October 16, 2024 |
Photo – Night view of Sinclair Refinery – Bigfoot99 file photo
In a state ruling that critics say contradicts more than a century of established water rights law, the Wyoming State Engineers Office has ruled to allow H.F. Sinclair Refinery to exchange water rights from a property it owns on the Encampment River with one north of Interstate 80.
In the 1890’s, Elwood Mead, considered by many to be the father of Wyoming water rights law, stated that water rights should be tied to the land itself, not to the owner of the land. The recent state ruling does not appear to square with Mead’s view. On Monday, the state agency permitted the H.F. Sinclair refinery to use its water rights on the Encampment River to supplement another water right the refinery has on the North Platte River.
On May 15th of this year, H.F. Sinclair filed a petition with the State Engineers Office to use more water from the North Platte River during dry seasons than its existing water rights allow. In exchange, the refinery is offering to use less water on an Encampment ranch owned by the company.
The theory is that by not irrigating the Encampment property, H.F. Sinclair is allowing more water to flow from the Encampment River into the North Platte to replenish the extra water used by the refinery.
In early June, the State Engineers Office held a public meeting in Saratoga with local ranchers and other concerned citizens to discuss the petition. Advocates for and opponents against the water exchange made their case at the meeting.
Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart explained that H.F. Sinclair is within its right to ask the state for permission to exchange water from one source to another.
Water rights consultant Patrick Tyrrell, the former Wyoming State Engineer from 2001 to 2019, spoke at the public meeting held in Saratoga on behalf of H.F. Sinclair. Tyrrell said that during dry seasons, the State Engineer’s Office may choose to override more recent water rights on the North Platte River, such as those owned by the refinery. Without its full water allocation, Tyrrell said H.F. Sinclair may be forced to temporarily shut down.
In January of 2023, HF Sinclair purchased a ranch outside of Encampment specifically for the property’s water rights. Using the included Encampment River water rights, the refinery believed it was able to supplement its water usage during calls on the North Platte River. Tyrrell explained that the refinery sees the water rights transfer as a fair exchange.
Local Platte Valley ranchers didn’t agree with the refinery’s interpretation of the law. Former Wyoming lawmaker and water rights specialist Jeb Steward of Encampment said the petition runs contrary to Wyoming state law. Steward said local ranchers have worked together for over 100 years to ensure the Encampment River water is used effectively. If approved, Steward said the petition will disrupt the delicate balance of water rights the ranchers have created over the past century.
Saratoga Encampment Riverside Conservation District Water Resource Specialist Justin Stern said by not irrigating the Encampment ranch, H.F. Sinclair will negatively impact downstream users because of the loss of return flows into the system. Stern said the ranch soaks up flood water when the Encampment River is running high.
Carbon County Commissioner and fifth generation rancher John Johnson also spoke against the water exchange petition. Commissioner Johnson said over a century of established Wyoming law states that water rights are tied to the land. While HF Sinclair may not abuse the water rights exchange, the next owner of the Encampment ranch may. For those reasons, Commissioner Johnson said the State Engineer must deny the petition.
Following the June 4th meeting, representatives from the State Engineers Office said they will weigh the public comments, both for and against the water rights exchange, and make a decision about the petition later in the year.
On Monday, the State Engineers Office announced that it had granted the refinery’s water rights exchange petition. The decision goes against the wishes of many local stakeholders, including ranchers who rely on the Encampment River for irrigation and the town of Encampment itself, all of whom submitted formal letters of opposition to the water rights exchange.
Engineer and former Saratoga council member Jon Nelson wrote a letter to Governor Mark Gordon stating that Elwood Mead would oppose the State Engineer’s decision. Nelson included an 1894 quote from Mead stating, “In each and every instance the recognition of the validity of these transfers has been denied, and the denial has been based upon the belief that no right to the water of our streams exist except the right of use; that this right is restricted not only to the use by which it is acquired but to the place where acquired, and that it cannot be separated therefrom; that to recognize the right to sell water is to recognize a property right not contemplated by the laws of the State, and that its recognition would work untold injury to the material interests of the State.”
With this week’s ruling in favor of the refinery, affected Platte Valley ranchers and other water users are weighing their options.
