OLYMPIA, (AP) - The state Department of Ecology, which has been mired in legal battles for years over water rights, has prevailed in a challenge brought by developers.
The Washington Supreme Court voted 8-1 Thursday to resolve a dispute that has been boiling since the early 1990s when Ecology denied requests to tap groundwater supplies in King and Snohomish counties.
At issue was the effect of groundwater withdrawals on surface streams.
The high court ruled Ecology cannot deny an application just because there is a connection between an underground aquifer and a stream that often is unable to meet minimum flow standards aimed at preserving fish.
But the court, in a majority decision written by Justice Barbara Madsen, said permits must be denied if the withdrawal of groundwater would "impair" surface streams.
In his dissent, Justice Richard Sanders complained that the majority's interpretation allows Ecology to block permits based on computer models that show the withdrawal of groundwater would have some effect, "however slight," on surface waters.
Charles Lean, an Olympia attorney representing some of the developers seeking permits, said the ruling means that any watershed that contains streams with minimum-flow standards is essentially off-limits. That affects most of King, Snohomish, Pierce and Thurston counties, he added.
Lean had argued there must be a "significant measurable effect" on surface waters before a groundwater application could be denied.
Ecology spokeswoman Mary Getchell said agency officials were pleased the court upheld their interpretation of water laws, some of which are 100 years old. The agency has a backlog of 7,000 applications for water permits.
The Supreme Court consolidated five cases that date back to the early 1990s for the purposes of addressing the overall issue, then ruled separately on the individual cases.
The court ruled that permits were properly denied for the 36acre Cascade Golf Course near the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River and the Black River Quarry's golf course near Auburn.
The court sent three cases back to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board for further review using the new interpretation of law. Those cases involved requests by the Covington Water District, a cemetery in northwest Seattle called Herzl Memorial Park, and John Postema's request to irrigate 10 acres in the Snohomish River watershed.
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