NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Friday, May 24, 2019
Oregon water law proposal sparks due process debate
Proposal would
remove the
‘automatic stay’
provision from
Oregon water law
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A legal tool that allows
Oregon farmers to prevent
irrigation shutdowns is safe
for now but lawmakers may
revisit a proposal to elimi-
nate it.
In times of low water
availability, state regula-
tors can order a grower
to halt irrigation to protect
the owner of a senior water
right with an older “prior-
ity date” for withdrawing
water.
Under
current
Ore-
gon law, the junior irrigator
can fend off such enforce-
ment by filing a “petition
for review” lawsuit against
the Oregon Water Resources
Department.
Critics of this “automatic
stay” mechanism claim it’s
being abused by irrigators
who know that slow-moving
legal processes will effec-
tively allow them to keep
diverting water to the detri-
ment of senior users.
In recent years, the prac-
Capital Press file photo
A legal tool that allows Oregon farmers to prevent irrigation shutdowns is safe for now but
lawmakers may revisit a proposal to eliminate it.
representatives recently tes-
tified in favor of House Bill
3430, a proposal that would
remove the “automatic stay”
provision from Oregon water
law.
While the bill is currently
dead due to legislative dead-
lines, the May 21 hearing
before the House Committee
on Energy and the Environ-
ment was likely an effort to
“gear it up” for a future leg-
islative session, said Jerome
Rosa, executive director
of the Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association.
Eliminating the automatic
tice has become controver-
sial due to numerous law-
suits against OWRD’s orders
“regulating off” irrigators at
the urging of the Klamath
Tribes, who hold the most
senior “time immemorial”
water rights.
“There are other senior
water rights in Oregon that
this should be a concern of
theirs because any junior
water right can use this loop-
hole anywhere in the state
of Oregon,” said Don Gen-
try, tribal chairman of the
Klamath Tribes.
Gentry and other tribal
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
stay would leave irrigators
vulnerable to potentially
erroneous shutdown orders,
he said.
“Our concern is some of
these judicial decisions can
take years, and in the mean-
time, our farmers and ranch-
ers won’t be able to utilize
their water rights.”
Opponents of HB 3430
argued that eliminating the
automatic stay would endan-
ger due process in water
rights enforcement, while the
bill’s proponents claimed the
mechanism already harms
the due process of senior
Overcast
69° 43°
66° 47°
Mostly cloudy
Some sun with a
few showers
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
72° 49°
79° 53°
74° 54°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
74° 49°
71° 50°
78° 52°
86° 56°
82° 58°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
58/51
63/43
73/46
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
70/48
Lewiston
59/51
78/50
Astoria
59/50
Pullman
Yakima 72/50
60/48
70/50
Portland
Hermiston
65/50
The Dalles 74/49
Salem
Corvallis
61/47
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
63/37
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
63/47
64/34
63/38
Ontario
70/49
Caldwell
Burns
0.00"
0.44"
0.83"
4.32"
4.96"
4.82"
WINDS (in mph)
68/48
63/38
Today
Sat.
Boardman WSW 12-25
Pendleton WSW 12-25
Medford
73/45
WSW 7-14
WSW 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
67/34
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:15 a.m.
8:29 p.m.
12:57 a.m.
10:23 a.m.
Last
New
First
Full
May 26
June 3
June 9
June 17
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 103° in Pecos, Texas Low 20° in Climax, Colo.
receive a vote.
It’s the byproduct of a
slowdown tactic deployed by
House Republicans for more
than three weeks. Democrats
control both the House and
Senate.
House Republican Leader
Carl Wilson said Wednesday
that Republicans will con-
tinue their tactic of requir-
ing bills to be read in full.
This was popularized during
the 2016 session and slows
down the legislative process
considerably,
particularly
when lengthy bills come to
the floor.
OREGON IN BRIEF
82°
43°
74°
49°
101° (1951) 30° (1964)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
61/48
0.00"
1.35"
0.96"
9.11"
6.07"
6.07"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 59/36
62/48
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
SALEM — The Oregon
House of Representatives will
begin holding Saturday floor
sessions next week.
Speaker Tina Kotek made
that announcement Wednes-
day in the latest sign lawmak-
ers are ramping up with an
eye toward the Constitutional
session deadline five weeks
away.
“Because of the need to
continue to move bills on the
floor, I ask you to hold your
Saturdays through the month
of June, starting June 1. We
will do 10 a.m. floors on Sat-
urdays,” Kotek, D-Portland,
announced on the House
floor.
“I don’t know how long
they will last; it will be depen-
dent on where the calendar
is,” she said. “But we are get-
ting close to the end of session
and sine die is imminent.”
The Statesman Jour-
nal reported that while leg-
islative leadership hopes to
end session by June 21, nine
days ahead of their Consti-
tutional deadline, the House
is grappling with a massive
backlog of bills ready to
HERMISTON
Enterprise
69/43
68/49
75°
45°
72°
49°
95° (2001) 23° (1903)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
60/50
Aberdeen
61/45
69/52
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
60/52
stay, effectively reinstating
the stay and “creating this
loop pattern,” Byler said.
“I want to be clear that the
department does not sup-
port taking away due pro-
cess. The question is what
does that due process look
like.”
