Title: Crafts v. Hansen

State: utah

Issuer: Utah Supreme Court

Document:

667 P.2d 1068 (1983) Mrs. Dudley CRAFTS, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Dee C. HANSEN, State Engineer of Utah; Intermountain Power Project; et al., Defendants and Respondents. Mrs. Dudley CRAFTS, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Dee C. HANSEN, State Engineer of the State of Utah, et al., Defendants and Respondents. Bernard JACKSON, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Dr. Clark COX, et al., Defendants and Respondents. Ray BROWN, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Dee C. HANSEN, State Engineer of the State of Utah, et al., Defendants and Respondents. Gerald MOODY, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. CENTRAL UTAH WATER COMPANY, et al., Defendants and Respondents. Nos. 18053 to 18057. Supreme Court of Utah. June 14, 1983. *1069 E.J. Skeen, Salt Lake City, for plaintiffs and appellants. David L. Wilkinson, Atty. Gen., Dallin W. Jensen, Michael M. Quealy, Asst. Attys. Gen., Joseph Novak, Wayne L. Black, Robert D. Moore, Salt Lake City, Thorpe A. Waddingham, Delta, Edward W. Clyde, Salt Lake City, for defendants and respondents. DURHAM, Justice: This appeal involves five lawsuits which have been consolidated and which were filed in the district court by the appellants pursuant to U.C.A., 1953, § 73-3-14, to seek review of the decisions of the Utah State Engineer which approved various change applications. Although each lawsuit involves separate change applications, all of the cases raise common questions. The trial court granted the Utah State respondents' motions for partial summary judgment in all five cases, and later granted motions for summary judgment made by the remaining corporate and individual respondents. The orders of the trial court are essentially identical in each case and they affirm the decisions of the State Engineer approving the change applications. The sole issue on appeal is whether there are genuine issues of material fact which preclude summary judgment. See Utah R.Civ.P. 56. We conclude that there are, and we reverse and remand all five cases for trial. The factual context of this dispute is as follows: A group of shareholders in five Utah corporations[1] and a group of water well owners in Millard County, Utah, formed a joint venture for the purpose of selling 45,000 acre feet of water to the *1070 Intermountain Power Agency (hereafter "IPA"), a political subdivision of the State of Utah. The water is intended for use in the construction and operation of the Intermountain Power Project (hereafter "IPP") in Millard County. Contracts for the sale of the water were executed and the change applications which are the subject of these lawsuits were filed with the State Engineer in September and October of 1979. The change applications in four of these lawsuits were filed by the owners of the water rights to change the permitted use of the water from its historical irrigation and stockwatering uses to industrial and domestic uses in connection with the proposed IPP. The fifth lawsuit, Brown v. Hansen, No. 18056, concerns a change application which seeks an amendment of the water rights to conform to proofs of appropriation which differed from the original applications. All of the change applications were advertised as required by law and were protested by various individuals and organizations. Following the necessary administrative hearings, the State Engineer approved each of the applications, subject to certain conditions and limitations which were intended to protect the vested rights of others in the geographical areas in question. Thereafter, the appellants in these five cases filed complaints in district court for review of the State Engineer's decisions. After discovery, the respondents filed their motions for summary judgment. In each case, the respondents filed affidavits in support of their motions for summary judgment. The affidavits were prepared in each case by a civil engineer named Reed W. Mower and, in cases Nos. 18053, 18054 & 18057, by the then Sevier River Commissioner, Roger Walker. Opposing affidavits were filed in each case by the appellants from another civil engineer, Parley R. Neeley. These documents will be referred to hereafter as the "Mower affidavits," the "Walker affidavits," and the "Neeley affidavits." The trial court granted summary judgment based on the change applications, the decisions of the State Engineer, and the contents of the Mower, Walker, and Neeley affidavits. The central issue before this Court is whether any genuine issue of material fact is raised by the affidavits of the parties' respective experts. The statutes governing these actions, U.C.A., 1953, §§ 73-3-14 & -15, specify that a party aggrieved by a decision of the State Engineer is entitled to "plenary review" in the district court, and that "[t]he hearing in the district court shall proceed as a trial de novo and shall be tried to the court as other equitable actions." The issues at such hearings are, however, strictly limited to those which were, or could have been, raised before the State Engineer. See, e.g., East Bench Irrigation Co. v. State, 5 Utah 2d 235, 300 P.2d 603 (1956). U.C.A., 1953, § 73-3-3 provides in pertinent part: Thus, it is the State Engineer's obligation, before approving a change application, to determine that no vested water right will be impaired by the proposed change. On plenary review, the trial court has the same obligation. This Court has described the standard for that determination as follows: Salt Lake City v. Boundary Springs Water Users Ass'n, 2 Utah 2d 141, 143-44, 270 P.2d 453, 455 (1954) (citations omitted). *1071 The question which must be decided in these cases is: Do the affidavits raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether there is reason to believe that the proposed changes can be made without impairing vested water rights? If legitimate questions on that issue are raised by the affidavits, the cases must be remanded for a trial on their merits.[2] Preliminary to our analysis of the affidavits, we note that all of them have one feature in common. For the most part, they recite expressions of expert opinion rather than factual data and the factual data upon which the opinions are based is either not set forth at all or only to a very limited extent. Because the contents of the affidavits filed in each of these five cases vary somewhat, we will discuss them separately and in detail. The change application in this case, No. a-10864, requested changes of usage of the DMAD companies' Sevier River direct flow and storage water rights to permit industrial use at the IPP. The pleadings raise the following issues of fact: 1) whether the proposed changes will interfere with and damage the appellants' vested water rights, 2) whether it will result in an enlargement of the right sought to be changed, and 3) whether 27,000 acre feet, the approximate amount of water which will be pumped under the proposed change, has ever been pumped from the DMAD wells involved in the change application. There are three affidavits in the record in this case the Mower and Walker affidavits filed by the respondents, and the Neeley affidavit filed by the appellants. The Mower affidavit is directed exclusively to Change Application No. a-18064, which is the subject of this particular lawsuit. The Walker affidavit offers opinion testimony on three Change Applications, Nos. a-10863, a-10864 and a-10927. The effects of Change Applications Nos. a-10863 and a-10864 are treated jointly. The Neeley affidavit is identical to the ones filed in each of the five lawsuits consolidated in this appeal and is directed only in general terms to Change Application No. a-10864. It does not respond directly to the specific allegations of the Mower and Walker affidavits regarding this change application, but does challenge their conclusions in certain particulars pertinent to the change application. Because a careful comparison of their language is necessary in determining whether the affidavits raise genuine issues of material fact, we set forth relevant portions at some length below. We note that the experience, background and training recited in the Mower and Neeley affidavits constitute prima facie evidence that each is qualified to give an expert opinion as a civil engineer and hydrologist. Likewise, Walker, although not an engineer, establishes in his affidavit sufficient training and experience to permit an expression of expert opinion. There is no basis in the affidavits themselves for distinguishing between any of the affiants based upon professional qualifications, except for the fact that Neeley and Mower are professional engineers and Walker a layman with considerable experience *1072 in water measurement and administration. The Mower affidavit sets forth the following opinion: The Walker affidavit recites: There follows a detailed description in thirteen paragraphs of said benefits, including elimination of seepage and evaporation loss of storage water, improvements in the quality of available water for agricultural and recreational uses, more efficient use of annual water supplies by water users in the area, and economic benefits to the DMAD companies' stockholders. The summary of projected benefits ends with this conclusion: The opinions set forth in the Neeley affidavit differ sharply, although only the general allegations of the affidavit are directed to the direct flow and storage rights which are the subject of the change application in this case. Most of the specific allegations in the Neeley affidavit are directed to the effects of pumping underground water pursuant to the change applications in the other lawsuits involved in this