NEWSHOMEOPINIONLOCAL INTERESTRECENT ISSUESLETTERSCLASSIFIEDSLINKS |
Methow Valley News October 21, 1999 Endangered Species Coverage Private ditches put on notice NMFS letter encourages participation in voluntary conservation plans By Ann McCreary This spring, the Endangered Species Act hit home for people who use water from irrigation ditches that require Forest Service permits to operate. Now, all irrigators in the valley have been put on notice that their water diversions cannot jeopardize endangered fish. Methow Valley irrigators have been sent a letter from the National Marine Fisheries Service advising them to cooperate in developing habitat conservation plans to protect endangered fish. The letter, sent by certified mail to ditch companies in the valley, is the first formal correspondence from NMFS to the dozens of irrigation companies that don’t cross Forest Service property and therefore don’t require special federal permits to divert water. "Reading between the lines, it appears to me NMFS was catching a lot of heat from the districts on which they had taken action," said Richard Price, an attorney representing the Methow Valley Irrigation District and several other irrigation companies in Okanogan County. "In an attempt to appear even-handed, they formulated this letter...as a precursor to taking specific action against other (water) users," Price said. The letter, signed by Robert Turner, NMFS’ top state official, states, "The perception is that diverters requiring federal permits are being unfairly singled out, regardless of the amount of their diversion, the seniority of their water right or their efficiency. Moreover, all other diversions and withdrawals remain vulnerable to lawsuits and prosecutions." The letter came as no surprise to Gary Logan, president of the Methow Valley Irrigation District, the valley’s largest ditch company with 2,400 acres under irrigation. "I felt that...this was imminent," Logan said. "I take it as a boilerplate letter, putting us on notice that we need to follow conservation practices with regard to the listed fish and if we don’t, there are penalties," Logan said. Turner’s letter warns that irrigators who "take fish by operating an improperly screened diversion, by blocking passage with berms or other barriers, or by causing inadequate flows" are vulnerable to civil and criminal penalties. Logan said the letter "strongly recommends entering into a habitat conservation plan" aimed at protecting fish habitat. The letter warns that "unless the members of the community cooperate with each other and participate jointly in water conservation, administration of the ESA will be extraordinarily difficult and contentious as we work to restore adequate flows for fish in the streams of the Methow Valley." Turner’s letter also cautions that violations of the ESA can result in penalties of as much as $25,000 for civil judgments and $100,000 and a year in jail in criminal cases. Section 9 of the ESA, he noted, also allows for "third party" lawsuits. "They are saying, ‘You’ve got to have a plan.’ That plan is a habitat conservation plan," Logan said. Conservation planning needs to address water usage in the entire basin, as well as individual diversions, Logan added. "That could be fairly costly," he said. Turner’s letter notes that county and state officials have expressed an interest in working with NMFS to develop a habitat conservation plan, which Turner said could take up to three years to complete. In the interim, the county, state and NMFS are discussing a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to describe activities and actions to protect fish while the conservatoin plan is being negotiated. The memorandum of agreement "would substantially reduce the risk that NMFS would prosecute diverters who were participating in the MOA’s water conservation program," Turner’s letter states. Logan said the message is clear that as government agencies develop guidelines for water conservation, irrigators are expected to "party along with them." Local
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