Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Nov. 9, 1999

99-235

Contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, Public Information Officer, 509-575-2610
Mary McCrea, Assistant Attorney General, 360-664-2962

Litigants to seek settlement over surface-water rights

OLYMPIA - Several parties to a water-right lawsuit in the Yakima River basin today will ask for a "time out" while they work out a process for settling the size of long-held surface-water rights.

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), with the support of local irrigation districts and canal companies, will file a motion with Superior Court Judge Walter Stauffacher to temporarily stay adjudication proceedings related to the relinquishment of surface-water rights for major claimants in the case.

The Yakama Nation and the federal Bureau of Reclamation have no objection to the stay. Also, proceedings for other claimants in the case, known as the Acquavella Adjudication, would not be delayed.

The request comes two months after Stauffacher ruled that the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District had forfeited its right to about 10,000 acre feet of surface water, which represents almost 10 percent of the water the district thought it had available. Under state law, a water right is generally lost - or relinquished - if it goes unused for five consecutive years.

Based on the facts in the case, it appears that a number of other major water users face similar rulings in the future, said Keith Phillips, who manages the water-resources program for Ecology. He said the rulings likely would result in many years of expensive legal appeals and ongoing uncertainty about the availability of water for various needs.

"All of us want to reduce the confusion around water rights, not perpetuate it, " said Phillips. "Court rulings can bring clarity to a situation, but they don't necessarily bring relief. We want to try to achieve settlements that provide the flexibility and fairness that we're all looking for."

Phillips added that resolving the size of surface-water rights for major water users in the basin would aid local watershed planning. "We don't want the watershed planners to have to wait for drawn-out court appeals before they can make decisions about future water use in the Yakima Basin" he said.

The motion will seek a two-month stay in the Yakima Basin adjudication. If granted by the court, the major parties will use the time to define the interests of each party, outline the topics to be addressed during settlement discussions, identify who would participate in settlement discussions, and determine who might facilitate the settlement.

A decision on the temporary stay is expected in one or two weeks. If a settlement process were agreed on, the parties would likely ask to continue the stay during the actual settlement discussions.