appeal. Those paragraphs which are relevant to this case are as follows: It may be seen that the affidavits relied on by the respondents essentially set forth the opinion of their experts that the result of approving Change Application No. a-10864 will be either negligible or entirely and dramatically beneficial to other vested water rights in the geographical area and to the public. The appellants' expert witness testifies by affidavit that those opinions are based on out-of-date and inaccurate data and are conjectural, questionable, and probably inaccurate. Further, Neeley's affidavit gives his opinion that the opinions offered by Mower and Walker could not be formed with any degree of factual or scientific certainty on the basis of then available information. This case involves Change Application No. a-10863 requesting a permanent change in the point of rediversion, place, and nature of use of a number of the DMAD companies' wells. The pleadings of the appellants claim, among other things, that approval of the change will impose on nonindustrial users the entire "shrink" or water loss in the irrigation systems involved, encroach on the supply of irrigation water, deprive downstream water users of return flow water, result in an unlawful enlargement of the rights of the applicants, and impair vested rights held by the appellants. It is also alleged that the State Engineer's decision to approve is premised on a nonexistent quantity of water. In this case, the pertinent portions of the affidavits from Mower, Walker and Neeley are as follows: The Mower affidavit states that, in Mower's opinion, the long-term net effect of the change on the water levels in the Sevier Desert ground-water basin will be negligible because no differences will result from year-round pumping as opposed to seasonal use. Mower also claims that the short-term effect on the water levels in the Sevier Desert ground-water basin wells will be lessened by diverting the same quantity of water annually from the DMAD companies' wells in smaller monthly amounts than is now being done seasonally in larger monthly amounts. Mower further opines that the combined net effect of the change on the ground-water basin as a whole will be "less adverse than the combined net effect ... which will result from pumping water ... solely for agricultural uses." The affidavit sets forth the results of Mower's calculations concerning this combined net effect for various geographical areas within the Sevier River ground-water basin. The affidavit also discusses the effect of the location of the wells, the geography of the respective areas, and such factors as the diversion rate and the "transmissivity" of the area. The final paragraph states: The Walker affidavit in this case is identical to the one filed in Crafts v. IPP, No. 18053, discussed above. There are two Neeley affidavits in this case. The first is identical to the one filed in Crafts v. IPP and is discussed above. However, in this case its allegations are directed specifically to the claims made in the Mower affidavit. In addition to those portions of the Neeley affidavit already set forth heretofore, the following specific statements appear: The second Neeley affidavit states, among other things, that: As can be seen from the portions of the affidavits set forth above, the parties' experts express diametrically opposing opinions on the central issue of whether the approval of the change applications will impair existing water rights in the Sevier River ground-water basin. This action involves fourteen change applications[4] regarding points of diversion of wells located along the Sevier River. The water from these wells has heretofore been used on a seasonal basis for irrigation and incidental stockwatering. Pursuant to the change, the water would be used year-round for industrial purposes and would be fully consumed. The complaint alleges that the appellants own water rights in the ground-water basin and that the proposed changes will result in impairment of those rights. There are only two affidavits on file in this case, one each from Mower and Neeley. The Mower affidavit is identical to the one filed in Crafts v. Hansen, No. 18054, discussed above. It does not make any specific analysis of the fourteen individual change applications at issue in the lawsuit, but does discuss Change Applications Nos. a-10862 and a-10863, as well as 13 of the wells involved here. The conclusions are generally based on the net combined effect on the ground-water basin of all the proposed changes; there is no breakdown respecting the specific changes involved in this case. We have already summarized Mower's conclusions in our discussion of Crafts v. Hansen, supra. They are essentially that: 1) there will be no adverse effect on ground-water levels in the Sevier Desert ground-water basin, long-term or short-term, as a result of enlarging