A lawsuit seeking to overturn a controversial 2010 vote by the Oregon Marine Board that banned gas-powered motorboats on Waldo Lake in the Cascade Range in east Lane County is once again bringing to the surface the long-running fight over how to enjoy and protect one of the purest lakes in the world.
“This lake is very unique,” said Bend resident Gretchen Valido, chairwoman of the Juniper Group chapter of the Sierra Club. “Why would we go and spoil the last lake that is so unique in our state?”
The lake, the second-deepest and one of the largest in Oregon, is a popular destination for kayakers, hikers and campers from Lane County and around the state. In years past, the lake also was used by some motorboat and seaplane owners.
In 2010, when the Marine Board collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service to propose measures to ban gas-powered engines from the lake, hundreds of Oregonians spoke out and wrote letters both supporting and opposing the ban. Eventually, after weeks of public comment, the board voted to adopt the ban.
Last March, however, a small group of individuals and organizations sued the board in the Oregon Court of Appeals, alleging that the board did not have the legal right to implement the ban and asserting that it should be scrapped.
The lawsuit led the Marine Board to ponder whether it should open the rule-making for more public comment.
The board has requested an extension from the Court of Appeals to formally respond to the lawsuit and will meet Thursday in Salem to discuss whether to allow more public comment on the engine ban. If it decides to reopen the comment period, the public would be able to comment from March 1 to April 1 on whether or not to allow engines, and the board would hold a final public hearing and make a decision on the ban at a special meeting in Eugene on April 10. The meeting in Salem on Thursday is open to the public, but there will be no public testimony. Public testimony will be allowed at the April 10 meeting.
Those who favor the ban say the gas-powered boats pollute the water and are noisy and distracting in a lake that visitors frequent in order to enjoy the serenity of the wilderness.
“It’s surrounded by three sides of wilderness,” Valido said. “People who come want to experience the solitude and the relaxation of a quiet place where there are not motors and noise.”
Motorboats are allowed on almost all other navigable lakes in the state, so why not keep at least one free of engines, especially given the growing popularity of canoing and kayaking, ban advocates say.
Cleaner engines cited
Some motorboat owners, on the other hand, insist that a ban imposes unfair and unnecessary restrictions, and that by permitting more efficient, less noisy four-stroke engines, the impact would be minimal.
“We want to help make sure that the most people as possible may enjoy Waldo Lake safely, in a peaceful and quiet environment,” said Westfir resident Rob DeHarpport, vice-president of the advocacy group Waldo Lake for Everyone! in an e-mail. Motorboat owners are committed to protecting the lake, he said, and with the cleaner engines they can do that, he said.
The lawsuit alleges that the board lacked the authority to impose administrative rules banning motors. It also notes that existing state law sets a 10 mph restriction on motorboats on a number of lakes, including Waldo. That implies that lawmakers wanted to allow engines on Waldo, the lawsuit argues.
Also, the lawsuit notes that Waldo is not on the list of lakes or waterways where state law bans motorboats. So, the Marine Board’s administrative ban improperly impinged on state law, the lawsuit argues.
The state has not filed a response to the allegations and instead has asked for a delay.
Years of arguments
The fight over engines on Waldo has been going on for years, with Eugene timber heir Steven Stewart leading the effort to keep motorboats on the lake.
Previously, the Forest Service banned gas engines on the lake, and Stewart sued in 2007, saying the federal agency had overstepped its jurisdiction. He argued that though the land around the lake belongs to the federal government, the water itself belongs to the state, so the Forest Service lacked authority to regulate boating. As that dispute dragged on, Gov. Ted Kulongoski in 2010 took up the cause of banning engines on the lake, directing the Marine Board to implement the ban.
Stewart is involved again in this year’s efforts to repeal the ban. Other petitioners include Portland resident Aron Faegre, president of the Columbia Seaplane Pilots Association, and Albany resident Keith Kendrick, president of Waldo Lake for Everyone!
According to DeHarpport, the petitioners began planning the suit in mid-2010 and, after working closely together, decided to jointly file an appeal.
“Our arguments for inclusivity and equal access for all lake users are compelling,” DeHarpport said. “We believe our case before the Oregon Court of Appeals will ultimately be successful, rendering any ban on motors by the Marine Board moot.”
Groups vow to rally
In addition to their argument concerning the board’s jurisdiction, the petitioners also claim that when the Marine Board adopted its rule in 2010 it did not comply with various requirements included in the Oregon Administrative Procedures Act, which outlines the process for a state agency to enact new policies.
One issue that may be raised in court is the fact that the Marine Board itself conducted a required fiscal impact report of the effect of the ban on local businesses, rather than creating a separate rules committee to organize one.
To account for that oversight, the Marine Board has created the committee and is in the process of recalculating the fiscal impact of the ban, board Director Scott Brewen said.
Plus, the lawsuit argues that because Kulongoski directed the Marine Board to adopt the ban, the board’s effort to gather public testimony was a sham and violated state law.
Though the lawsuit is only in its preliminary stages, supporters and opponents of the ban are already vowing to rally just as they did two years ago.
“When the hearings are held, we definitely plan to be present,” Valido said. “People realize the value of having this unique body of water preserved and protected.”
OREGON STATE MARINE BOARD
Panel will meet to take up issue of motorboats on Waldo Lake
When/where: Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Oregon State Marine Board office, 435 Commercial St., Suite 400, in Salem.
More information: The meeting will not include time for public comment. The public may have an opportunity to provide testimony at an April 10 meeting in Eugene.
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