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Keywords

appealdue processwater rights

water rights

Related Cases

Rettkowski v. Department of Ecology, 122 Wash.2d 219, 858 P.2d 232

Facts

For over two decades, ranchers complained to the Department of Ecology about the impact of groundwater pumping by irrigation farmers on the flow of Sinking Creek. After investigations, Ecology determined that the ranchers had superior water rights and issued cease and desist orders to the irrigation farmers, prohibiting further groundwater withdrawals. The irrigation farmers appealed these orders, leading to a complex legal battle over the authority of Ecology to regulate water rights without a formal adjudication.

A group of ranchers who water their cattle at the aptly named Sinking Creek have complained to the Department of Ecology (Ecology) for over two decades about the detrimental effect on the creek's flow of groundwater pumping by irrigation farmers in the surrounding area.

Issue

Did the Department of Ecology have the authority to issue cease and desist orders against the irrigation farmers without conducting a general adjudication of water rights?

Rule

An agency may only act within the authority granted to it by the Legislature, and the authority to adjudicate and enforce water rights is specifically granted to the superior courts under RCW 90.03.

An agency may only do that which it is authorized to do by the Legislature.

Analysis

The court found that Ecology's actions in issuing cease and desist orders were beyond its statutory authority, as it did not have the power to determine water rights or priorities without a general adjudication. The court emphasized that the Water Code provides a specific process for adjudicating water rights, which Ecology failed to follow. The court also noted that the lack of a formal adjudication meant that the irrigation farmers were denied due process.

Our review of the statutory framework and relevant cases convinces us that both questions must be answered in the negative. The authority to adjudicate and enforce water rights in these circumstances is specifically granted to the superior courts by RCW 90.03.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's ruling that the cease and desist orders were invalid, holding that Ecology lacked the authority to issue such orders without a general adjudication of water rights.

We hold that Ecology had no authority to issue these cease and desist orders without first utilizing a general adjudication pursuant to RCW 90.03 in order to determine the existence, amount, and priorities of the water rights claimed in the Sinking Creek basin.

Who won?

Irrigation farmers prevailed in the case because the court determined that the Department of Ecology exceeded its authority in issuing the cease and desist orders without a proper adjudication of water rights.

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