Nevada is taking a close look at water rights of use, thus now is the time to make sure your use rights are in good standing. With a shuffling of basin engineers within the Nevada Division of Water Resources, water rights are being reviewed to determine compliance!

• Are your rights of use in your name? If not, it is time to bring the ownership current as required under Nevada Law!
• If you have a permitted right, are you diligently developing your use to bring it towards certification?
• If you are not using your groundwater, are you at risk for forfeiture?
• Do you have a metering requirement? if yes, is your meter installed and are you recording monthly measurement readings?

All of these items and more are under scrutiny by the State Engineer’s office. In the last few months we have seen a number of forfeiture letters go out to unsuspecting water users, don’t let this be you! Do not wait to review your water use rights to ensure they are in compliance!

Spring is approaching on the West Coast and we all know what this means: watering season!  Time to check your sprinkler systems for leaks, read and record meters, and make sure your system is ready for spring irrigation.

Though forecasts were set for an “El Niño” winter on the West Coast, projections from the March Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report, issued yearly by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, suggest that the 2016 water year is not yet the end of Nevada’s drought.  Currently, (as of March 1, 2016) the Bridgeport Reservoir on the East Walker River is at 24.4 percent full, while the Topaz Reservoir on the West Walker River is at about 28.6 percent full.  Despite the two reservoirs having about twice as much water as they did at this time last year, streamflow numbers as of April 1 will calculate the upcoming curtailment order on groundwater rights issued by the Nevada State Engineer’s Office.

After several years of drought, the influx of melting snow pack will provide some relief for Nevada residents, but mindfulness is going to be key.  In Pershing County, the newly improved Rye Patch Reservoir is set to provide water to Lovelock Valley farmers but the county’s water conservation district manager recommends the 2016 irrigation season be postponed.  After consecutive years of drought, the dry ground in irrigation ditches and canals will absorb much of the water initially released from the reservoir, until at least another 10-12,000 acre-feet of water are available for use.

Ranchers in Northern Nevada are facing designations proposed by state water officials last week that order groundwater well metering, meaning more monitoring, regulation, and study of the Humboldt River Basin’s limited resources.  As orders such as these become more common, residents can do their part by monitoring individual irrigation systems and meters.

Schroeder Law Offices is proud to announce Portland’s Managing Attorney, Sarah Liljefelt, has been promoted to Junior Partner.  Sarah has been with the firm since 2009 as a law clerk, and joined the firm full time after receiving her Juris Doctorate and Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in 2010.

Sarah’s practice focuses in the areas of water rights, real property law, and litigation, licensed in both Oregon and California.  As a member of the Oregon State Bar Environmental and Natural Resources Law Executive Committee, Sarah has published extensively on natural resources law and related topics.

In addition to her focused practice areas, Sarah is active in the Portland community.  She is currently a Vice President of Oregon Cattle Women, and competes on the Oregon Women Lawyer’s “Dragonflies” dragon boat team.

Sarah was born and raised in California during a time of serious drought and is passionate about the importance of water resources for people, animals, and the production of food in the face of supply variations.

If you don’t know the Hammond family of Harney County, Oregon, you will soon. As the Hammond protest builds momentum backed by a voluntary militia, Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son, Steven Hammond, 46, are making headlines again. Three years ago, the pair made headlines when convicted in Federal Court of arson for fires lit on the Hammond Ranch in 2001 and 2006 to reduce the growth of invasive plants and protect their property from wildfires. Convicted under an anti-terrorism act, Dwight Hammond served three months’ time for the conviction while his son Steven served a full year.

As the Federal Judge suspended the minimum sentence under the guidelines as “shock[ing] the conscience,” the U.S. Attorney appealed the sentence to the Ninth Circuit who ruled that both are due to return to prison to serve the federal prison terms of five years. Private landowners often find themselves at the mercy of the federal government as large parts of the West Coast are in government hands, the story of the Hammond’s conviction and resentencing may be all too familiar to private ranchers in the area who have already felt the pressures of forced sales.

Though the Hammonds have planned to report to prison today, January 4, 2016, as ordered, riled up liberty supporters from surrounding states have a different disposition. Ammon Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy whom was involved in a standoff with the government and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 2014 over grazing rights, has joined with a growing band of armed militiamen acting as organized sympathizers to the Hammonds. Though the Hammonds have no direct involvement with the militia, Bundy and others valiantly stake support claims that the Hammonds should not be tried as terrorists and have rights to the tried actions per purchase rights and federal grazing allotments. The Hammonds have and will continue respecting the rule of law and follow court orders without incident or violation. Click here to view their statement.

The Hammond family’s farm has been eyed by US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and BLM since the 1970s when ranches adjacent to the Hammonds and others were sold and added to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Though approached by FWS and BLM many times, the Hammonds (as well as other ranchers) refused to sell. While many ranchers in the area were forced to leave, another 32 out of 53 permits were revoked, and grazing fees were raised significantly for those who remained in the area. By the 1990s, the Hammonds were one of very few ranchers that were still private owners of property adjacent to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The four year resentencing request for Dwight and Steven Hammond comes from an appeal filed by the BLM Field Manager and Refuge Manager for the Malheur Refuge.

The Hammonds attorneys report that “the Hammonds will continue their legal efforts to renew their grazing permits. They will also pursue Executive Clemency. We hope that President Obama will agree with us and with the veteran judge who presided over the trial that the mandatory five-year minimum sentence is far too long for these ranchers.”

