Klamath Irrigation District v. Water Resources Dept.

518 P.3d 970, 321 Or. App. 581
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedSeptember 8, 2022
DocketA176270
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 518 P.3d 970 (Klamath Irrigation District v. Water Resources Dept.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Klamath Irrigation District v. Water Resources Dept., 518 P.3d 970, 321 Or. App. 581 (Or. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Argued and submitted July 15; judgment for plaintiff reversed, remanded with instructions to dismiss complaint September 8, 2022

KLAMATH IRRIGATION DISTRICT, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. OREGON WATER RESOURCES DEPARTMENT, an agency of the State of Oregon; Thomas Byler, in his official capacity as Director of the Oregon Water Resources Department; and Danette Watson, in her official capacity as Watermaster for the Oregon Water Resources Department, Defendants-Appellants. Marion County Circuit Court 20CV17922; A176270 518 P3d 970

In this action brought by plaintiff Klamath Irrigation District, a quasi- municipal corporation organized under ORS chapter 545, defendants Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD), its director Thomas Byler, and Danette Watson, the watermaster for the department’s District 17, appeal from an order of the Marion County Circuit Court compelling defendants to direct the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) to cease releasing stored water from Upper Klamath Lake through the Link River Dam for instream uses for which plaintiff contends the Bureau has no Oregon water right or authority under the federal Reclamation Act. Defendants contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim or in denying their motion for summary judgment for the failure to join the Bureau as an indispens- able party. Held: The Bureau was a necessary party to the litigation under ORCP 29 A, because the relief requested and ordered by the trial court is inconsistent with the Bureau’s obligations under federal law, and an order to the Bureau to cease the release of stored waters from Upper Klamath Lake would impair the Bureau’s obligations under the Endangered Species Act and to Indian tribes and would be but a pyrrhic victory for plaintiff that would likely be overturned in fed- eral court. The Bureau, as a part of the federal government, cannot be compelled to join in the litigation. The factors described in ORCP 29 B require the conclusion that the Bureau was an indispensable party. The trial court therefore abused its discretion in allowing the litigation to proceed without the Bureau. Judgment for plaintiff reversed; remanded with instructions to dismiss complaint.

J. Channing Bennett, Judge. Denise G. Fjordbeck, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for appellants. Also on the briefs were Ellen F. Rosenblum, and Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General. 582 Klamath Irrigation District v. Water Resources Dept.

Nathan R. Rietmann argued the cause for respondent. Also on the brief was Rietmann Law, P.C. Paulo Palugod, Washington, argued the cause for amicus curiae Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, and WaterWatch of Oregon. Also on the brief were Karl G. Anuta and Law Office of Karl G. Anuta, P.C., and Patti A. Goldman, Washington. Before Tookey, Presiding Judge, and Egan, Judge, and Hellman, Judge. TOOKEY, P. J. Judgment for plaintiff reversed; remanded with instruc- tions to dismiss complaint. Cite as 321 Or App 581 (2022) 583

TOOKEY, P. J. Plaintiff Klamath Irrigation District (plaintiff), a quasi-municipal corporation organized under ORS chapter 545, brought this action in the Marion County Circuit Court against defendants Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD), its director Thomas Byler, and Danette Watson, the watermaster for the department’s District 17 (together, defendants),1 seeking an order directing OWRD to order the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) to cease releasing stored water for “instream uses” from the Link River Dam, for which plaintiff contends the Bureau has no Oregon water right or authority under the federal Reclamation Act. Defendants appeal from a general judgment of the trial court, assigning error to the trial court’s order granting of plaintiff’s request for relief under ORS 540.740 and compelling defendants to direct the Bureau to cease releasing stored water. Defendants contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim or in denying their motion for summary judgment.2 We conclude that the trial court erred in denying defendants’ motion to dismiss and therefore reverse. The background facts are undisputed. The Klamath basin, in southern Oregon and northern California, is the drainage basin for the Klamath River and other smaller rivers and tributaries and includes Upper Klamath Lake. Upper Klamath Lake is a large shallow freshwater lake that drains into the Link River and then through the Link River and Lake Ewauna to the Klamath River to the south. The Klamath Tribes, the Yurok Tribe, and the Hoopa Valley Tribe of Native Americans have fished in the waters of the Klamath Basin since time immemorial and have treaties protecting those rights. Baley v. United States, 942 F3d 1312, 1321-22 (DC Cir 2019), cert den, ___ US ___, 141 S Ct 133, 207 L Ed 2d 1078 (2020).

1 In this opinion, we refer to the Klamath Irrigation District as “plaintiff” and the state parties as “defendants,” as they are correctly designated in the pleadings in the trial court and in the state’s opening brief, rather than as “peti- tioner” and “respondents,” as they are designated on the captions. 2 The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Institute for Fisheries Resources, and WaterWatch of Oregon submitted a brief as amici curiae in support of the OWRD’s appeal. 584 Klamath Irrigation District v. Water Resources Dept.

In 1905, after the enactment of the federal Reclam- ation Act of 1902, and, as authorized by the Oregon Reclam- ation Act, Or Laws 1905, ch 228, § 2, the Bureau claimed all unappropriated water of the Klamath River, and took control of all water in the Klamath Basin “for irrigation, domestic, power, mechanical and other beneficial uses in and upon lands situated in Klamath Oregon and Modoc California counties.”3 The Bureau paid for the development of the Link River Dam, as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project (the Project), a complex system of irrigation works built to enable farming by settlers in the Klamath Basin. The Bureau manages the Project. Water flowing from Upper Klamath Lake into the Klamath River is controlled by the Link River Dam, which is in the Link River at the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake. The Link River Dam is owned by the Bureau but operated by Pacificorp. When water levels are high, the Link River Dam serves to allow the storage of water in Upper Klamath Lake for agricultural irrigation and other uses.

In 1909, Oregon enacted the Water Rights Act, now codified at ORS chapter 537. Under the Act, the waters of the state belong to the public, but new water rights can be obtained only by securing a permit, certificate, or license from the state. ORS 537.130(1). Water rights that existed before the effective date of the Act were not superseded but were required to be “adjudicated” through a process codi- fied in ORS chapter 539 that includes administrative and judicial phases. ORS 539.010(4); see ORS 539.130 - 539.150. When a final judgment is entered, water right certificates evidencing the rights are issued and recorded with OWRD. ORS 539.140.

3 In Klamath Irrigation Dist. v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
518 P.3d 970, 321 Or. App. 581, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/klamath-irrigation-district-v-water-resources-dept-orctapp-2022.