In what appears to have been an agonizing 6-3 decision by the Washington Supreme Court (it took over 20 months to issue a decision after oral argument), the municipal water law of 2003 has been upheld against an as-applied constitutional challenge. The new decision in Cornelius v. Wash. Dept. of Ecology, Wash. State Univ., and Wash. Pol. Ctrl. Hearings Bd.,…
Category: News
Does Your Public Water System Need a Professional Water Right Assessment?
When was the last time your municipal water system hired an experienced water rights attorney to review and assess the scope, validity and status of its water rights portfolio? If you don’t know, or its been over 10 years, your water rights may be at risk. Public water systems have a duty to preserve and protect their water rights for…
Ecology Director Denies Petition to Repeal Skagit Instream Flow Rule
On January 15, 2015, Ecology Director Maia Bellon denied the latest petition to amend or repeal the 2001 Skagit Basin Instream Flow Rule (Chapter 173-503 WAC), which had been reinstated as a result of the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v. Ecology. The petition was filed in NOvember 2014 by attorney Bill Clarke on behalf of a group of realtors,…
Validity of Dungeness Watershed Management Rule Challenged in new Lawsuit
A Petition for Declaratory Judgment has been filed in Thurston County Superior Court by Olympic Resource Protection Council (ORPC) to determine the validity of the Dungeness Watershed Management Rule. ORPC has been critical of the Dungeness Rule because of its impacts on Clallam County residents, including widespread uncertainty about water availability, inconsistency with local land use authority, and unnecessary costs on development and use…
Ecology Issues Rural Water Supply Strategy Report
Since the water availability crisis in the Skagit basin erupted after the Supreme Court’s decision in Swinomish v. Ecology, Ecology held several workgroup meetings with tribal representatives and other stakeholders to develop and assess potential solutions to the agency’s challenges with instream flow regulations and water availability. Ecology issued its report on this effort in November 2014, entitled “FINDING RURAL DOMESTIC WATER…