Oregon criminalizes permaculture; claims state ownership over all rainwater

[JohnyCanuck]

Jackson County, Oregon says it owns YOUR rainwater, and the county has sentenced a man to 30 days in jail and fined him over $1500, for the supposed "crime" of collecting rainwater on his own property.

The man's name is Gary Harrington, and he owns over 170 acres of land in Jackson County. On that land, he has three ponds, and those ponds collect rainwater that falls on his land. Common sense would say Gary has every right to have ponds with water on his 170 acres of land, but common sense has been all but abandoned in the state of Oregon.

Much like California, Oregon is increasingly becoming a collectivist state. You didn't build that! The government built that! You don't own that! The government owns that! That rainwater that just fell on your land? That's the government's rainwater, and you're going to jail if you try to steal from the government!

That's the explanation from Jackson County officials, who initially granted Harrington "permits" to build ponds back in 2003. Yes, in Oregon you actually need to beg for permission from the government just to have a pond on your own land. But the state of Oregon revoked his permits a few years later, after he had already created the ponds, thus putting Harrington in the position of being a "water criminal" who was "stealing" rainwater from the state.

Tom Paul, administrator of the Oregon Water Resources Department, is an obedient water Nazi. He insists, "Oregon law that says all of the water in the state of Oregon is public water and if you want to use that water, either to divert it or to store it, you have to acquire a water right from the state of Oregon before doing that activity."

http://www.naturalnews.com/036615_Oregon_rainwater_permaculture.html

[Angry Dragon]

1. Something smells wrong here

[GodlessBiker]

5. It seems the state is actually accusing him of diverting ...

water which would, in the regular course, run into and feed a stream. He may have been using these ponds to collect water which feed and nourish the stream. Who knows what effects his actions are having on wildlife.

This is not about collecting rainwater in barrels or whatever to use in gardening, etc.

[Angry Dragon]

6. That makes more sense

[waitforoneminute]

10. good job

Good job. Way to apply critical thought to an otherwise hysterical and intentionally misleading article. PAr for the course from 'natural news'.

OF COURSE rainwater belongs to the people. Who the heck thinks it should be privatized?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. That is appalling.

How dare they?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Previously posted and I think locked, in no small part due to the source

"Natural News"

[Politicalboi]

4. Next up

Getting fined for running over rainwater with your car. This is crazy.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Or getting fined for making shit up in a hyperbolic "naturalnews" article that doesn't even remotely

resemble the actual story.


It's comin, maaaan! Faaaascism!

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

7. Do the have laws prohibiting the planting of trees on private property?

Those growing trees would be a clear sign of water theft.

[XemaSab]

8. The first red flag that goes up:

Did he build these ponds on a stream or other watercourse?

If he did, then he would need a Section 404 permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to put fill into waters of the United States.

In California he would also need a Section 1600 permit for lake and streambed alteration from the Department of Fish and Game, but I don't know how things are done in Oregon.

In some states having a rain barrel is illegal, but I don't think that's what's happening here.

[waitforoneminute]

9. typical, mindless hysteria from natural news

This is typical sensation from natural news. The reason one needs permits to build 'ponds' for water catchment, is those ponds are actually preventing the groundwater from replenishing. Groundwater benefits everybody, and without rules like this in place (which have an extensive precedent), landowners would be able to capture as much rainwater as they want, which would have a noticable and negative effect on the aquifer.

It's not 'the government's rainwater. That's corporatist speak. It's the PUBLIC's groundwater. Only a fascist would say they can 'own' the rain, which is what this homeowner is trying to do.

[Kolesar]

15. Ponds would replenish the groundwater

...unless the landowner is taking water out of the ponds. In Ohio, storm water districts do encourage ponds to capture run off water to keep the streams from overflowing.

It needs to be said that western water rights are quite different than eastern water rights.
Welcome to our forum!

[Warren DeMontague]

11. Bullshit article. The guy had several illegal dams diverting rivers into his own private reservoirs

he was warned repeatedly.

He's clearly one of these crazy "Teh Gummint has no authoritah!" creeps.

Here's a more sane article from the Oregonian, for another perspective:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/07/jackson_county_man_sentenced_f.html

[mopinko]

13. oh for the good old days.

we never allowed natural news articles on du2. they are bullshit.

[hunter]

14. The guy's a water thief. The People of Oregon arrested him, and they're tearing down his dams. Good.

Oregon is a western state., dry in most places. There's simply not enough water that anyone can be allowed to take it just because it's crossing their property.

Water laws are crazy, convoluted, and often unfair, but they are still better than anarchy or a free market.

The lines have to be drawn somewhere, and this guy crossed them. In the absence of messy and hard won legal mechanisms the rivers of Oregon would be flowing through Southern California.