Gary Harrington of Eagle Point, Ore., says he plans to appeal his conviction in Jackson County (Ore.) Circuit Court on nine misdemeanor charges under a 1925 law for having what state water managers called “three illegal reservoirs” on his property – and for filling the reservoirs with rainwater and snow runoff.
“The government is bullying,” Harrington told CNSNews.com in an interview Thursday.
“They’ve just gotten to be big bullies and if you just lay over and die and give up, that just makes them bigger bullies. So, we as Americans, we need to stand on our constitutional rights, on our rights as citizens and hang tough. This is a good country, we’ll prevail,” he said.
The court has given Harrington two weeks to report to the Jackson County Jail to begin serving his sentence.
Unbelievable.
"Truth is in history, but history is not the truth." - Nicolás Gómez Dávila
A Southern Oregon man is facing 30 days in jail and a hefty fine for building dams of up to 15 feet high to keep rainwater on his property and out of his local watershed..... Harrington has told the court, and the Mail Tribune newspaper, that he was just storing rainwater to use for wildfire protection.
Tom Paul, Deputy Director of the Oregon Water Resources Department, says rainwater is what fills most of the rivers in Oregon; landowners can’t divert its natural flow it without getting permission first.
“If you build a dam, an earthen dam, and interrupt the flow of water off of the property, and store that water that is an activity that would require a water right permit from us” Paul said.
According to Paul, one of Harrington’s dams was 15 feet high. And the dams were capturing water that flowed into a nearby creek, which belongs to the City of Medford. Harrington is appealing his conviction and jail sentence.
A final note: if you’re capturing the rainwater that runs off your roof or driveway, no need to worry. There’s an exemption in Oregon’s water rights law just for that: it’s #7 on the list of exemptions
A Southern Oregon man is facing 30 days in jail and a hefty fine for building dams of up to 15 feet high to keep rainwater on his property and out of his local watershed..... Harrington has told the court, and the Mail Tribune newspaper, that he was just storing rainwater to use for wildfire protection.
Tom Paul, Deputy Director of the Oregon Water Resources Department, says rainwater is what fills most of the rivers in Oregon; landowners can’t divert its natural flow it without getting permission first.
“If you build a dam, an earthen dam, and interrupt the flow of water off of the property, and store that water that is an activity that would require a water right permit from us” Paul said.
According to Paul, one of Harrington’s dams was 15 feet high. And the dams were capturing water that flowed into a nearby creek, which belongs to the City of Medford. Harrington is appealing his conviction and jail sentence.
A final note: if you’re capturing the rainwater that runs off your roof or driveway, no need to worry. There’s an exemption in Oregon’s water rights law just for that: it’s #7 on the list of exemptions
To clarify: Oregon state bureaucrats are claiming they own the RUNOFF water from rainwater that falls on your own land! Some of the communist-minded critics who are defending state officials in this case are lying and trying to claim this man "dammed a stream," implying it was a stream that ran through his property. That's a lie. All this man did was dam up his own runoff which later dumps into a stream. Thus, he only captures his own rainwater. He takes no water from anywhere else. And when his own ponds are filled, that rainwater overflows directly into the stream where it used to flow before he built his dams.
This practice of capturing rainwater has been used throughout the history of civilization to restore landscapes, preserve soils, grow food and live more sustainably. Do not fall for the disinformation campaigns being waged on this issue by the Oregon communists and socialists who believe no individual has any right to anything. http://www.naturalnews.com/036615_Orego ... lture.html
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Oregon criminalizes permaculture; claims state ownership over all rainwater - ponds and swales restricted - jail time for violators by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
(NaturalNews) There's nothing more refreshing than standing in a cool, summertime rain shower. Or bathing in the warm sunlight on a crisp spring day. Or inhaling the cool autumn air, fresh with the scent of turning leaves and pine needles. These things -- rainwater, sunlight, air -- have long been assumed to be not only free, but un-claimable. You can't claim to own the sunlight that falls on my front yard, for example. A corporation can't claim intellectual property ownership over the air that you breathe and demand you pay a royalty for inhaling.
