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Oregon high court rules in favor of
irrigation district
Mitch Lies
Capital Press
July 11. 2008
SALEM - The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Fort Vannoy Irrigation District in a case watched closely by property rights organizations and irrigation district patrons around Oregon.
The Thursday, July 10, ruling upholds a Court of Appeals finding that property owner Ken-Wal Farms needed the irrigation district's consent to transfer a water right outside the district.
The Court of Appeals earlier overturned an order from the Oregon Water Resources Commission granting the farm the right to transfer the water right outside the district.
The ruling is critical to the survival of the Fort Vannoy Irrigation District near Grants Pass, said Herman Baertschiger, chairman of the Fort Vannoy Irrigation District.
"Our infrastructure was set up to deliver a certain amount of water," Baertschiger said. "If we don't have that amount of water it would limit our ability to serve the rest of the patrons."
Baertschiger said the decision could reverberate throughout Oregon in cases where district patrons wish to transfer water rights outside a district against the will of the district.
"In my opinion, since the court ruled in our favor, irrigation districts in the state of Oregon will continue to operate the way they have for the last 100 years serving their patrons," Baertschiger said.
"If the Supreme Court would have ruled in favor of the state, I believe irrigation districts could have failed across the state and/or have been limited in their ability to serve their patrons and some patrons would have been left high and dry.
"If districts don't have the ability to manage the water rights, there is no way that they can serve their patrons," he said.
Helen Moore, executive director of Water for Life, which filed a brief on behalf of the farm, said she believes the ruling is limited to the circumstances of this case and doesn't extend to other districts.
"We're disappointed in the decision," she said, "but given the special facts involved in this particular case, we understand how the court reached the decision it did.
"We believe it doesn't address a number of issues relating to ownership of water rights. We believe it doesn't extend beyond this specific case and these very specific facts."
Fort Vannoy Irrigation District has 87 patrons irrigating 820 acres with water rights dating back to 1930.
Mitch Lies
Capital Press
July 11. 2008
SALEM - The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Fort Vannoy Irrigation District in a case watched closely by property rights organizations and irrigation district patrons around Oregon.
The Thursday, July 10, ruling upholds a Court of Appeals finding that property owner Ken-Wal Farms needed the irrigation district's consent to transfer a water right outside the district.
The Court of Appeals earlier overturned an order from the Oregon Water Resources Commission granting the farm the right to transfer the water right outside the district.
The ruling is critical to the survival of the Fort Vannoy Irrigation District near Grants Pass, said Herman Baertschiger, chairman of the Fort Vannoy Irrigation District.
"Our infrastructure was set up to deliver a certain amount of water," Baertschiger said. "If we don't have that amount of water it would limit our ability to serve the rest of the patrons."
Baertschiger said the decision could reverberate throughout Oregon in cases where district patrons wish to transfer water rights outside a district against the will of the district.
"In my opinion, since the court ruled in our favor, irrigation districts in the state of Oregon will continue to operate the way they have for the last 100 years serving their patrons," Baertschiger said.
"If the Supreme Court would have ruled in favor of the state, I believe irrigation districts could have failed across the state and/or have been limited in their ability to serve their patrons and some patrons would have been left high and dry.
"If districts don't have the ability to manage the water rights, there is no way that they can serve their patrons," he said.
Helen Moore, executive director of Water for Life, which filed a brief on behalf of the farm, said she believes the ruling is limited to the circumstances of this case and doesn't extend to other districts.
"We're disappointed in the decision," she said, "but given the special facts involved in this particular case, we understand how the court reached the decision it did.
"We believe it doesn't address a number of issues relating to ownership of water rights. We believe it doesn't extend beyond this specific case and these very specific facts."
Fort Vannoy Irrigation District has 87 patrons irrigating 820 acres with water rights dating back to 1930.
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