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Fw: Re: Decision in Utah Lake Case

More on Utah Lake boundary case.
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Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2003 09:10:25 -0700
Subject: Re: Decision in Utah Lake Case
Message-ID: <3FD04B81.21136.938457D@localhost>
References: <018801c38140$f4873ea0$e0dcdb42@computer>







'Master' to settle lake claims 
{PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="}
Arbiter to determine the official elevation for shore 
By Sharon Haddock
Deseret Morning News 
PROVO ? A federal judge will appoint a "special 
master" to determine the official elevation for Utah 
Lake and thereby settle an eight-year battle over 
boundary claims on lake shore lands.
The order by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball 
has both sides in the dispute claiming victory ? if 
only temporarily.
Deputy Attorney General J. Mark Ward said 
Kimball's Wednesday ruling essentially rejects 
claims by landowners for all lake shore land that 
lies above a 4,481 feet elevation stipulation that 
was set in July 2002. It will also allow the state a 
new opportunity to discuss all of the evidence in 
the case, Ward said.
The stipulation was intended as a temporary 
agreement until the court could hear additional 
testimony in the case. Kimball held a hearing 
regarding the stipulation on Oct. 8 and had taken 
the matter under advisement until his November 
ruling.
Ward said that in the ruling, Kimball "chided" those 
landowners who have fenced or diked property 
claims that currently extend into areas now 
underwater.
{PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="}
{PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="}

{PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="}





{PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="}


"I hail the ruling for halting a potential ecological 
disaster from happening on the lake," Ward said, 
"and for letting the state have its long-awaited 
day in court to prove the truth about the lake 
boundary."
Rulon Gammon, mayor of Vineyard and a property 
owner involved in the ongoing legal tussle, said he 
believes the judge listened to the landowners. He 
and M. Dayle Jeffs, one of the attorneys for the 
landowners, argue the state has already had its 
day in court on several occasions.
"The state won? I don't see that. I don't see that at 
all," Gammon said. "I think the judge saw the 
4,481 feet stipulation as a problem, but really I 
think he's upheld the landowners' position."
Ward said if the landowners prevail, the public 
could be barred from access to all of Provo Bay and 
more than 20,000 acres of lake property. 
Environmental groups such as the Audubon Society 
and Utah Important Bird Area Association say those 
properties have historically belonged to the public.
Property owners accuse the state of attempting a 
land grab.
Gammon said he was at the hearing and did not 
hear Kimball chide anyone.
"He (the judge) suggested that the one man stop 
draining," Gammon said. "There was nothing said 
about fencing."
In the written ruling, landowners are advised not to 
use the 4,481 feet stipulation as the boundary line 
when farming, fencing, draining, diking or 
dredging.
Gammon said he'd love to see the issue settled so 
he and others can move ahead with plans for their 
land.
As long as the boundary lines are disputed in court, 
no one can sell or develop their property, he said.
Jeffs said the landowners are up against a foe with 
unlimited financial and legal resources. He said 
landowners are unfairly cast as the bad guys in the 
scenario when they are simply trying to protect 
their individual rights.
Kimball has set a Jan. 7 deadline for those involved 
in the suit to submit names for consideration to be 
the special master. He said the special master, 
whose cost will be borne by the state "due to the 
inefficient manner in which the State has pursued 
this case," will be selected by the end of January.
The special master will hear evidence on a parcel-
by-parcel basis for the 50 landowners who remain 
party to the suit. The suit originally involved 237 
property owners.
Determining just where the lake level sat at the 
time of statehood has been difficult because a 
survey had not been conducted prior to that time. 
Compounding the problem has been the 
deterioration of natural water marks due to 
fluctuations caused by man-made diversion 
structures that aid agricultural, municipal and 
industrial uses of lake water. Some believe the 
current meander line that fluctuates between 4,489 
and 4,492 feet is actually the lake's high water 
mark. Many believe the true lake level mirrors the 
elevation at which water shareholders and 
landowners agree to release water from the lake.
Others say they have photographs and survey 
markers that show the high water mark is at least 
as low as 4,481 feet or lower. 

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