the annual period of diversion from seasonal to year-round; and 2) the effect on the basin as a whole will be "less adverse by pumping water as proposed by the changes than solely for irrigation use." The Neeley affidavit is identical to the one filed in all five of these cases. It challenges both aspects of the Mower opinion just summarized, and concludes "that water levels will not appreciably increase, rather, when pumping occurs water levels generally decrease if water is pumped from the same basin." This case concerns Change Application No. a-10862, which was filed to obtain a permanent change of points of diversion, place, and nature of use of water from eight wells, evidenced by 13 applications to appropriate underground water, in order to conform to the proofs of appropriation. The application seeks to change the rights from direct flow for seasonal use for irrigation *1079 to a year-round storage right. The complaint alleges that the proposed change will: 1) impair the plaintiffs' prior water appropriations and pending applications, 2) interfere with the wells of some of the plaintiffs, and 3) unlawfully enlarge the rights which are the subject of the change applications because the DMAD companies have never pumped or beneficially used the number of acre feet of water sought to be diverted by the change. The Mower affidavit filed herein is identical to the one described in the preceding two cases. There are two Neeley affidavits; the first is the same one filed in each of the five cases in this appeal, which has already been discussed and set forth at length. The second was prepared specifically for this lawsuit, and states in pertinent part: As can be seen from the portions of the affidavits set forth above, the parties' experts express diametrically opposing opinions on the central issue of whether the approval of the change applications will impair existing water rights in the Sevier River ground-water basin. In this case, application No. a-10927 was filed to change the points of diversion, place, and nature of use of part or all of the water rights of the Central Utah Water Company, under the Cox Decree, in the Sevier River and Lower Molin Spring, and storage rights in the Sevier Bridge Reservoir and Fool Creek Reservoir. The proposal would change an indefinite flow and quantity of water from irrigation and stockwater use to industrial use at the IPP. The Central Utah Water Co. proposes to release portions of its water into the DMAD Reservoir and to convey that water to the *1080 IPP for year-round, fully consumptive industrial use. The remaining portion of the decreed water right would be used for irrigation of approximately 4,600 acres of land under the Upper Central Utah Canal or for maintenance of the return flows of the Sevier River. The pleadings in the lawsuit raise three factual questions: 1) whether the appellants are owners of water rights in the Sevier River system; 2) whether the proposed change would impair the rights of other water users in the area involved; and 3) whether the change would constitute an enlargement of the original rights in question. There were three affidavits on the motion for summary judgment in this case: a third Mower affidavit addressed specifically to this change application, the Walker affidavit also filed in Crafts v. IPP, No. 18053, supra, and Crafts v. Hansen, No. 18054, supra, and the Neeley affidavit filed in all five lawsuits. The Mower affidavit gives the opinion that the proposed change "will not reduce the natural recharge into the artesian aquifers of the Sevier Desert ground-water basin." His affidavit does not address either of the other two issues, namely, ownership of the water rights and enlargement of the rights. The Walker affidavit, as already noted earlier, deals not only with Change Application No. a-10927, involved in this lawsuit, but also with Change Applications Nos. a-10862, a-10863, and a-10864 involved in the other cases. That affidavit is summarized in our discussion of Crafts v. IPP, supra, and gives Walker's opinion that the available water supply and diversion records support all of the State Engineer's findings. It further sets forth in detail numerous projected benefits from the proposed change which, in Walker's opinion, are "more than adequate to fully compensate any and all other water users for any damages, if any there be, which might result from the affirm[ance] of [the State Engineer's decisions]." The Neeley affidavit, set forth earlier in this opinion, states that Mower's data is incomplete and out-of-date, and that his conclusory opinions are inaccurate. It states further that year-round water use and the proposed changes will have a net effect on the ground-water basin which is opposite to that postulated in the Mower affidavit. Neeley's opinion is that water levels in the basin will be lowered, and that all wells in the area