R.D. Merrill Co. v. Pollution Control Hearings Board

This case presents several issues arising out of R.D. Merrill Company’s applications for changes in water rights as part of R.D. Merrill’s efforts to provide water for the Wilson Ranch, a cross-country ski resort. R.D. Merrill sought changes in points of diversion, place of use, and purpose of use. Of the five applications now at issue, we affirm the Pollution Control Board’s decision upholding the Department of Ecology’s approval of three of the changes sought,1 affirm the Board’s determination that one of the rights was never perfected and therefore cannot be changed,2 and reverse and…