 2, 1996, and the amended complaint on November 4, 1996. While the cross-motions for summary judgment now before the court were pending, the City moved and was granted leave to amend its answer to assert affirmative defenses that RWS # l’s claims were barred by the running of the applicable statute of limitations and the doctrines of laches and waiver. The City’s amended answer was filed on February 12,1997. The first of the cross-motions for summary judgment now before the court was filed by the City on January 10, 1997. In that motion, the City asserts that RWS # 1 can no longer assert the protections of 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b), because it was not indebted to the United States at the time of the annexation of disputed areas by the City. It contends, citing a recent decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, that RWS # l’s pay-off of its loans from the Farm Home Administration (FmHA) caused its protection under § 1926(b) to lapse. The City eon-tends further that the annexed area is not part of RWS # l’s service area, nor is any area within two miles of the City’s current city limits, by operation of Iowa law, which the City contends is not preempted by federal law. Finally, the City argues that RWS # l’s interpretation of § 1926(b) as revivifying protection of its service area into the area properly annexed by the City and into the two-mile zone beyond those city limits violates the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and expropriates public property for a private purpose in further violation of the Tenth Amendment. In further briefing, the City has also asserted that RWS # l’s only claim is one brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, as 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b) authorizes no separate cause of action, and that any § 1983 claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitations, Iowa’s two-year statute of limitations for personal injuries. Iowa Code § 614.1(2). The same day the City filed its motion for summary judgment, RWS # 1 filed. its own separate motions for summary judgment on liability for violation of 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b) and for liability on its claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The motion for summary judgment on liability on the claim brought pursuant to § 1983 clarifies somewhat the nature of that claim, at least as RWS # 1 sees it: the summary judgment motion indicates that the § 1983 claim is that the City violated § 1926(b) under color of Iowa statutes that the City asserted justified its actions. The City’s motion, if granted, would appear to dispose of the case in its entirety, or at least that part of the case upon which federal jurisdiction is founded. However, RWS # l’s motions, if granted, would establish only the City’s liability, leaving the appropriate relief to be determined in further proceedings. On April 8, 1997, the Iowa Rural Water Association filed a request to appear as amicus curiae by filing a brief and participating in the oral arguments on the pending dispositive motions. Amicus curiae seek to bolster the position of RWS # 1, one of its members, that § 1926(b) is constitutional and would be violated by the City’s actions. Over the City’s objections, this court has permitted the participation of amicus curiae in both the briefing and arguments concerning § 1926(b), concluding that the interests of justice will be served by permitting amicus curiae to file a brief and to participate at oral arguments. The court heard oral arguments of the parties and amicus curiae on April 18, 1997. Plaintiff RWS # 1 was represented at the oral arguments by lead counsel Louis T. Rosenberg of Louis T. Rosenberg, P.C., in San Antonio, Texas, who argued the case on behalf of plaintiff, and local counsel Randall G. Sease of the Sease Law Firm in Hartley, Iowa. Also present on behalf of RWS # 1 was its Manager, Jean Still. Defendant City of Sioux Center, Iowa, was represented by counsel Ivan T. Webber, who argued the case on behalf of the City, and Paul Burns, both of Ahlers, Cooney, Dorweiler, Haynie, Smith & Allbee, P.C., in Des Moines, Iowa. Also present on behalf of the City were Harold Schiebout, City Manager, and Brian Van Engen, City Attorney. Amicus curiae, the Iowa Rural Water Association, was represented by counsel J.W. Dyer of Dyer & Associates Law Firm in McAllen, Texas. The arguments and briefing of counsel for the parties and amicus were of an unusually high caliber, and of great assistance to the court. Therefore, the court is convinced that, however complicated the issues involved and whatever the court’s ultimate disposition may be, the parties and amicus were very ably represented. Because the standards for summary judgment are pertinent to both the factual background of this litigation and the court’s legal analysis, the court turns first to a statement of those summary judgment standards. The court will then present a recitation of the facts, both undisputed and disputed, that form the backdrop to the pending dispositive motions. Finally, the court will address as necessary the issues raised in the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment, although not necessarily by taking each of those motions or issues in the order presented by the parties. II. STANDARDS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recognizes “that summary judgment is a drastic remedy and must be exercised with extreme care to prevent taking genuine issues of fact away from juries.” Wabun-Inini v. Sessions, 900 F.2d 1234, 1238 (8th Cir.1990). On the other hand, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have authorized for nearly 60 years “motions for summary judgment upon proper showings of the lack of a genuine, triable issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2555, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Thus, “summary judgment procedure is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed ‘to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.’ ” Wabun-Inini, 900 F.2d at 1238 (quoting Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555); Hartnagel v. Norman, 953 F.2d 394, 396 (8th Cir.1992). The standard for granting summary judgment, in favor of either a claimant or a defendant, is well established. Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states in pertinent part: Rule 56. Summary Judgment (a) For Claimant. A party seeking to recover upon a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim or to obtain a declaratory judgment may, at any time after the expiration of 20 days from the commencement of the action or after service of a motion for summary judgment by the adverse party, move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in the party’s favor upon all or any part thereof. (b) For Defending Party. A party against whom a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim is asserted or a declaratory judgment is sought may, at any time, move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in the party’s favor as to all or any part thereof. (c) Motions and Proceedings Thereon.... The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a)-(c) (emphasis added); see also Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53; Reliance Ins. Co. v. Shenandoah S., Inc., 81 F.3d 789, 791 (8th Cir.1996); Beyerbach v. Sears, 49 F.3d 1324, 1325 (8th Cir.1995); Munz v. Michael, 28 F.3d 795, 798 (8th Cir.1994); Roth v. U.S.S. Great Lakes Fleet, Inc., 25 F.3d 707, 708 (8th Cir.1994); Cole v. Bone, 993 F.2d 1328, 1331 (8th Cir.1993); Woodsmith Publ’g Co. v. Meredith Corp., 904 F.2d 1244, 1247 (8th Cir.1990); Wabun-Inini 900 F.2d at 1238 (citing Fed. R.Civ.P.56(c)). A court considering a motion for summary judgment must view all the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and give the non-movant the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the facts. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 994, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962)); Quick v. Donaldson Co., 90 F.3d 1372,1377 (8th Cir.1996); Rifkin v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 78 F.3d 1277, 1280 (8th Cir.1996); Marts v. Xerox, Inc., 77 F.3d 1109, 1112 (8th Cir.1996); Munz, 28 F.3d at 796; Allison v. Flexway Trucking, Inc., 28 F.3d 64, 66 (8th Cir.1994); Johnson v. Group Health Plan, Inc., 994 F.2d 543, 545 (8th Cir.1993); Burk v. Beene, 948 F.2d 489, 492 (8th Cir.1991); Coday v. City of Springfield, 939 F.2d 666, 667 (8th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1094, 112 S.Ct. 1170, 117 L.Ed.2d 416 (1992). Procedurally, the moving party bears “the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for their motion and identifying those portions of the record which show lack of a genuine issue.” Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 395 (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53); see also Reed v. Woodruff County, Ark., 7 F.3d 808, 810 (8th Cir.1993). The moving party is not required by Rule 56 to support its motion with affidavits or other similar materials negating the opponent’s claim. Id. “When a moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56(c), its opponent must do more than simply show there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. The non-movant is required under Rule 56(e) to go beyond the pleadings, and by affidavits, or by the “depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,” designate “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; McLaughlin v. Esselte Pendaflex Corp., 50 F.3d 507, 511 (8th Cir.1995); Beyerbach, 49 F.3d at 1325. Although “direct proof is not required to create a jury question, ... to avoid summary judgment, ‘the facts and circumstances relied upon must attain the dignity of substantial evidence and must not be such as merely to create a suspicion.’ ” Metge v. Baehler, 762 F.2d 621, 625 (8th Cir.1985) (quoting Impro Prods., Inc. v. Herrick, 715 F.2d 1267, 1272 (8th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1026, 104 S.Ct. 1282, 79 L.Ed.2d 686 (1984)), cert. denied sub nom. Metge v. Bankers Trust Co., 474 U.S. 1057, 106 S.Ct. 798, 88 L.Ed.2d 774 (1986). The necessary proof that the non-moving party must produce is not precisely measurable, but the evidence must be “such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Allison, 28 F.3d at 66. In Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2510-11, Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323-24, 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53, and Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1355-56, the Supreme Court established that a summary judgment motion should be interpreted by the trial court to accomplish its purpose of disposing of factually unsupported claims, and the trial judge’s function is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter, but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial. Quick, 90 F.3d at 1376-77; Johnson v. Enron Corp., 906 F.2d 1234, 1237 (8th Cir.1990). The trial court, therefore, must “assess the adequacy of the nonmovants’ response and whether that showing, on admissible evidence, would be sufficient to carry the burden of proof at trial.” Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 396 (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552). If the non-movant fails to make a sufficient showing of an essential element of a claim with respect to which it has the burden of proof, then the moving party is “entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2552; Woodsmith, 904 F.2d at 1247. However, if the court can conclude that a reasonable trier of fact could return a verdict for the nonmovant, then summary judgment should not be granted. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510; Burk, 948 F.2d at 492; Woodsmith, 904 F.2d at 1247. With these standards in mind, the court turns to consideration of the factual background to the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND A. Undisputed Facts Looking to the parties’ statements of facts in support of and resistance to the various motions for summary judgment, the court finds that the following facts are not in dispute. Plaintiff RWS # 1 is a non-profit water corporation created pursuant to Iowa Code Ch. 504A by the filing of articles of incorporation with the Iowa Secretary of State on May 6,1969. RWS # 1 operates as a retail water service corporation, which began providing or making water services available in 1972. The general area in which RWS # 1 has provided service is an area approximately eighteen miles by thirty-six miles including thirteen townships in Sioux County, Iowa, and six townships in O’Brien County, Iowa. The City is a municipality located in Sioux County, Iowa. It is surrounded by RWS # l’s service area. However, the City also operates a water supply system and supplies water to customers inside its city limits. Until recently, the parties had an “interconnect” agreement whereby each was to supply emergency water to the other. The City has also from time to time contracted with RWS # 1 for water treatment and supply services and the parties have been involved in other joint uses of facilities. RWS # l’s building projects were for many years financed by loans from the Farm Home Administration (FmHA) and RWS # 1 is once again indebted to the United States. For