will be adversely affected. Having completed the foregoing review and comparison of the affidavits, which were the only evidence before the trial court in each of these five cases, we cannot agree with the trial court's assessment that they present no genuine issues of material fact. As can be seen by a reading of the portions of the affidavits we have discussed and reproduced, the parties' experts express diametrically opposing opinions on the central issue of impairment of existing water rights in the Sevier River ground-water basin. The absence of genuine issues of material fact is of course a prerequisite to the granting of summary judgment, and that requirement is not met here. See Utah R.Civ.P. 56. The respondents' arguments respecting the standards for approval of change applications, the burden of proof on the "reason to believe" issue, and the authority of the State Engineer to make his approval conditional and interlocutory are all accurate. They are, however, irrelevant to the basis upon which we reverse the summary judgments in these cases, namely, that the affidavits establish genuine issues of material fact which preclude the granting of summary judgment and require a trial. See, e.g., Schaer v. State, Utah, 657 P.2d 1337 (1983). It is noteworthy that none of the respondents have, so far as we can determine, cited a single case wherein the trial court upheld an order of the State Engineer in a water dispute by summary judgment on the basis of opinion testimony in affidavits. Every case discussed by the respondents was decided after a full trial in district court.[5] We do not mean to suggest *1081 by this observation that summary judgment is not available in a hearing de novo concerning a determination of the State Engineer. Where the requirements of Rule 56 are met, a moving party would of course be entitled to relief. However, the fact that summary disposition of such cases appears to have been rare or nonexistent does underscore the nature and kind of evidence likely to be relied on by the parties therein, and offered by the parties here. The future impact of changes in allocation and use of water resources in a large geographical area is not generally susceptible of direct observation, measurement and calculation. Great reliance must be placed upon expert judgment based on professional knowledge and training, familiarity with the geography, and as much accurate data as can be acquired in the process of making future projections. As we have emphasized throughout this opinion, we are not dealing so much with "facts" in these cases as with the opinion of experts about the accuracy and legitimacy of the projections based upon the available facts. The Neeley affidavits in all five cases flatly state that Mower's professional opinion is inaccurate because the data relied on is insufficient to support the opinion. We have no means, nor did the trial court, of assessing either the Neeley opinion or the data relied on by Mower. Cross-examination of Mower and Walker by the appellants at trial could very well show that Neeley's opinion is correct, and that the conclusions of Mower and Walker constitute nothing more than "guesswork." We do not hold, as the appellants appear to ask, that there must be an indefinite delay of the determination of this matter until every conceivable piece of information and data is collected. The determinative question before the trial court will be whether there is reason to believe, on the basis of current information, that existing water rights will not be impaired by the changes proposed in the applications. Once the respondents make a prima facie showing at trial that there is reason to believe, on the basis of available data, that the changes can be lawfully approved, the appellants will have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence either that the available data is insufficient to give rise to "reason to believe," or that available data in fact creates a reason to believe that the changes cannot lawfully be approved. We rely in this ruling on the fact that, if the opinion in the Neeley affidavits respecting the current status of the data and the probable impact of the changes were believed by the trier of fact, the State Engineer's approval would have to be reversed. Thus, summary judgment is precluded because there exists the factual issue of whether there was reason to believe that approval of the change applications would impair the vested water rights of the appellants.