But today, Jackson County, Oregon says it owns YOUR rainwater, and the county has sentenced a man to 30 days in jail and fined him over $1500, for the supposed "crime" of collecting rainwater on his own property.
The man's name is Gary Harrington, and he owns over 170 acres of land in Jackson County. On that land, he has three ponds, and those ponds collect rainwater that falls on his land. Common sense would say Gary has every right to have ponds with water on his 170 acres of land, but common sense has been all but abandoned in the state of Oregon.
Much like California, Oregon is increasingly becoming a collectivist state. You didn't build that! The government built that! You don't own that! The government owns that! That rainwater that just fell on your land? That's the government's rainwater, and you're going to jail if you try to steal from the government!
That's the explanation from Jackson County officials, who initially granted Harrington "permits" to build ponds back in 2003. Yes, in Oregon you actually need to beg for permission from the government just to have a pond on your own land. But the state of Oregon revoked his permits a few years later, after he had already created the ponds, thus putting Harrington in the position of being a "water criminal" who was "stealing" rainwater from the state.
Tom Paul, administrator of the Oregon Water Resources Department, is an obedient water Nazi. He insists, "Oregon law that says all of the water in the state of Oregon is public water and if you want to use that water, either to divert it or to store it, you have to acquire a water right from the state of Oregon before doing that activity."
What he means, of course, is not that the water is "public" water, but that it's government water. The government owns it, and if you "steal" from the government by, for example, collecting rainwater off your own roof, you will go to jail.
Thus, even when rainwater falls on your own property, you don't own it! The government owns it. You didn't build that! The government built that. That's not YOUR land, you only lease it from the King, and by the way, your property tax is due again...
Harrington said that he will never stop fighting the government on this issue. As reported in CNS News: "When something is wrong, you just, as an American citizen, you have to put your foot down and say, This is wrong; you just can't take away anymore of my rights and from here on in, I'm going to fight it." (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/oregon- ... jail-col...)
If states claim they own the rain, they may soon claim to own the sunlight, too Rainwater, it turns out, isn't the only thing that falls on your land. Sunlight also falls on your land. Air resides above it, and minerals below it.
If the state of Oregon already claims to own all the water that falls on your land, what's to stop them from claiming ownership over all the sunlight, too? Imagine a day when the state erects solar panels on your land, but the electricity isn't yours to keep. You still have to pay for it, because the sunlight belongs to the state, get it?
If you erect your own solar panels on your own land, the state could then arrest you and charge you with "stealing" state property. All those photons, you see, belong to the state. Once the state declares sunlight to be "community property," you instantly become a criminal for having solar panels on your house.
State of Oregon declares war on permaculture and sustainable living Collecting rainwater -- and sunlight -- are practices taught in sustainable living, permaculture and throughout the green movement. Rainwater capture using ponds and swales is one of the most important strategies for restoring a local landscape. See a good video overview of this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keXhHMmA2Xk
These rainwater capture practices help trees grow more quickly and accelerate the return of animal life to any region. They can even be used to restore a desert to a lush, food-producing forest. Watch these remarkable videos with Geoff Lawton:
Capturing rainwater also reduces the burden on groundwater supplies and municipal water systems. Capturing rainwater actually protect aquifers and raises the value of land, which results in higher property tax revenues for the county.
That Jackson County officials actually criminalize permaculture practices is abhorrent to not only the green movement on the left, but also the Libertarians and Constitutionalists on the right. Much like in California, Oregon County officials are lying, power-hungry tyrants who falsely accuse Harrington of "diverting" stream water when, in reality, he was only capturing water that normally flows off his own property and later joins the stream.
In other words, the power of the state is absolute, even if the state departs from the realm of sanity. Importantly, if the state of Oregon can claim ownership over rainwater, what's to stop the state from claiming ownership over the AIR, too?