example, RWS # 1 obtained loans from the FmHA from 1972 to 1975. However, in 1988, RWS # 1 paid off its existing loans from the FmHA. The FmHA released its existing mortgages and liens on September 22, 1988, and marked the loans “paid in full.” RWS # 1 borrowed the money to pay off its federal loans in 1988 from Norwest Bank in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Norwest Bank took no security for its loan. RWS # 1 did not become indebted to the United States again until July 1,1992, when RWS # 1 again took out a loan from the FmHA. RWS # l’s indebtedness to the United States for 1992 and 1995 totals $2,030,000 and is secured by mortgages and liens to the United States. Thus, RWS # 1 is currently indebted to the United States, but did not have any indebtedness to the United States from September 22,1988, until July 1,1992. In 1989, the City annexed an area of 1,620 acres outside of its 1975 city limits. This annexed area included territory in which RWS # 1 had previously supplied water or had laid pipes and built other facilities. The annexation was completed on December 22, 1989. Another twenty acres, the “Byl subdivision,” were annexed in either 1995 or 1996. RWS # 1 has never applied to the City, pursuant to Iowa Code § 357A.2, to serve water customers in the disputed area, but RWS # 1 disputes here, as a matter of law, whether it was ever required to do so. RWS # 1 does not have a franchise or any easements from the City to provide water services to customers in the disputed territory. Furthermore, RWS # 1 has at times advised the City of requests for connection to the rural water system from customers within two miles of the City’s 1989 city limits and has asked the City to advise RWS # 1 whether the City or RWS # 1 should supply the customer. RWS # 1 continues to supply water to some customers now inside the City’s 1989 city limits. Since the 1989 annexation, the City has laid some new water service lines that parallel existing water lines of RWS #1. B. Disputed Facts The City disputes that RWS # 1 has ever secured an exclusive “service area” pursuant to Iowa law. Furthermore, the City disputes the existence of what RWS # 1 refers to as its “federal franchise” for exclusive service to customers in the disputed area, contending that not only was the federal government without power to make such a franchise, a legal question, but that there is no evidence in the record of any such franchise, a factual matter. The City also disputes RWS # l’s contention that the City had no customers outside its 1975 city limits or ever made services available outside of its city limits. Similarly, the City disputes whether RWS # 1 had pipes in the ground in 1975 and 1976 that would have allowed RWS # 1 to provide or make service available within one-and-one-half miles or less of the City’s 1975 city limits. The City also disputes the extent to which RWS # 1 was providing or making available water services in the disputed area or the area in which RWS # 1 claims it was providing or making available such services. Furthermore, the City disputes the number of RWS # l’s customers who were inside the area annexed by the City in 1989 and contends that RWS # 1 has “sold” customers to the City since the annexation. To summarize remaining disputes more generally, the City also disputes the identity of various customers connected to City water lines since annexation and whether these customers were connected to RWS # 1 for their water supply prior to the annexation; the location and purpose of overlapping or parallel water lines of the City and RWS # 1 in the disputed area; and the extent to which any services the City has provided duplicated services available from RWS # 1. RWS # 1 disputes that it ever converted to, or was ever required to convert from a non-profit corporation to, a “special water district” within the meaning of Iowa § 357A.20, which is a factual matter. Consequently, it also disputes whether it was ever required to apply to the City, pursuant to Iowa Code § 357A.2, to serve water customers in the disputed area, which is either a question of law or a mixed question of law and fact. Finally, the parties dispute whether RWS # l’s pay-off of its federal loans in 1988 was pursuant to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1986 and the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987(ACA), which amended the 1986 OBRA by providing for a “Buy Out Program” of FmHA loans. IV. LEGAL ANALYSIS In their oral arguments, the parties and amicus focused on the scope of the protection provided by 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b), continuation of protection of the statute during the FmHA “Buy Out Program,” as provided in 7 U.S.C. § 1929a note, subsections (f) and (g), and the inter play between § 1926(b) and certain Iowa statutes upon which the City principally relies. Nonetheless, before the court can consider the merits of the parties’ arguments for summary judgment on RWS # l’s claim or claims, the court finds that it must first determine what, exactly, is the nature of RWS # l’s claim or claims and how RWS # l’s claim or claims can be brought before the court. The court must then determine whether RWS # l’s action is time-barred, as the City contends. Only if RWS # l’s action is properly before the court will it be necessary for the court to consider any other arguments of the parties. A. The Nature Of RWS # l’s Claims In its combined resistance to RWS # l’s separate motions for summary judgment on liability under § 1926(b) and § 1983, the City contends that RWS # 1 is mistaken in its assertion that it has two separate claims, one for violation of § 1926(b) itself and another under § 1983 to vindicate rights under § 1926(b). The City contends that such a mistaken notion should have been corrected by reading the decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Wayne v. Sebring, 36 F.3d 517 (6th Cir.1994), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1127, 115 S.Ct. 2000, 131 L.Ed.2d 1001 (1995), which RWS # 1 itself cites for the proposition that § 1926(b) includes no enforcement provisions. Thus, the City contends, RWS # 1 has but one cause of action, an action pursuant to § 1983 for alleged violation of rights under § 1926(b). RWS # 1 responds that courts have enforced the provisions of § 1926(b) and that the legislative history of that provision suggests an intent to create enforceable obligations or prohibitions. This argument, of course, merely begs the question of how the prohibitions of § 1926(b) are to be enforced, because the statute plainly does not contain express language authorizing a private cause of action to enforce its terms. However, RWS # 1 also contends that, not only can it enforce its rights by bringing a cause of action for a “violation” of § 1983, which is in turn predicated on a violation of § 1926(b), but it can also bring an action under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202, which provides an independent vehicle to obtain not only a declaration of rights under § 1926(b), but further relief for a violation of the statute. 