- A second developer is suing an Ogden Valley water supplier, alleging it has unnecessarily hampered access to water.
- The P.C. Luminary lawsuit echoes an earlier legal claim filed by Wolf Creek Resort Holdings against the Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District.
- The water supplier has rebuffed the claims in the Wolf Creek Resort Holdings case.
OGDEN — A second developer has filed suit against an Ogden Valley water supplier, echoing concerns of another developer that the water entity has been hampering development by unnecessarily blocking access to drinking water.
P.C. Luminary filed suit last month in 2nd District Court in Ogden against the Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District, essentially saying the public water provider has sufficient access to water but has refused to supply it for the developer's housing projects. Meantime, P.C. Luminary, which is pursuing a 60-unit housing development called Powder Canyon at Wolf Creek in the Ogden Valley area of Weber County, said it has been paying fees to Wolf Creek as it awaits action on its applications for water.
"Developer believes that the district is acting in bad faith and stringing developer along, happy to accept developer's stand by fees all while opposing new water source development or applications," reads the June 13 lawsuit.
Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District hasn't yet responded to the P.C. Luminary lawsuit, and a representative from the water provider didn't immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
However, the water entity rejected similar charges put forward by another developer, Wolf Creek Resort Holdings, in an earlier lawsuit filed in May. The two developers seek millions of dollars in damages to offset what they say are lost development opportunities that stem from lack of water access.
Wolf Creek Resort Holdings representatives "selectively rely on certain documents while ignoring others to allege claims they don't have," reads a motion to dismiss the case the water provider filed on June 13. "Having negotiated contracts with defendant, plaintiffs can't now complain that they got precisely what they bargained for."
Meanwhile, Shane Dunleavy, one of the owners of Wolf Creek Resort Holdings, said Wednesday that a third developer may also sue Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District. The varied suits will likely be combined given the common issues, he thinks. What's more, Dunleavy said, representatives from two other developers have also charged that they think they've been improperly denied water for their development proposals, though they aren't necessarily going to sue.
With three ski resorts and the Pineview Reservoir, the Ogden Valley, on the eastern side of the Wasatch Mountains, is an increasingly popular getaway zone. The interest has increased development pressure and sparked debate about whether the supply of water in the area is sufficient to meet demand, particularly in light of recent dry years.
Indeed, the P.C. Luminary lawsuit noted a July 9, 2020, letter by Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District officials to Weber County planning officials outlining the water entity's limited water resources.
"The district currently has no excess culinary/secondary water capacity for any additional subdivision development platting. As a result, we do not anticipate issuing any 'capacity assessment letters' for projects," the letter reads, referencing the documentation county officials require as a condition of approving development proposals.
The lawsuit also noted a 2021 notice issued by the Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District, which sounded a similar message. "Due to ongoing drought conditions and increased demand on Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District's water supply, effective July 27, 2021, the district will not issue any can and will serve letters for new water service. The district will reevaluate the moratorium in March 2022," it reads.
The P.C. Luminary lawsuit, however, goes on to question whether the situation is as dire as the water supplier maintains, noting, among other things, state testing of water wells that Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District can tap into, including the Warm Springs well. One test from 1995 "establishes that the district can more than double the current flow of the Warm Springs well without adverse effects to its source," it reads.
In its motion to dismiss the Wolf Creek Resort Holdings lawsuit, however, Wolf Creek Water and Sewer Improvement District says that other agreements dictate the water entity's water provision responsibilities, among other things.
Requirements that developers secure water rights elsewhere before getting the green light from the water district, for instance, "were agreed upon by the parties, and plaintiffs got exactly what they bargained for. Unhappy with their bargain, plaintiffs now ask the court to draft a better contract than they made for themselves," the motion to dismiss reads.
Both cases continue to make their way through the courts.
