Facts: Easterday Ranches, Inc., in anticipation of opening a cattle feedlot on property that it owns in Franklin County, drilled a well on the property in order to provide the anticipated 450,000 to 600,000 daily gallons of water needed to operate the feedlot. Petitioner Five Corners Family Farmers, the owner of a nearby property, subsequently petitioned the Superior Court for Thurston County for a declaratory judgment that Washington Revised Code §90.44.050, which exempts the withdrawal of public groundwater for stock-watering purposes from permit requirements, limits such withdrawals to 5,000 gallons per day. The superior court ruled that §90.44.050 permits the unlimited withdrawal of public groundwater for stock-watering purposes. Five Corners Family Farms appealed this decision directly to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Does Five Corners Family Farmers have standing to bring a declaratory judgment action?
If so, does §90.44.050 limit withdrawals of public groundwater for stock-watering purposes to 5,000 gallons per day?
Conclusion: Justice Owens’ opinion for the Court affirmed the superior court. The Court held that Five Corners Family Farmers has standing given that it has applied for a permit to drill a well into the same aquifer and its ability to obtain that permit would be negatively affected if Easterday Ranches’ withdrawals of groundwater deplete the aquifer. However, the Court also found that §90.44.050’s limitation of withdrawals of public groundwater to 5,000 gallons per day is limited to withdrawals for industrial purposes and that §90.44.050 permits unlimited withdrawals for stock-watering purposes.
Docket No. 84632-4 (from Franklin Case No. 09-2-51185-6)
Petitioner: Five Corners Family Farmers
(Counsel: Janette K. Brimmer and Kristen L. Boyles)
Respondent: State of Washington
(Counsel: William Louis Cameron and R. Crane Bergdahl)
Briefs:
- Aa's Reply to Ap's Amicus
- Amicus of IIt
- Amicus of a P
- Answer
- Answer of State and Doe
- Appellants Brief
- Appellants Reply and Response to Cross Appeal
- Appellants Statement of Grounds
- Attorney General Assoc Answer
- Attorney General Assoc Respondent Brief
- Easterday's Response to Aqua Permanente Amicus
- Intervenor Respondent Wca Brief
- Respondent Answer to Ap and IIt Amici
- Respondent Cross Appellant Easterday Opening Brief
- Respondent Cross Appellant Easterday Reply
- Response to Amicus of Tribes
- State and Doe Respondent Brief
- Statement of Additional Auth
Argument: Thursday, June 16, 2011 10:00am
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
Prevailing Party: State of Washington (Respondent)
Vote: 6-3
Citation: Pending
Court: Madsen2 Court (2011)
Madsen
Johnson
Alexander
Chambers
Owens
(Majority)
Fairhurst
Johnson
Stephens
Wiggins
(Dissent)
Note: We post only slip opinion(s) as published at the time of the decision. Please consult Washington Reports printed volumes for the opinion(s) in their final form. Each opinion should appear next to the Justice who authored it.