1. A cause of action for a “violation” of § 1983 In its motion for summary judgment on liability under § 1983, RWS # 1 asserts that it has proved a “violation” of § 1983, because it has proved a “predicate” violation of § 1926(b). Rural Water System No. l’s Memorandum In Support Of Motion For 42 U.S.C. Sec.1983 Summary Judgment On Liability Pursuant To Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a) (hereinafter “RWS # l’s Brief On § 1983 Liability”), pp. 2-3. However, as this court has explained on more than one occasion, one does not ‘“violate” § 1983. See Laird v. Ra mirez, 884 F.Supp. 1265, 1282 n. 11 (N.D.Iowa 1995); DePugh v. Smith, 880 F.Supp. 651, 661 (N.D.Iowa 1995); Mummelthie v. City of Mason City, Iowa, 873 F.Supp. 1293, 1315 n. 10 (N.D.Iowa 1995), aff'd, 78 F.3d 589 (8th Cir.1996) (table opinion). In its prior decisions, this court noted the following: Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides that Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.... Section 1983 was designed to provide a “broad remedy for violations of federally protected civil rights.” Monell v. New York City Dept. of Soc. Serv., 436 U.S. 658, 685, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 2033, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). However, § 1983 provides no substantive rights. Chapman v. Houston Welfare Rights Org., 441 U.S. 600, 617, 99 S.Ct. 1905, 1916, 60 L.Ed.2d 508 (1979). “[0]ne cannot go into court and claim a ‘violation of section 1983 — for section 1983 by itself does not protect anyone against anything. ’ Id. Rather, § 1983 provides a remedy for violations of all ‘rights, privileges, or immunities’ secured by the Constitution and laws [of the United States].” 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (emphasis added); Maine v. Thiboutot, 448 U.S. 1, 3, 100 S.Ct. 2502, 2503, 65 L.Ed.2d 555 (1980) (“Constitution and laws” means that § 1983 provides remedies for violations of rights created by federal statute, as well as those created by the Constitution). Laird, 884 F.Supp. at 1282 n. 11 (emphasis added); DePugh, 880 F.Supp. at 661; Mummelthie, 873 F.Supp. at 1315 n. 10. Therefore, RWS # 1 has no claim for a “violation” of § 1983. Although RWS # 1 is incorrect to assert a “violation” of § 1983, § 1983 may nonetheless provide a vehicle whereby RWS # 1 may bring before this court its claim of a violation of § 1926(b), a law of the United States. See Blessing v. Freestone, — U.S. -, -, 117 S.Ct. 1353, 1359, — L.Ed.2d -, -(1997) (“Section 1983 imposes liability on anyone who, under color of state law, deprives a person ‘of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws.’ We have held that this provision safeguards certain rights conferred by federal statutes,” citing Thiboutot, infra); Maine v. Thiboutot, 448 U.S. 1, 3, 100 S.Ct. 2502, 2503-04, 65 L.Ed.2d 555 (1980) (the language “Constitution and laws” in § 1983 means that § 1983 provides remedies for violations of rights created by a federal statute, as well as those created by the Constitution). However, resort to a cause of action pursuant to § 1983 to address a violation of a federal statute is not available “where the ‘governing statute provides an exclusive remedy for violations of its terms.’ ” Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v. Halderman, 451 U.S. 1, 28, 101 S.Ct. 1531, 1545, 67 L.Ed.2d 694 (1981); accord Blessing, — U.S. at-, 117 S.Ct. at 1360 (“Even if a plaintiff demonstrates that a federal statute creates an individual right, there is only a rebuttable presumption that the right is enforceable under § 1983. Because our inquiry focuses on congressional intent, dismissal is proper if Congress ‘specifically foreclosed a remedy under § 1983----’ Congress may do so expressly, by forbidding recourse to § 1983 in the statute itself, or impliedly, by creating a comprehensive enforcement scheme that is incompatible with individual enforcement under § 1983”; citations omitted); Foster v. Wyrick, 823 F.2d 218, 221 (8th Cir.1987) (citing Pennhurst). Several courts have concluded that § 1926(b) provides no such exclusive remedy for violations of its terms. Most recently, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has noted that “[sjection 1926(b) does not create or specify a remedy for the enforcement of violations.” North Alamo Wafer Supply Corp. v. City of San Juan, Tex., 90 F.3d 910, 917 (5th Cir.1996), cert. denied, - U.S. -, 117 S.Ct. 586, 136 L.Ed.2d 515 (1996). In a more thorough analysis of the issue, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether § 1926(b) itself created a private right of action, or whether a private right of action was available for a violation of § 1926(b) via § 1983. See Wayne v. Village of Sebring, 36 F.3d 517, 528-29 (6th Cir.1994), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1127, 115 S.Ct. 2000, 131 L.Ed.2d 1001 (1995). The court noted that § 1983 permits suits for violation of federal statutes unless “(1) ‘the statute does not create enforceable rights, privileges, or immunities within the meaning of § 1983,’ or (2) ‘Congress has foreclosed such enforcement of the statute in the enactment itself.’ ” Id. (quoting Wilder v. Virginia Hosp. Ass’n, 496 U.S. 498, 508, 110 S.Ct. 2510, 2517, 110 L.Ed.2d 455 (1990), in turn quoting Wright v. Roanoke Redevelopment and Hous. Autk, 479 U.S. 418, 423, 107 S.Ct. 766, 770, 93 L.Ed.2d 781 (1987)). The court found that neither of these two exceptions applied. First, the court found that § 1926(b) created a right that was “judicially enforceable.” Id. at 529. Next, the court found that the second exception required “ ‘a comprehensive enforcement mechanism for protection of a federal right’ ” that was not satisfied by “[mjere availability of administrative protections.” Id. (quoting Golden State Transit Carp. v. City of Los Angeles, 493 U.S. 103, 106, 110 S.Ct. 444, 448, 107 L.Ed.2d 420 (1989)). The court found that Congress had provided “no enforcement mechanism for protecting the right that § 1926(b) creates.” Id. Therefore, the court found that “pursuant to § 1988, § 1926(b) gives rise to a private right of action on the part of rural water service users.” Id. This court has employed the same analysis of whether § 1983 provides a cause of action for enforcement of federal statutory rights