To clarify: Oregon state bureaucrats are claiming they own the RUNOFF water from rainwater that falls on your own land! Some of the communist-minded critics who are defending state officials in this case are lying and trying to claim this man "dammed a stream," implying it was a stream that ran through his property. That's a lie. All this man did was dam up his own runoff which later dumps into a stream. Thus, he only captures his own rainwater. He takes no water from anywhere else. And when his own ponds are filled, that rainwater overflows directly into the stream where it used to flow before he built his dams.
This practice of capturing rainwater has been used throughout the history of civilization to restore landscapes, preserve soils, grow food and live more sustainably. Do not fall for the disinformation campaigns being waged on this issue by the Oregon communists and socialists who believe no individual has any right to anything.
What if Oregon claims ownership over the air you breathe? If the state of Oregon can claim it owns the water that falls on your land, then it can also just as easily claim ownership over the sunlight that falls on your land. But it doesn't stop there: What about the air you breathe?
There is absolutely nothing stopping Oregon -- or any other state -- from proclaiming air is "state property." If you breathe it, you owe the state money.
The fees will be small at first -- perhaps $10 / month -- but over time they will be raised to exorbitant levels. It's a state-run shakedown, after all, and once the People become apathetic enough to allow the state to expand its power beyond all reason, there is no limit to the state's desire for total control over everything under the sun... even including the sun and the air!
This is not a difficult matter for the state to achieve. Oregon could simply pass a new law declaring all air that exists within state boundaries to be state property. Those who "divert" air by engaging in activities such as inflating balloons or compressing air and storing it in air tanks would be given stiff jail sentences.
Think this couldn't happen? Think it's too stupid? It's no more stupid than what has already happened -- the criminalization of capturing rainwater, a common permaculture practice for sustainable living.
California criminalizes fresh milk; Michigan criminalizes small local ranching; Oregon criminalizes permaculture
Do you see a pattern in all this? As NaturalNews has reported in just the last 18 months:
• The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma sent out a "destruction crew" to chop down a woman's edible landscaping garden of over 100 varieties of foods and medicinal herbs (http://www.naturalnews.com/036234_edibl ... l_plants...).
• Oregon has criminalized one of the most important practices of permaculture, capturing rainwater to restore life to a local landscape.
What's the pattern here? Total state domination over all resources -- land, water, food, medicine and more. This is part of the ongoing effort to crush self reliance in America and turn everybody into a mindless, hopeless slave of the state, living on USDA food stamps and eating corporate-engineered GMO.
Freedom means being able to speak your mind, capture your rainwater, bask in the sun, grow trees, raise backyard chickens, home school your children, say NO to vaccines, defend your life and property against looters and violent crime. Freedom is what once made America great, and it is the crushing of freedom which is now destroying America.
Collectivism is the enemy of freedom In Oregon, California, Michigan, Washington D.C. and everywhere around the world where evil bureaucrats seek total power over all of humanity, our natural, divine rights are being viciously stripped away. Our money supply is being eroded at an accelerating rate. Our right to due process has been nullified by our own President (http://www.naturalnews.com/034537_NDAA_ ... Obama.html). Our right to free speech is being increasingly censored and stifled. Our right to grow our own home gardens is under constant assault. (http://www.naturalnews.com/036234_edibl ... l_plants...)
The common cause behind all these attacks on freedom is "collectivism" -- the idea that individuals have no value and that only the state can provide life, food and an economy. This is accomplished through endless permit requirements that now make running something like an organic farm a paperwork nightmare. It is encapsulated in the recently-publicized idea that "You didn't build that! The government built that!" which ridiculously imagines that only government creates prosperity, not individual innovators and people who believe in hard work.
Similarly, the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act late last year (http://www.naturalnews.com/030986_food_ ... rmers.html) will absolutely devastate small, local farms once it fully kicks in (see video below).
We are all becoming indentured servants With every new regulation, inspection, permit and government burden placed upon farms and land owners, we are increasingly destroying our own futures by placing more power in the hands of tyrannical government. We are all becoming indentured servants to the state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentured_servant)
Think you OWN your land? Try not paying property tax for a year. You'll find out very quickly that you don't own anything. The state owns it. You are just paying rent.
