Lawsuit filed over water for feedlot

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A group of farmers and environmentalists have filed suit protesting the state's decision last month to transfer a water right to a Franklin County feedlot that will house 30,000 head of cattle.

The case has attracted widespread interest because it could have implications for dairies and feedlots across the state. At issue is whether large animal feeding lots should be able to draw unlimited amounts of water for their operations without a state permit, as currently allowed under a 2005 state Attorney General's interpretation of the law.

Those behind the lawsuit say that unlimited use of water by feedlots poses a threat to migratory fish, while the industry says changing the status quo could put large and small operators out of business.

The 16-page suit against the state Department of Ecology and Easterday Ranches was filed Monday in Thurston County Superior Court.

Those bringing the case include Five Corners Family Farmers, a group of dryland wheat farmers; The Center for Law and Policy, a Washington water protection group; and the Sierra Club.

"We think it's a bad interpretation ... that allows unlimited and unregulated withdrawals of water, and under our water rights system in places like Five Corners and the Yakima Valley, you can't be taking unlimited amounts of water without impacting other users and streams and rivers," said Rachael Paschal Osborn, executive director of the Center for Law and Policy.

She and the other critics oppose an Ecology Department decision last month to approve a water transfer for the Easterday's planned feedlot in Eltopia, on nearly 1,000 acres about 25 miles north of Pasco.

An Ecology spokeswoman, Jani Gilbert, said her department couldn't comment because it had not yet seen the lawsuit.

"We'll have a statement prepared for Wednesday," she said.

Messages left with Easterday and the Washington State Dairy Federation were not returned Tuesday afternoon.

The issue has attracted concern in rural Washington, where an exemption for stockwatering and rural homes has spawned rural economic development and population growth.

Stockwatering -- which the lawsuit seeks to cap -- includes using well water for washing pens, irrigating crops and keeping animals cool.

The Ecology Department has taken the position that the stockwatering exemption is being abused to take more water than the Legislature intended when it authorized such wells in 1945. Earlier this year it sought unsuccessfully to obtain legislative approval to cap the exemption.

Legislators have agreed to set aside funding for a work group to meet prior to the 2010 session to try to come up with a compromise.

* Melissa Sánchez can be reached at 509-577-7675 or msanchez@yakimaherald.com.