[6] The summary judgments entered in all five cases are reversed, and they are remanded for a factual trial on the merits. No costs awarded. STEWART and HOWE, JJ., concur. OAKS, Justice (dissenting): I dissent because I believe the majority opinion answers the wrong question and *1082 unwittingly reverses a long-standing and important rule governing the function of the state engineer in approving change applications. In effect, the majority defines the central issue as whether the expert's affidavits raise any "genuine issue of material fact" as to whether the proposed changes can be made without impairing vested water rights? If that were the issue, I would concur, since the majority opinion conclusively demonstrates that there are issues of fact on that question. But this is not a case where the district court was called upon to adjudicate priorities or other vested rights. This is evident from the majority's concession that the issues before the district court in this case are strictly limited to those properly before the state engineer, because it is well settled that the state engineer cannot adjudicate the priority or extent of vested rights. E.g., Daniels Irrigation Co. v. Daniel Summit Co., Utah, 571 P.2d 1323, 1324 (1977); East Bench Irrigation Co. v. State, 5 Utah 2d 235, 240, 300 P.2d 603, 607 (1956); Whitmore v. Murray City, 107 Utah 445, 450-51, 154 P.2d 748, 750 (1944); United States v. District Court of Fourth Judicial District, 121 Utah 18, 242 P.2d 774 (1952). What is at issue in this case is the propriety of an administrative decision by which the state engineer authorized a change in the place of diversion or use or the manner of use of water owned by the applicants. That decision is governed by a different standard than the district court employs in determining whether to grant summary judgment in an adjudication of vested rights. U.C.A., 1953, § 73-3-3 provides that "no such change shall be made if it impairs any vested right without just compensation." Contrary to the approach of the majority, that statute does not require an adjudication of vested rights in order to approve a change application. In the context of Utah water law and the assigned function of the state engineer, a succession of cases has applied the direction of § 73-3-3 in terms of whether there is "reason to believe" that the change can be made without impairing vested rights. This is the practical equivalent of a probable cause determination in a criminal case. Under our cases, the state engineer (or the district court in a de novo appeal from the state engineer's decision) must approve a change application "if the tribunal concludes that there is reason to believe that no existing right will thereby be impaired." United States v. District Court of Fourth Judicial District, 121 Utah 18, 24, 242 P.2d 774, 777 (1952). This "reason to believe" rule is repeatedly stated in this same opinion. 121 Utah at 20-21, 242 P.2d at 775-76. It is also stated in the earlier opinion in the same case, United States v. District Court of Fourth Judicial District, 121 Utah 1, 10-12, 238 P.2d 1132, 1136-37 (1951), and in a succession of later cases. Piute Reservoir & Irrigation Co. v. West Panguitch Irrigation & Reservoir Co., 13 Utah 2d 6, 7-8, 10, 367 P.2d 855, 856, 858 (1962); Salt Lake City v. Boundary Springs Water Users Association, 2 Utah 2d 141, 143-44, 270 P.2d 453, 455 (1954). The meaning, intent, and function of the "reason to believe" rule are best explained in United States v. District Court of Fourth Judicial District, 121 Utah at 11-12, 238 P.2d at 1137, as follows: Accord, Eardley v. Terry, 94 Utah 367, 77 P.2d 362 (1938). It is abundantly clear from the order and summary judgment in this case that all the district court held was that there was "reason to believe that said Change Applications can be approved on the same terms and conditions as set forth in the ... Decisions of the State Engineer thereon without impairing the existing water rights of plaintiffs." (Emphasis added.) In so ordering, the district court phrased the issue correctly. And, in view of the content of the Mower and Walker affidavits, there was no error in the court's resolution of that issue. Its order should be affirmed. The majority reverses the district court because the Mower and Walker affidavits were contradicted by Neeley. But when the determination is "probable cause" or "reason to believe," the question of "whether there is a genuine issue of material fact" is a contradiction in terms. In determining whether there is "reason to believe" a proponent's submission, the fact that it has been contradicted is not disabling. A probable cause determination is not the time to resolve contradictions. That comes later, in the formal adjudication. In this case, that will be a proceeding to adjudicate whether vested rights are in fact being impaired. A change application can be denied by the state engineer or by the court on appeal from the engineer's decision, but not simply on the basis of what the majority calls "the production of evidence which controverts the existence of `reason to believe.'" That standard would subvert the purpose of this preliminary administrative determination. A change application should only be denied when, after resolving all contradictions