A judge has found two Summit County ordinances to be unconstitutional in an ongoing legal battle over water.
Third District Judge Robert Hilder stated that two county laws that give the Summit County Board of Commissioners the authority to establish "water concurrency ratings" deprive Summit Water Distribution Co. of the due process guaranteed under the U.S. and Utah constitutions.
"Water concurrency ratings" measure the excess capacity of a water company, in other words, what it possesses above the amount needed to serve existing customers.
"This is a landmark decision for Summit Water Distribution and for citizens of Summit County," said attorney Robert Campbell, who represents Summit Water Distribution.
"Certainly the county was disappointed with the ruling," said David Thomas, chief civil deputy attorney for Summit County.
"We are planning to appeal the ruling to the Utah Supreme Court," Thomas said. "In the meantime, obviously, we will adhere to the judge's order and redo our ordinance with a different decision-maker (to determine water concurrency rates). We need an ordinance in place for water concurrency, to make sure there is sufficient water for current residents and new development."
The legal battle is far from over, however, because one other charge in the antitrust lawsuit has yet to be decided in district court.
And the board of commissioners wants the Utah Supreme Court to reverse another of Hilder's rulings denying a motion to reverse the antitrust claims.
Campbell said Hilder's six-page ruling on the ordinances, issued on May 3, was an important victory in the fight between the Snyderville Basin water firm and the board of commissioners.
Campbell's client contends that the board of commissioners has "an irreconcilable conflict of interest" because it was setting water ratings for Summit Water Distribution Co. at the same time the board acted as the governing authority for a competing water firm, Mountain Regional Water Special Service District.
Previously, the board tried unsuccessfully to condemn the Summit Water Distribution Co.'s assets, including all its equipment, cash, stock and water rights. Campbell insists that the board of commissioners is trying to establish a monopoly water company, whose rates Campbell said are are three times higher than Summit Water Distribution Co.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com