Two Bend legal fights – water and Roats – revived in ’15

Two lawsuits over city of Bend controversies that were dismissed in late 2014 are being revived in the new years, promising more legal debate over the Bend Surface Water Improvement Project and the residency qualifications of new City Councilor Casey Roats.

The dispute over Roats is whether he compiled with a city charter requirement that candidates for council must live in the city for the 12 months before an election. Roats lived with his parents just outside the city while his new home in town was being built.

A judge who dismissed a lawsuit challenging Roats’ seating on the city council last fall kept the door open for a repeat, saying the challenge was premature and could be brought again once he was seated.

The new lawsuit filed by personal-injury lawyer Charlie Ringo, who backed another candidate in the race, was filed n behalf of Foster Fell, the partner of recently elected Councilor Barb Campbell.

Councilors presented the issue voted 5-2 to allow Roats to take office, based on his intent to live in the city. The new complaint accuses City Attorney Mary Winters of failing to limit their deliberations to what is in Oregon statute, and said the newly formed council, with new members Campbell and Nathan Boddie, should deliberate on Roats’ qualifications.

“I’m very disappointed,” Roats told NewsChannel 21. “This is going to be a tremendous distraction and come at a very high cost to the city by the time it’s all done.”

Meanwhile, Central Oregon Landwatch and WaterWatch are pressing their concerns over the city’s ongoing project to replace water pipes that deliver surface water from Bridge Creek, a tributary of Tumalo Creek.

Here’s the news release they issued on Thursday:

The preliminary findings of new climate change research suggest that within the next 20-25 years, there could be a significant reduction in flows in upper Tumalo Creek during the summer and fall months.

Bend currently diverts surface water that historically would have flowed over Tumalo Falls. The preliminary research indicates that during the summer and fall months, there could be little or no water for Bend to divert for City use if Tumalo Falls is to be preserved.

LandWatch has worked with WaterWatch of Oregon to try to protect Tumalo Creek from reduced flows due to the City of Bend’s Surface Water Improvement Project (SWIP).

The Forest Service refused to do a quantitative climate change analysis on Tumalo Creek as part of the SWIP permitting; instead it only offered up general statements about the risks. In response, LandWatch has hired hydrology experts to do the research and analysis that the Forest Service did not do. The final report is expected this spring.

While the preliminary results of the analysis show the long-term impacts of climate change on Oregon’s water resources, the effects of climate change are being felt now. Scientists say this year’s warmer weather and reduced snowpack are a precursor of what’s to come, including water shortage problems, drought, and more frequent wildfires.

“The City of Bend is spending $70M on infrastructure that could quickly become obsolete as a result of climate change. At the very least, this expenditure is risky and oversized for the likely available summer/fall water in the coming years,” said Paul Dewey, Executive Director of Central Oregon LandWatch. “We cannot afford to risk our precious public resources on a project that is likely to become unproductive.”

Dewey added, “Climate change poses extreme risks to our surface water supply. This new research reinforces the urgency to protect our water and wildlife from its effects,” added Dewey. “By protecting our irreplaceable natural resources like Tumalo Creek, we are also protecting the quality of life for future generations of Central Oregonians.”

On behalf of LandWatch and WaterWatch, the Crag Law Center is filing an appeal today with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to enforce the safeguards for Tumalo Creek’s instream flows and fisheries.