Watch this video interview with Farmer Brad from central Texas, who talks about the devastating impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act:
It is becoming borderline idiodic to live in any of the states bordering the pacific ocean. I used to live there, they are beautiful, but the place needs to be overhauled. Only moving out completely, letting the socialists die, then going back and rebuilding will fix it.
All you have to do is Obey the Commandments if you want to go to Heaven. Don’t argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience
Well at least they aren't taxing the air yet... Oh wait I hardly see anyone in a non-air-conditioned environment anymore, and you pay utilities for that. I don't know, part of me likes some of modern civilization, part of me wants to live in the Old West or some ancient period where people could live off the land and hardly ever have to deal with a government official or breaking a law on the books. (I'd risk the occasional raider, if I had a clan of family and a good set of weaponry to defend myself).
In Oregon's defense, he could have dehydrated thousands of citizens with his selfish actions... Nah, they don't really have a defense. It hits his property, it should be his water to use when he sees fit.
Jackson County is not the wet part of Oregon. It gets about 19 inches a year. I've lived in parts of Oregon that saw over 100 inches in a year. Where I lived the last 20 years we had between 40-60 inches a year.
Building dams to block tributaries has long been regulated among many western states. This isn't some new regulatory occurrence. There are whole books written about water wars in Western States. Type in Utah water wars in a google search. They go on all over the west. Water is a precious commodity in the dry west. Unfortunately right now drought is a key world all over the US. It sounds like this is an ongoing case that is being adjudicated. A case here in my current county was just adjudicated over a supposedly illegal stock pond. The folks with the pond won. Did it make the news? Nope. And that is the difference here. It sounds sensational when the media blares "Man arrested collecting rainwater" Sounds like a guy with a rain barrel. Not a guy building dams to prevent a city from collecting the water it needs and has been doing for 100 years.
Gary Harrington of Eagle Point, Ore., says he plans to appeal his conviction in Jackson County (Ore.) Circuit Court on nine misdemeanor charges under a 1925 law for having what state water managers called “three illegal reservoirs” on his property – and for filling the reservoirs with rainwater and snow runoff.
“The government is bullying,” Harrington told CNSNews.com in an interview Thursday.
“They’ve just gotten to be big bullies and if you just lay over and die and give up, that just makes them bigger bullies. So, we as Americans, we need to stand on our constitutional rights, on our rights as citizens and hang tough. This is a good country, we’ll prevail,” he said.
The court has given Harrington two weeks to report to the Jackson County Jail to begin serving his sentence.
Unbelievable.
Copy Cat.
It takes INDEPENDENCE of mind, HONESTY of heart, FAITH in God, FIRMNESS of character to live the life of a LDS in the face of a frowning world and in the midst of trials, troubles and persecution. Wilford W.
This story has received a lot of unwarranted attention.
There are two types of water systems in the United States: appropriation and riparian. The latter comes from England and has its basis in the common law. The former is pre-Columbian in its origins, comes from Mexico, and has been adopted in the western states where i) there is generally less rainfall than in the east and ii) there is a strong federal presence.
In an appropriation state, surface water is public water, subject to the right of appropriation. In virtually all western states, surface water has been over-appropriated; i.e., vested water rights have accrued to the benefit of those who first put the water to a beneficial use and there is no more water to be appropriated.
Were it not for the appropriation system, the Feds would own most of the water in the west by virtue of its dominating land ownership. In Utah and Arizona, for example less than 15% of the land area is under private ownership.
Stories and comments about Oregon bullying a man for impounding run-off on private land simply do not understand an appropriation system which is essentially founded on the principle of first in time is first in right. Accordingly, the run-off water impounded was likely previously appropriated by a downstream water user. The individual in Oregon was therefore taking water from a downstream user with a senior vested water right.
He had a state license to build the ponds on his own property. The state could have refused but did not. Remember that the State of Oregon is a communist state and operates as such.
IF we do not have rights of the land we own, then we do not have freedom.