in other contexts. Laird, 884 F.Supp. at 1276-78 (considering whether an action pursuant to § 1983 to enforce rights under the Social Security Act (SSA) was precluded by enforcement mechanisms under the SSA); Mummelthie, 873 F.Supp. at 1314 (determining whether the ADEA provided the exclusive remedy for age discrimination or whether a cause of action pursuant to § 1983 was also available). Furthermore, this court finds that the reasoning by which the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Wayne concluded that § 1983 provided the enforcement mechanism for § 1926(b) “on the part of rural water service users,” Wayne, 36 F.3d at 529, applies with equal force to the question of whether associations indebted to the FmHA may enforce rights under § 1926(b) against allegedly encroaching municipalities. This court therefore holds, first, that § 1926(b) creates an enforceable right, but provides no mechanism for its enforcement. Thus, RWS # 1 has no cause of action created by § 1926(b) for violation of its terms. Second, this court holds that one means to enforce the rights created by § 1926(b) is a cause of action pursuant to, but not for “violation” of, § 1983. 2. Other ways to enforce § 1926(b) However, the court also concludes that § 1983 does not necessarily provide the ex- elusive vehicle for enforcing rights under § 1926(b), as the City seems to suggest. Thus, there may be other causes of action for a “violation” of § 1926(b) that justify RWS # l’s assertion of a second cause of action, besides its claim pursuant to § 1983, and may further justify RWS # l’s separate motion for summary judgment on liability for violation of § 1926(b). For example, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals noted in North Alamo Water Supply Corp., a decision cited above, that “an injunction has been the principal tool employed by the courts with which to enforce the statute and prevent violations.” North Alamo Water Supply Corp., 90 F.3d at 917 (citing City of Madison, Miss. v. Bear Creek Water Ass’n, Inc., 816 F.2d 1057, 1059 (5th Cir.1987), and Jennings Water, Inc. v. City of North Vernon, Ind., 895 F.2d 311, 315 (7th Cir.1989)). Therefore, where other requirements for injunctive relief were met, such as ample evidence in the record to support an injunction and sufficient specificity of the injunction, the court in the North Alamo Water Supply Corp. case upheld injunctive relief as a means to “enforce” § 1926(b). Id. at 917. In addition to the decisions cited by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in North Alamo Water Supply Corp., and that decision itself, injunctive relief has been sought or granted in other cases. See, e.g., Scioto Water, 103 F.3d at 41 (denying injunctive relief sought for an alleged violation of § 1926(b), not because such relief was unavailable to enforce the statute, but because the plaintiff was not entitled to the protections of § 1926(b)); Wayne, 36 F.3d at 531 (injunctive relief granted for a violation of § 1926(b)). The willingness of courts to grant injunctive relief for violations of § 1926(b), however, does not necessarily answer the question of what authority creates a private cause of action to seek such relief. Certainly, § 1983 would provide the vehicle to obtain such relief. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (authorizing a private right of action “at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress” for persons injured by a violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States). Thus, a claim for injunctive relief from violations of § 1926(b) would seem to fall within the ambit of a § 1983 claim. As RWS # 1 suggests, in addition to actions for injunctive relief, courts have entertained declaratory judgment actions to determine whether violations of § 1926(b) have or could occur. See, e.g., Scioto Water, 103 F.3d at 41 (declaratory judgment action alleging a violation of § 1926(b) and seeking injunctive relief); Lexington-South Elkhorn Water Dist. v. City of Wilmore, Ky., 93 F.3d 230, 232 (6th Cir.1996) (declaratory judgment action by water district seeking protection from encroachment on its service area by a municipality in violation of § 1926(b)); see also CSL Utilities, Inc. v. Jennings Water, Inc., 16 F.3d 130 (7th Cir.1994) (declaratory judgment action by a private, non-profit water utility against a rural water association indebted to FmHA seeking a declaration that the utility’s building of water facility did not violate § 1926(b)), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 812, 115 S.Ct. 65, 130 L.Ed.2d 22 (1994). Congress has provided for declaratory judgments by the federal courts through two provisions of the Declaratory Judgment Act, which state, in pertinent part, the following: § 2201. Creation of remedy (a) In a case of actual controversy within its jurisdiction, ... any court of the United States, upon the filing of an appropriate pleading, may declare the rights and other legal relations of any interested party seeking such declaration, whether or not further relief is or could be sought. Any such declaration shall have the force and effect of a final judgment or decree and shall be reviewable as such. * * * § 2202. Further relief Further necessary or proper relief based on a declaratory judgment or decree may be granted, after reasonable notice and hearing, against any adverse party whose rights have been determined by such judgment. 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201(a), 2202. These two provisions establish the means whereby RWS # 1 can obtain not only the declaratory relief it seeks, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, but also such “further” relief as is “necessary and appropriate.” 28 U.S.C. § 2202. The vehicle of enforcing § 1926(b) afforded by the Declaratory Judgment Act is therefore an alternative to that provided by § 1983. Because § 1983 is not the only vehicle for enforcement of § 1926(b), RWS # 1 has properly asserted two different claims founded on alleged violations of § 1926(b). B. The Timeliness Of RWS #l’s Claims 1. The timeliness of the § 1983 action The City contends that RWS # l’s § 1983 claim is time-barred by the applicable statute of limitations for such actions, Iowa’s two-year statute of limitations for personal injuries, Iowa Code § 614.1(2). The City contends that RWS # 1 is complaining of actions taken more than two years before suit was filed November 2, 1995. Specifically, RWS # 1 complains of actions taken by the City as early as 1987, with the heart of their complaint being that the City improperly annexed disputed territory in 1989. However, the complaint in this matter was not filed until nearly six years later and a § 1983 claim was not specifically asserted until September 30, 1996, almost seven years later. Thus, the City contends the original complaint and amended complaint asserting a § 1983 claim were filed well after the limitations period had run. RWS # 1 responds that it has asserted a “continuing violation” of § 192(b), because of the City’s pattern and practice of continuing to assert its right to serve water customers in the disputed area, beginning in 1987 and continuing to the present. a. The applicable statute of limitation s Section 1983 contains no statute of limitations. Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 280, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 1949, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985). When such a void in federal statutory law occurs, federal courts have repeatedly “borrowed” the state laws governing an analogous cause of action. Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., 421 U.S. 454, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1975); O’Sullivan v. Felix, 233 U.S. 318, 34 S.Ct. 596, 58 L.Ed. 980 (1914); Kansas Pub. Emps. Retirement Sys. v. Reimer & Roger Assocs., Inc., 61 F.3d 608, 611 (8th Cir.1995) (in a federal question case, where there is no federal statute of limitations, the federal court will borrow the forum state’s limitations laws, if not inconsistent with federal law or policy), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 915, 133 L.Ed.2d 845 (1996). For § 1983 claims, courts have “borrowed” the personal injury statute of limitations of the state in which the court sits, identifying that statute in Iowa cases to be Iowa Code § 614.1(2). Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235, 236, 109 S.Ct. 573, 574, 102 L.Ed.2d 594 (1989); Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. at 280, 105 S.Ct. at 1949; Schanou v. Lancaster County Sch. Dist. No. 160, 62 F.3d 1040, 1043 (8th Cir.1995) (parties and court agreed that Nebraska’s four-year statute of limitations for personal injuries applied to action pursuant to § 1983); Sanchez v. United States, 49 F.3d 1329, 1330 (8th Cir.1995) (holding that both Bivens claims and § 1983 claims are governed by the statute of limitations for personal injuries of the forum state, and noting that the applicable statute, Iowa’s personal injury statute of limitations, Iowa Code § 614.1(2), provides for a limitations period of two years); Penn v. Iowa State Bd. of Regents, 999 F.2d 305, 307 (8th Cir.1993) (applying Iowa’s two-year personal injury statute, citing Wilson); Davis v. Ross, 995 F.2d 137, 138 (8th Cir.1993) (per curiam) (applying Iowa’s two-year personal injury statute of limitations, citing Wycoff v. Menke, 773 F.2d 983, 984 (8th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1028, 106 S.Ct. 1230, 89 L.Ed.2d 339 (1986)); Raster v. State of Iowa, 975 F.2d 1381, 1382 (8th Cir.1992) (Iowa’s two-year personal injury statute of limitations applies to a § 1983 action); Carr v. Aubuchon, 969 F.2d 714, 716 (8th Cir.1992) (applying Missouri’s five-year personal injury statute); Lown v. Brimeyer, 956 F.2d 780, 781 (8th Cir.) (Iowa’s two-year personal injury statute applies to § 1983 claims, citing Wycoff), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 860, 113 S.Ct. 176, 121 L.Ed.2d 122 (1992); Bridgeman v. Nebraska State Penitentiary, 849 F.2d 1076, 1077 (8th Cir.1988) (applying Nebraska’s four-year personal injury statute to § 1983 claim, thus applying Wilson retroactively); Chandler v. Presiding Judge, Callaway County, 838 F.2d 977, 978-79 (8th Cir.1988) (applying Missouri’s five-year personal injury statute of limitations); Hughes v. Sheriff of Fall River County Jail, 814 F.2d 532, 533 (8th Cir.) (applying South Dakota’s three-year personal injury statute to § 1983 claim), appeal dismissed and cert. denied, 484 U.S. 802, 108 S.Ct. 46, 98 L.Ed.2d 10 (1987); Wycoff 773 F.2d at 984. Therefore, in this case, RWS # l’s claim pursuant to § 1983 is governed by the personal injury statute of the state of Iowa. The applicable statute of limitations is Iowa Code § 614.1(2). That statute provides, in pertinent part: 614.1 Period. Actions may be brought within the times herein limited, respectively, after their causes accrue, and not afterwards, except when otherwise specially declared: * * * 2. Injuries to person or reputation— relative rights — statute penalty. Those founded on injuries to the person or reputation, including injuries to relative rights, whether based on contract or tort, or for a statute penalty, within two years. Iowa Code § 614.1(2). Certainly, much of the conduct by the City of which RWS # 1 complains occurred more than two years before the original complaint in this matter was filed. The question is, when did RWS # l’s § 1983 cause of action accrue? b. “Accrual” and “continuing violations” A “continuing violation” is an exception to the bar posed by a statute of limitations to claims based on actions that occurred before the statute of limitations period. Varner v. National Super Markets, Inc., 94 F.3d 1209, 1214 (8th Cir.1996) (stating this principle in a Title VII “hostile environment” case), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 117 S.Ct. 946, 136 L.Ed.2d 835 (1997); Ashley v. Boyle’s Famous Corned Beef Co., 66 F.3d 164, 167 (8th Cir.1995) (en banc) (Title VII ease). Although the “continuing violation” theory is most often encountered in discrimination cases, it is also applicable to § 1983 claims for continuing violations of a federal law or the Constitution. See, e.g., Kuhnle Bros., Inc. v. County of Geauga, 103 F.3d 516, 520 (6th Cir.1997). When a “continuing violation” is shown, the limitations period runs from the “last occurrence” of wrongful conduct. Varner, 94 F.3d at 1214; Gipson v. KAS Snacktime Co., 83 F.3d 225, 229 (8th Cir.1996). Furthermore, the entire course of conduct creating the continuing violation is actionable. Varner, 94 F.3d at 1214. RWS # 1 has alleged a series or pattern of wrongful actions by the City, encroachments upon RWS # l’s service area, all stemming from the expansion of the City to its current city limits in 1989. Actions that are alleged to be part of this series or pattern of wrongful acts have continued to occur until well within the limitations period, including attempts by the City to serve customers within the disputed territory in 1994, 1995, and, in the case of the “Byl subdivision,” 1996. RWS # 1 has supported its allegations of a “continuing violation” with documentary evidence sufficient, at a minimum, to establish a genuine issue of material fact as to whether there have in fact been continuing episodes that form a series or pattern of violations of § 1926(b). Therefore, there is, at a minimum, a genuine issue of material fact concerning whether RWS # l’s claims asserted pursuant to § 1983 are time-barred. The City is not entitled to summary judgment on this ground, and the court may properly consider the cross-motions for summary judgment on the merits of the § 1983 claim. 