Fodé Vs Dept. of Ecology
From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson. A years-long water rights dispute between a Grant County farm family and the state Department of Ecology went before the Washington Supreme Court last week.
Attorney Allison Daniel, with the Pacific Legal Foundation, says farmers Ron and Robin Fodé are challenging how the DOE
handled a seasonal water transfer …
DANIEL … “We brought two claims, one arguing that Ecology didn’t follow the statute, which is the technical assistance statute, and that they violated the Administrative Procedure Act and that they didn’t go through rulemaking for a deadline that they established for administrative convenience.”
At the center of the dispute, Daniel says is a deadline Ecology used for applications seeking seasonal water rights transfers …
DANIEL … “They established a February 15th deadline for applications for seasonal transfer of water rights, and it was for their convenience. They said that the water master for the area needed the time to process the applications he received regardless of the type of water users and when they actually needed the water rights.”
The deadline, Daniel argues was established without going through the formal rulemaking …
DANIEL … “Ecology must think that the law doesn’t apply to them. They argued throughout that it was a quote-unquote flexible deadline, but it was clear from the record here that it wasn’t flexible.”
Daniel says they’re anticipating a decision no later than January, but it is up to the court.
