Summary of a Recent
Judicial
Development in
Agriculture and Urbanization
Transfer of Family Farm Water Permit to
Municipality Denied
Ross H. PiferNational AgLaw Center Graduate Assistant
In City of West Richland v. Department of Ecology, 103 P.3d 818, 819 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004), John Michel obtained two ground water permits under the Family Farm Water Act (FFWA), Wash. Rev. Code § 90.66, to irrigate his farmland and to provide a "continuous single domestic supply." Subsequently, Mr. Michel transferred his permit rights to the City of West Richland (City) for "use by the City as municipal water supply, mainly lawn irrigation." Id. The Washington Department of Ecology cancelled the permits, and the City appealed the cancellation. See id. The Court of Appeals of Washington stated that the FFWA originally "did not allow changes in family farm water rights," but that amendments to the statute were enacted with the purpose of "preserv[ing] the agricultural economy of the state by allowing changes of family farm water permits from agricultural irrigation to other agricultural purposes." Id. at 821, 822-23. The court concluded, however, that the transfer of the permit rights from Mr. Michel to the City was properly denied as the statute did not authorize the change in use from agricultural irrigation to municipal water supply. See id. at 823.
The case was decided on December 16, 2004; this summary was posted June 10, 2005.