Without the automatic
stay, farmers would be forced
to spend money on litigation
without being able to earn a
living, said Sarah Liljefelt, an
attorney for the Oregon Cat-
tlemen’s Association.
“Rather than putting them
out of business, this auto-
matic stay is their first chance
to try the facts,” Liljefelt said.
The
Oregon
Water
Resources
Department
can take aggressive action
against lawsuits it consid-
ers frivolous, since unsup-
ported claims are subject to
civil sanctions, said Dominic
Carollo, an attorney who rep-
resents irrigators.
“They have tools available
under the Oregon process
to weed those lawsuits out,”
Carollo said.
Growers must also expend
a substantial amount of time
and money to file a peti-
tion for review of an agency
action, said Caylin Bar-
ter, attorney for the Oregon
Association of Nurseries.
“They are not simple
documents to put together,”
she said.
Trying to finish, Oregon House
to begin Saturday sessions
Associated Press
Mostly cloudy and
not as warm
water rights holders.
“We believe it’s a nec-
essary fix to something
that flies in the face of prior
appropriations
doctrine,”
said Gentry of the Klamath
Tribes, referring to the “first
in time, first in right” tenet of
Oregon water law.
Senior water users don’t
even receive a notice when
an enforcement action is sus-
pended due to the automatic
stay, said Ed Goodman, an
attorney for the Klamath
Tribes.
“The automatic stay
doesn’t protect due process,
the automatic stay deprives
the senior water right of due
process,” he said.
Even without the auto-
matic stay, junior water users
could still seek a temporary
restraining order against an
allegedly unjustified enforce-
ment action, Goodman
said.
Though the Oregon Water
Resources Department can
overturn an automatic stay,
this process takes time during
which the senior water user is
harmed, said Tom Byler, the
agency’s director.
Since 2015, the agency
has denied six of the 32 auto-
matic stays associated with
cases challenging enforce-
ment orders, he said.
In the past, a grower has
filed another lawsuit against
the denial of an automatic
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Bonamici joins call for
impeachment proceedings
against Trump
impeachment proceedings. But they sup-
port continued investigations of the Trump
administration.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici on Wednesday
became Oregon’s second U.S. House mem-
ber to call for impeachment proceedings to
start against President Donald Trump.
“The president and the administration
are sending the message they’re above the
law,” Bonamici, D-Oregon, told Oregon
Public Broadcasting.
She accused Trump of a variety of
impeachable offenses, ranging from
obstructing the Mueller investigation of his
administration to human rights abuses in
separating children from their families at
the border.
The Democrat from Washington County
said she’s also become increasingly con-
cerned about the president’s refusal to pro-
vide information sought by congressional
investigators.
“How can we hold the president and the
administration accountable if they won’t
cooperate and answer questions?” she asked.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, earlier
this month also called for an inquiry into
impeachment. He said the Mueller Report
on Russian involvement in the 2016 election
produced a “treasure trove of information
that deserves further investigation.”
Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, and
Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, the other two
Democrats in the state’s House delega-
tion, have both stopped short of calling for
Owner of Bend Bulletin plans
to dissolve the company
BEND (AP) — The owner of the Bend
Bulletin plans to dissolve the company
and sell all seven newspapers in its Pacific
Northwest chain, according to a liquida-
tion plan filed in federal bankruptcy court
Wednesday, Oregon Public Broadcasting
reported Thursday.
In the plan, Western Communications
outlines the terms of its own demise, but
provides few details on who might buy the
newspapers, real estate and other assets.
The corporation is roughly $30 million in
debt, about two-thirds of which is secured
under a single creditor through the terms of
a previous bankruptcy. This week’s court
filing assures creditors the company is
negotiating with a short list of buyers.
The disclosure statement signed by
Chairwoman Elizabeth McCool says five
potential buyers have toured the Bulle-
tin’s facilities and engaged in follow-up
negotiations.
Western Communications also owns
the Baker City Herald, the Curry Coastal
Pilot, the La Grande Observer and the
Redmond Spokesman in Oregon. In Califor-
nia, the company owns the Daily Triplicate
in Crescent City and the Union Democrat
in Sonora.
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
50s
ice
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
EastOregonian.com
To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255
or go online to EastOregonian.com
and click on ‘Subscribe’
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday,
Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers
Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR.
Postmaster: send address changes to
East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Copyright © 2019, EO Media Group
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
Subscriber services:
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
EZPay
52 weeks
26 weeks
13 weeks
Local home delivery Savings (cover price)
$13/month
60 percent
$173.67
41 percent
$91.86
38 percent
$47.77
36 percent
*EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit
or debit card/check charge
Single copy price:
$1.50 Tuesday through Saturday
Circulation Manager:
Bonny Tuller, 541-966-0828
ADVERTISING
Regional Publisher and Revenue Director:
• Christopher Rush
541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com
Advertising Services:
• Angela Treadwell
541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com
• Grace Bubar
541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com
Multimedia Consultants:
• Jeanne Jewett
541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Business Office Coordinator
• Dayle Stinson
541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
Classified & Legal Advertising
1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases:
call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com
• To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News:
email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini
at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818.
• To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries:
email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit eastoregonian.
com/community/announcements
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips:
541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com
Business Office Manager:
541-966-0822
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com