in favor of the proponent of change, the evidence offered is so deficient that it provides no reason to believe that the proposed change could be made without impairing rights. Piute Reservoir & Irrigation Co. v. West Panguitch Irrigation & Reservoir Co., supra. This is not such a case. By reversing the district court and remanding this case for trial to resolve issues of fact on the existence of "reason to believe," the majority effectively reverses the "reason to believe" test and telescopes an interlocutory administrative determination on a change application into a mini-adjudication of vested rights. Seen in a larger context, this is just one more instance where the law is being changed in a manner that will make it more complicated and require more time, more money, and more lawyers and judges for its administration. See Bok, "A Flawed System," Harvard Magazine, May-June 1983, at 38, 42-44. Change applications previously handled by laymen and technical experts will now need to be administered by lawyers and judges in a preliminary adversary proceeding in any case where an opponent files contradictory material. If the change application is approved, *1084 the opponent can later compel a second adversary proceeding to adjudicate the actual impairment of vested rights. The adversary determination of infringements on vested rights should take place only once, after a change application has been approved administratively upon a preliminary showing of "reason to believe." Then the adjudication of vested rights can be made on the basis of evidence tied to experience, rather than upon the conflicting estimates that will be bruited about in the preliminary trial required by the majority in this case. HALL, C.J., concurs in the dissenting opinion of OAKS, J. [1] Delta Canal Company, Melville Irrigation Company, Abraham Irrigation Company, Deseret Irrigation Company, and Central Utah Water Company. The first four companies will be referred to collectively in this opinion as the "DMAD companies." [2] The dissenting opinion suggests that where the issue is "reason to believe," the existence of contradictory evidence is irrelevant. If that were so, then the statute providing for judicial review of "any case where a decision of the state engineer is involved" would not apply whenever said decision depends on a "reason to believe" standard. No such exception is contained in the statute. The cases cited by this opinion, the dissent, and the parties in their briefs all involved adjudications of the "reason to believe" question. Thus the dissent is mistaken in arguing that this opinion overrules the "reason to believe" standard. It is also mistaken in suggesting that the trial court must automatically affirm the State Engineer by summary judgment whenever that standard is invoked, regardless of the production of evidence which controverts the existence of "reason to believe." The dissent ignores the applicable law relating to summary judgment. The threshold determination on summary judgment is always whether there is a genuine issue of material fact. If there is, no party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. This fundamental premise is not vitiated by the nature of the issues in the lawsuit. [3] Webster's Third New International Dictionary at 108 (1961) defines "aquifer" as: "a water-bearing bed or stratum of permeable rock, sand, or gravel capable of yielding considerable quantities of water to wells or springs." [4] Nos. a-10952, a-10953, a-10954, a-10955, a-10956, a-10968, a-10969, a-10970, a-10971, a-10972, a-10973, a-10981, a-10997, and a-11009. [5] See, e.g., Daniels Irrigation Co. v. Daniel Summit Co., Utah, 571 P.2d 1323 (1977); East Bench Irrigation Co. v. State, 5 Utah 2d 235, 300 P.2d 603 (1956); Bullock v. Tracy, 4 Utah 2d 370, 294 P.2d 707 (1956); Lehi Irrigation Co. v. Jones, 115 Utah 136, 202 P.2d 892 (1949); Whitmore v. Murray City, 107 Utah 445, 154 P.2d 748 (1944); Tanner v. Bacon, 103 Utah 494, 136 P.2d 957 (1943); Little Cottonwood Water Co. v. Kimball, 76 Utah 243, 289 P. 116 (1930); In re Application # 7600, 63 Utah 311, 225 P. 605 (1924); Brady v. McGonagle, 57 Utah 424, 195 P. 188 (1921). [6] In its first order granting partial summary judgment to the Utah State defendants-respondents, the trial court held that the issues before it were strictly limited to those which were or could have been raised before the State Engineer, and that "the criteria governing the approval or rejection of said Change Applications ... is limited to a determination of whether there is reason to believe that [they] can be approved without substantially impairing any water rights of Plaintiffs." It does not appear that either of these holdings has been disputed on this appeal, and our reversal of the final order of summary judgment does not extend to these preliminary orders, which will therefore govern at trial.