2. The timeliness of a declaratory judgment action The question of the timeliness of RWS # l’s declaratory judgment action is not one of being too late, but potentially too early. This is so, because “[t]he case or controversy requirement of Article III applies with equal force to actions for declaratory judgment as it does to actions seeking traditional ... relief.” Marine Equip. Management Co. v. United States, 4 F.3d 643, 646 (8th Cir.1993) (citing Foster v. Center Township of La Porte County, 798 F.2d 237, 242 (7th Cir.1986)); see also State ex rel. Missouri Highway & Transp. Comm’n v. Cuffley, 112 F.3d 1332, 1337 (8th Cir.1997) (“The case-or-controversy requirement of Article II applies in declaratory actions, just as it does in coercive actions.”). The test recognized by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals as applicable to the question of whether there is an actual “case or controversy” for an action under the Declaratory Judgment Act is “whether ‘there is a substantial controversy between the parties having adverse legal interests, of sufficient immediacy and reality to warrant the issuance of a declaratory judgment.’ ” Id. (quoting Caldwell v. Gurley Refining Co., 755 F.2d 645 (8th Cir.1985), in turn citing Maryland Cas. Co. v. Pacific Coal & Oil Co., 312 U.S. 270, 61 S.Ct. 510, 85 L.Ed. 826 (1941)); see also Lake Carriers’ Ass’n v. MacMullan, 406 U.S. 498, 92 S.Ct. 1749, 32 L.Ed.2d 257 (1972) (same test); Cuffley, 112 F.3d at 1332, 1337 (“ ‘The basic inquiry is whether the “conflicting contentions of the parties ... present a real, substantial controversy between parties having adverse legal interests, a dispute definite and concrete, not hypothetical or abstract,” ’ ” quoting Babbitt v. United Farm Workers, Nat’l Union, 442 U.S. 289, 298, 99 S.Ct. 2301, 2308, 60 L.Ed.2d 895 (1979), in turn quoting Railway Mail Ass’n v. Corsi, 326 U.S. 88, 93, 65 S.Ct. 1483, 1487, 89 L.Ed. 2072 (1945)). Because “substantial controversy” is “imprecise,” the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified that the decision of whether such a controversy exists is to be made upon the facts on a case-by-case basis. Id. (citing Golden v. Zwickler, 394 U.S. 103, 108, 89 S.Ct. 956, 959-60, 22 L.Ed.2d 113 (1969)). Furthermore, in order to be “substantial,” the controversy “must be live throughout the course of the litigation and must exist at the time of the district court’s hearing of the matter and not simply when the case is filed.” Id. Here, the court finds that the three requirements for prosecution of the present declaratory judgment action have been met. First, there is indeed a “live” or “substantial controversy” over whether the actions of the City have violated or may in the future violate § 1926(b). Id. Second, that controversy is between parties having adverse legal interests who are properly aligned and present before the court to argue the controversy. Id. Third, the controversy remains of sufficient immediacy and reality to warrant the issuance of a declaratory judgment. Id. There have been, and for the foreseeable future are likely to be, disputes over which customers “belong” to which entity desiring to provide water services. Thus, the declaratory judgment action is timely. - Furthermore, the court finds this case to be one in which it should exercise its discretion to hear declaratory judgment claims. The Declaratory Judgment Act confers “ ‘unique and substantial discretion’ ” upon federal courts, including discretion whether to entertain, stay, or dismiss the action. Horne v. Firemen’s Retirement Sys. of St. Louis, 69 F.3d 233, 236 (8th Cir.1995) (quoting Wilton v. Seven Falls Co., 515 U.S. 277, 279-280 & 289-290, 115 S.Ct. 2137, 2139 & 2144, 132 L.Ed.2d 214 (1995)); International Ass’n of Entrepreneurs of Am. v. Angoff, 58 F.3d 1266, 1270 (8th Cir.1995), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 774, 133 L.Ed.2d 726 (1996); BASF Corp. v. Symington, 50 F.3d 555, 557 (8th Cir.1995); Employers Ins. of Wausau v. Missouri Elec. Works, Inc., 23 F.3d 1372, 1374 (8th Cir.1994) (noting that “[a] district court is not obligated to exercise jurisdiction in a diversity case brought under the Declaratory Judgment Act,” citing Brillhart v. Excess Ins. Co., 316 U.S. 491, 494, 62 S.Ct. 1173, 1175, 86 L.Ed. 1620 (1942), and discussing grounds for abstaining from considering such an action”). For example, the Declaratory Judgment Act is not to be used either for tactical advantage by litigants or to open a new portal of entry to federal court for suits that are essentially defensive or reactive to state actions. Moses H. Cone Mem. Hosp. v. Mercury Constr. Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 18 n. 20, 103 S.Ct. 927, 937, 74 L.Ed.2d 765 (1983); BASF [Corp. v. Symington], 50 F.3d [555,] 558 [ (8th Cir.1995) ] (citing cases); Continental Cas. Co. v. Robsac Indus., 947 F.2d 1367, 1372-73 (9th Cir.1991); Omaha Property [and Cas. Ins. Co. v. Johnson], 923 F.2d [446,] 448 [ (6th Cir.1991) ]; Continental Airlines [v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.], 819 F.2d [1519,] 1524 [ (9th Cir.1987) ]; Transamerica [Occidental Life Ins. Co. v. DiGregorio], 811 F.2d [1249,] 1253 [ (9th Cir.1987) ]; Home Fed. Sav. and Loan Assn. v. Ins. Dept. of Iowa, 571 F.2d 423, 427 (8th Cir.1978).... More specifically, the Declaratory Judgment Act is not to be used to bring to the federal courts an affirmative defense which can be asserted in a pending state action. Franchise Tax Bd. [of Calif. v. Constr. Laborers Vacation Trust for S. Calif.], 463 U.S. [1,] 16, 103 S.Ct. at 2849-50, 77 L.Ed.2d 420 [ (1983) ] (discussing Shelly Oil Co. v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 339 U.S. 667, 70 S.Ct. 876, 94 L.Ed. 1194 (1950)); BASF, 50 F.3d at 558. In addition, the Declaratory Judgment Act is not meant to expand federal jurisdiction. Franchise Tax Bd., 463 U.S. at 15-16, 103 S.Ct. at 2849-50; Home Federal, 571 F.2d at 427 n. 17. Angoff, 58 F.3d at 1270. The court finds none of these misuses of the Declaratory Judgment Act here. Instead, the court finds a legitimate action, arising from a controversy over the proper interpretation of federal law, and the parties ask the court to provide the relief afforded by the Declaratory Judgment Act, that is, “to declare the rights and other legal relations of any interested party.” 