To sign the Petition in support of a reduction in sentencing and Executive Clemency go to: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/commute-sentences-dwight-lincoln-hammond-jr-and-steven-dwight-hammond-both-harney-county-oregon.

Oregon Revised Statute 537.225 was enacted in 2013, allowing water use permit holders with irrigation, nursery, temperature control, stock watering, or agricultural water uses and subsequent completion dates to apply for assignment of all or part of the water use permit, and for the issuance of a replacement water use permit that reflects that assignment. Thus, for the first time in Oregon, the Oregon Water Resources Department (“OWRD”) may issue a new permit after an assignment, rather than merely recognizing the assignment in OWRD’s records. Moreover, for the first time in Oregon, shared water use permits may be split so that holders of shared permits can move forward with perfection at their own pace, or make changes through the permit amendment process without affecting the other permittee’s portion of the shared water use permit.

Oregon Administrative Rule (“OAR”) Chapter 690 Division 325 was enacted in 2014, outlining the requirements for split permit applications. The OWRD forms for split permit applications were completed at the end of 2014, and are available at: http://www.oregon.gov/owrd/Pages/pubs/forms.aspx. OWRD disseminated information about the new split permit application to Certified Water Right Examiners so that they may advise their clients around the State of the new opportunity.

As provided in OAR 690-325-0060(1), the applicant is required to pay OWRD the full cost to processing the split permit application. OWRD is estimating costs in a similar manner to its Reimbursement Authority Program, and provides an Applicant Agreement for a nonrefundable fee of $125.00 that outlines the estimated costs for processing the application. The applicant can then sign the agreement and pay the estimated costs to move forward with their application.

This month, OWRD issued its first Proposed Final Order proposing to approve a split permit application, and the Final Order is set to issue at the end of January, 2016. The estimated cost outlined in the relevant Applicant Agreement was $585 (in addition to the $125 nonrefundable fee for estimate).

OWRD and water use permit holders are still waiting to see how efficiently the new split permit process works, but we are very excited about the new opportunities this process provides! We look forward at Schroeder Law in assisting permit holders in Oregon through this new process.

Make sure to stay tuned to Schroeder Law Offices’ Water Law Blog for more news that may affect your water use!

On October 16, 2015, the office of the State Engineer of the State of Nevada issued an Order of Adjudication for the public waters of Northern Nevada’s Diamond Valley. The past years’ drought has made vested water rights and claims in Eureka County an ongoing and important legal issue. Water rights’ holders will need strict proof of beneficial use, as will any future applicant. The order provides Nevada landowners six months to respond.

As such, State Engineer Jason King will commence (resume) taking Proofs of Appropriation in the Matter of Determination of the Relative Rights In and To All Waters, Both Surface and Underground, located within Diamond Valley, Eureka and Elko Counties, Nevada, on November 30th. Order No. 1266 states, “All claimants to waters of said Diamond Valley must file their Proofs of Appropriation in the Office of the State Engineer on or before the 31st day of May, 2016 as provided for under NRS 533.110.”

These Proofs of Appropriation relate to water uses that began prior to the development of Nevada’s surface and ground water codes. All subsequent uses go through an application and permitting process with the Nevada Division of Water Resources. If you think you can prove a historical water right of use dating back prior to the water codes, now is the time for further research.

Schroeder Law Offices has assisted many clients in research guidance and assistance in gathering support for vested claim water rights filings. Some of the types of proofs often used to support vested water rights claims in an adjudication are outlined in an article entitled “How to Research Land & Water for Proof of Vested Nevada Water Right Claims,” by Katie Delong and Sarah R. Liljefelt, Therese A. Ure of Schroeder Law Offices.

Our office often receives questions from clients regarding the availability of water in a particular area.  The Oregon Water Resources Department has a search engine that we often use to get started on this type of research.

To access the search engine use the following link:

http://apps.wrd.state.or.us/apps/misc/lkp_trsqq_features/default.aspx.

Enter the latitude and longitude or address for the parcel you would like to research. The search will generate a report outlining the basin and sub-basin, as well as Wild & Scenic designation, whether minimum stream flows are instituted, and other useful information. Use the basin and sub-basin designation to look up applicable regulations in the Oregon Administrative Rules, Chapter 690, Divisions 502 et. seq., available at: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/rules/oars_600/oar_690/690_tofc.html. 

Sometimes the search generates codes, which may require a call to the Department to decipher.  The report may also link to information regarding what times of year water use is allowed or restricted.

The search engine is one of several tools to determine whether water is available for appropriation. Give us a call if you have further questions about water availability in your area, and be sure to stay tuned to the Schroeder Law Offices Water Blog for more information that may affect your water use!

Focusing on the soon to be launched adjudication in north Idaho, water and real estate lawyers gathered in Coeur d”Alene, Idaho May 15 and 16, 2008.

As in other McCarran adjudications in which we are involved, issues expected to be included will be federal including Indian, Forest Service and Reclamation issues; instream including hydro, water quality, and endangered species issues; and state issues including municipal, water district, and individual claims. It is likely that in all adjudications, the best water attorneys will be picked up early and conflicted out quickly. Speaker Steven C. Moore, a staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund out of Boulder, Colorado, quoted Professor Drew Kershen at the University of Oklahoma College of Law stating “A good water rights case can be willed to your kids.”

We suggest that our clients and potential clients contact us early to prepare and review potential claims BEFORE the claim is filed.