November 4, 2022 |
When the City of Rawlins asked its neighbor to enact water restrictions earlier this year, the Town of Sinclair said no. Sinclair also began taking a hard look at its water agreement with Rawlins.
The two communities are in the middle of a 50-year water agreement. Rawlins provides treated water to Sinclair’s tank in exchange for use of a North Platte River water right. Recent water infrastructure problems in Rawlins put a spotlight on the contract, now in its 20th year.
Earlier this year, a series of water main breaks, and leaks, caused Rawlins to issue rationing and boil advisories to its citizens. Since Sinclair gets its potable water from Rawlins, the town was asked to also cut back on usage. A water rights agreement, signed on October 17th, 2002, stipulates Rawlins must provide Sinclair with 543 gallons of clean water per minute.
Rex Johnson, an attorney familiar with water rights law, said Sinclair’s town attorney, Mike Roberts, asked him to study the agreement and see if the town was legally obligated to comply with the restrictions.
The water rights agreement was drawn up after a 2001 study showed major deficiencies with Sinclair’s potable water supply. The town and refinery were sharing the responsibility of providing clean water, which was being stored in a failing 75,000-gallon tank.
The study concluded that Sinclair had two options. Option one was to upgrade and replace much of their aging water infrastructure. The town chose option two. Phil Stump, project manager at HDR, an Omaha, Nebraska engineering firm, explained what that entailed.
Attorneys drew up a 50-year contract, where Sinclair would allow Rawlins to use the town’s water rights on the North Platte River. In exchange, Rawlins would build and maintain the necessary framework to supply Sinclair with potable water, including a 500,000-gallon tank. Stump talked about the contract.
CFS is cubic feet per second. Rawlins is entitled to divert 1.21 cfs from the North Platte River so long as they supply Sinclair with the required amount of clean, drinkable water.
Recent events left some in Sinclair to wonder if Rawlins is living up to their end of the bargain. Concerns led town officials to seek legal advice.
The town contracted with Rex Johnson to review their agreement in hopes of finding a legal loophole that would allow them to get out of the contract early. The water rights attorney asked the council if Rawlins had ever failed to supply the town with the contractually required water flow. Sinclair Mayor Leif Johansson said yes.
The mayor added that engineers from Rawlins quickly fixed the problem. His concern was that no one from the city had contacted anyone in Sinclair about the water shortage. Johnson said the town can use that as an example of how Rawlins is failing to uphold their side of the contract.
The attorney said fighting the contract in court would be extremely costly. After careful consideration of the agreement, Johnson said the town probably shouldn’t be trying to get out of it.
Johnson said Sinclair does not have a strong legal reason to cancel the agreement. Also, they have no backup plan. Sinclair dismantled their water treatment infrastructure when they signed the contract with Rawlins. Saratoga Town Councilman Jon Nelson attended the meeting as a representative of North Forks Engineering. He explained to the town they need a plan before they consider cutting ties with Rawlins.
Attorney Johnson told the council they need to start planning for the end of the contract now. While it may seem like they have plenty of time, the remaining years will go by quickly, leaving Sinclair without a reliable source of drinking water. Johnson said the town needs to think farther ahead.
Instead of looking at ways to break the water rights agreement, Johnson suggested the town communicate their concerns to Rawlins. Nelson agreed that Johnson’s idea was, in his opinion, the best course of action.
The Sinclair Town Council said they would work on educating Rawlins staff about their agreement.
It was decided to further address the matter at Thursday’s council meeting. During that time, the town would discuss how to make sure the city of Rawlins understands its contractual duties and plan for the future of Sinclair’s water usage.
