Title: Rutten v. State

State: north-dakota

Issuer: North Dakota Supreme Court

Document:

93 N.W.2d 796 (1958) Raymond RUTTEN, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. STATE of North Dakota, the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District and State Water Conservation Commission, Defendants and Appellants. No. 7786. Supreme Court of North Dakota. December 31, 1958. Duffy & Haugland, Devils Lake, for plaintiff and respondent. Leslie R. Burgum, Atty. Gen., Roy A. Holand, La Moure, and I. A. Acker, Bismarck, for defendants and appellants. HARRY E. RITTGERS, District Judge. Plaintiff for his cause of action alleges that he is the owner of various tracts of land in Secs. 2, 3, and 4, in Twp. 152, N. of R. 63 W., and part of Sec. 34, Twp. 153, R. 63 W., which lands abut on the shore of Devils Lake. That said Lake has gradually receded leaving a large dry area adjacent to said described lands, title to which has accrued to the plaintiff as riparian owner. That the defendants are threatening to divert water from the Missouri River, and *797 elsewhere, into Devils Lake which will overflow and flood the lands owned by plaintiff as riparian owner without compensation, and plaintiff prays for an injunction restraining such threatened acts. The Answer admits that defendants intend and propose to proceed under the laws of N. D. and in co-operation with the U. S. Govt. under Act of Congress approved Dec. 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 887) to accomplish the purposes set forth in Ch. 348, Laws of N.D.1955, NDRC 1957 Supp. 61-2401 et seq., which, among other things, are intended "to replenish the waters, and restore the level of Devils Lake, Stump Lake, Lake Williams and Turtle Lake," which will be accomplished by diverting water from the Missouri River above the Garrison Dam into Devils Lake and by which the level of that Lake will be raised and the height of which will then be controlled by the operation and maintenance of proper facilities, and that the waters of the Lake will be made available "for recreation, municipal, industrial purposes, navigation, and other beneficial uses"; and "that the lands which will be flooded when Devils Lake is raised to the level proposed by defendants, consists of lands which in 1882, and for many years thereafter, were lake bottom from which the waters of the Lake have gradually and perceptibly but not permanently receded." The Answer admits that plaintiff owns the lands described in the Complaint "except * * * defendant claims the legal right to restore and maintain the integrity and level of Devils Lake if and when public welfare will be promoted thereby, and to restore such Lake to a level within the high water mark thereof." Thereafter, the parties joined in a stipulation of facts, as follows: Since it is conceded that Devils Lake is navigable in fact, it constitutes public waters under the laws of this State. Roberts v. Taylor, 47 N.D. 146, 181 N.W. 622. The defendants are proceeding under the authority granted them by Secs. 61-1502 and 61-1503, N.D.R.C.1943, and Ch. 348, Laws 1955. It is admitted to be the purpose of the defendants by artificial means to raise the level of the Lake to 1425 feet above mean sea level. The trial court held the 1419 ft. level attained in 1956 to be the ordinary high water level of Devils Lake. The burden of proof rested upon the plaintiff in this case to establish the high water level of the lake to be at 1419 feet. For evidence to prove such a fact we must look solely to the stipulation quoted above. There is no other evidence before the Court. The table referred to in the stipulation shows that the Lake stood at a height of 1,425 feet or higher during known history up to the year 1890, and then dropped to a level of 1,419 ft. in 1901. Thereafter, the height dropped to 1,402 ft. in 1940, and then raised to a level of 1,419 ft. in 1956, where it had stood in 1901, or 55 years before. The only time this level was exceeded during said period was in 1910 when the Lake reached 1,422 ft., and in 1920 when it reached 1,420 ft. There is no evidence in the record supporting the stipulation that there has been a diminution of rainfall and snowfall during the period under consideration, but the court will take judicial notice of the fact that for a period of about 10 years from 1929 to 1940 the area of this Lake, and of the whole State, sustained the longest and most severe drought known in our recorded history. We feel that the evidence is insufficient to sustain plaintiff's contention to the effect that the waters of Devils Lake have *799 permanently receded and that the ordinary high water line of the Lake stands at 1419 feet above mean sea level. It is also impossible from the evidence to determine any definite height the lake has attained at any time in the past which would meet the conditions of the definition of "ordinary high water mark." The evidence before the court fails to warrant the conclusion that there has been a permanent reliction to the present level of the lake, or that the waters in the lake will never again reach some higher level. The judgment of the lower court is reversed and the action dismissed. GRIMSON, C. J., and BURKE and SATHRE, JJ., concur. MORRIS, J., deeming himself disqualified did not participate.