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a). Therefore, the declaratory judgment claim, like the § 1983 claim, is properly before the court. With these preliminary questions resolved, the court may consider the portions of the cross-motions for summary judgment concerning the merits of RWS # l’s claims. C. The Merits Of The Claims The questions upon which the parties and amicus focused their attentions are the following: Is RWS # 1 entitled to the protections of § 1926(b) and does the City’s conduct violate or potentially violate the protections afforded to RWS # 1 by the statute? These two questions, at the heart of this litigation, are contentious indeed. Not only have these questions been argued tooth and nail by the parties, but they have drawn amicus curiae, who also see much at stake in how these questions are resolved, into the concrete controversy between the parties. Although the answer to the first question involves primarily interpretation of federal statutes, the answer to the second question involves a rather complicated interplay between federal law and state law, with the companion question of whether the state law is preempted by the federal. Furthermore, if the first and second questions are answered favorably to RWS # 1, the City contends that it is nonetheless entitled to judgment in its favor, because the scope of the § 1926(b) protection asserted by RWS # 1 is a violation of the Tenth Amendment, thus rendering § 1926(b) unconstitutional. This Gordian knot can be untangled only one strand at a time; therefore, the court addresses first the question of whether RWS # 1 is entitled to whatever protections § 1926(b) might afford under the circumstances. 1. Is RWS #1 entitled to the protections of § 1926(b)? a. The applicable statutes Section 1926 of Title 7, enacted as part of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CFRDA), governs federal loans made to water and waste facilities. 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b); Scioto Water, 103 F.3d at 40. It authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make or insure loans to associations, for example, for water conservation, use, development, and control projects. Id.; Scioto Water, 103 F.3d at 40. Subdivision (a) of § 1926 governs the terms of loans made or insured by the Secretary of Agriculture. 7 U.S.C. § 1926(a). The specific subdivision of § 1926 in question here, however, is subsection (b), which provides as follows: (b) Curtailment or limitation of service prohibited The service provided or made available through any such association shall not be curtailed or limited by inclusion of the area served by such association within the boundaries of any municipal corporation or other public body, or by the granting of any private franchise for similar service within such area during the term of such loan; nor shall the happening of any such event be the basis of requiring such association to secure any franchise, license, or permit as a condition to continuing to serve the area served by the association at the time of the occurrence of such event. 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b) (emphasis added). Courts have identified two purposes behind § 1926(b): “(1) to encourage rural water development by expanding the number of potential users of such systems, thereby decreasing the per-user cost, and (2) to safeguard the viability and financial security of such associations (and [Farmers Home Administration’s] loans) by protecting them from the expansion of nearby cities and towns.” City of Madison, Miss. v. Bear Creek Water Ass’n, 816 F.2d 1057, 1060 (5th Cir.1987) (citing S.Rep. No. 566, 87th Cong., 1st Sess., reprinted in 1961 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin. News 2243, 2309); accord Scioto Water, 103 F.3d at 40 (quoting Bear Creek); Lexingtorir-South Elkhorn Water Dist., 93 F.3d at 233 (“In order to encourage rural water development by expanding the number of potential users and to safeguard the financial viability of rural associations and Farmers Home Administration loans, 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b) was enacted,” citing Bear Creek); North Alamo Water Supply Corp., 90 F.3d at 915 (also citing that Circuit Court of Appeals’ prior decision in Bear Creek for the purposes of the statute); CSL Utils., Inc., 16 F.3d at 137 (“Section § 1926(b) is, of course, aimed at suppressing competition with a supplier endowed with public funds.”). Thus, § 1926(b) protects a borrowing association, and consequently the United States government as a secured party on loans to the association, from curtailment of the association’s service area, which is the association’s financial base. In order to fulfill these purposes, the provision “‘should be given a liberal interpretation that protects rural water associations indebted to the FmHA from municipal encroachment.’ ” Lexington-South Elkhorn Water Dist., 93 F.3d at 235 (quoting Wayne, 36 F.3d at 527, in turn quoting Jennings Water, Inc., 895 F.2d at 315); North Alamo Water Supply Corp., 90 F.3d at 915 (“Every federal court to have interpreted § 1926(b) has concluded that the statute should be liberally interpreted to protect FmHA-indebted rural water associations from municipal encroachment.”); Jennings Water, 895 F.2d at 315 (“All five federal courts that have reviewed section 1926(b) have concluded that the provisión should be given a liberal interpretation that protects rural water associations indebted to the FmHA from municipal encroachment.”). Courts have also consistently noted the requirement of § 1926(b) that an association be indebted to the United States in order to obtain the protections of that subdivision. Scioto Water, 103 F.3d at 42; Lexingtomn-South Elkhorn Water Dist, 93 F.3d at 235 (describing indebtedness to the FmHA as one of the “threshold requirements” for protection under § 1926(b), along with “having ‘made service available’ in the area”); CSL Utils., Inc., 16 F.3d at 133 (recognizing that the protection of § 1926(b) exists only “during the term of such loan.”). RWS # 1 does not dispute that it was not indebted to the United States between September 22, 1988, and July 1, 1992. The City contends that RWS # 1 lost the protections of § 1926(b) during the period it was not indebted to the FmHA. However, RWS # 1 contends that it was still entitled to the protection of § 1926(b) during that period by virtue of statutes governing the sell-off by the FmHA of the obligations of water associations held by FmHA. RWS # 1 contends further that its protection under § 1926(b) was renewed when it again became indebted to the United States in 1992. As part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (1986 OBRA), the FmHA was required to