Man threatened with prison for collecting rainwater!

[n4gix]

I stumbled across this story while surfing a bit this morning. What kind of insanity is it that an obscure 1935 state law makes it illegal to collect rain water in retention ponds on one's own property?

Especially since firefighters have used this gentleman's ponds over the years while fighting fires in the area! :dizzy:


https://youtu.be/_jnwhJ3X1Qg?t=6m31s

[Tako_Kichi]

Seems like a case of stupidity on the part of the authorities. It also seems like a set-up when the jury were denied evidence that would have thrown the case out of court. So if this is the case, if you build a back-yard fish pond in Oregon do the State own the water in it even if it is filled by collected rainwater? :dizzy::banghead:

I hope he gets his sentence and any fines squashed.

[n4gix]

Larry, what about swimming pools? Do they not have those in Oregon? What an insane law!

BTW, I linked directly to this last part of the video for the purpose of this thread, but the first half is likewise insane...

You see, in the first half of the video is the story of a man who was jailed because the PTBs where he lives ordered him to remove his tiny wind turbine. While he did take it down, he was jailed in contempt of court for not also removing the concrete base!

What kind of country are we becoming anyway? :banghead:

[napamule]

This country is not getting 'Great'. There is no law. You can munipilate the system. Steal $30 K and get off (facts were hidden-cooked books). Molest a minor and get re-assigned. Move into a hourse (not your own, whether paying rent or not) and not be evicted by legal owners. Any questions?
Chuck B
Napamule

[MrZippy]

Move into a hourse (not your own, whether paying rent or not) and not be evicted by legal owners. Any questions?
Chuck B
Napamule

Yeah, Chuck....What's a hourse? I sure don't want to move into a horse, maybe a house!:dizzy:

[napamule]

Maybe a hourse house?

[Daveroo]

Seems like a case of stupidity on the part of the authorities. It also seems like a set-up when the jury were denied evidence that would have thrown the case out of court. So if this is the case, if you build a back-yard fish pond in Oregon do the State own the water in it even if it is filled by collected rainwater? :dizzy::banghead:

I hope he gets his sentence and any fines squashed.

im pretty sure that every where in the USA water ways,ponds lakes,even a privately owned man made pond is under the authority of the US fish and game,you cant fish anywhere in the us without a proper license.as far as collecting rainwater,that is pretty stupid,BUT if they can prove that the diversion of the rain water "robs" a natural water shed,then you cant do it.something most people dont understand is that fresh water is becoming scarce. here in placer county cal,its illegal to put a pipe on a rain gutter and collect it in a barrel,even if you want it for drinking water,its not yours to use.you cant put even a small hydro plant on a private stream (that you think is yours as its on your property)to produce electricity.PG&E 9 Pacific graft and extortion ) will sue you and send federal authorities on you,we did a house in the late 1970s,the man had a well drilled,used heat exchangers to heat and cool his house,and then the "waist" water was collected into a large pond,he had proper permits and it was all approved etc.in the late 1990s,he was charged with a crime of "stealing and misusing ground water for un approved purposes" ,he was arrested and jailed for not complying with a court order,which was served to him AFTER he was arrested.he was istting in a holding cell when a deputy served him.he happens to be a very wealthy man,and when he got some really high profile attorneys to step in ,all charges were dropped,but he had to dismantle the system ( i did it,installed it and removed it) because he was taking away from PG&Es right to charge him electricity usage to heat and cool his home.

btw the california aqueduct which serves southern cal with fresh water,comes from lake oroville,the one with the broken spillway,up here in norcal,la had already drained and distroyed the owens valley ,made it a desert,and theyre trying to do it up here now,we have shortages all the time,yet those in la have all they want,to use in a natural desert.

[stansdds]

I'm not going to say anything because my comment would involve words such as "central", "USSR", and "planning", then comes the lock, but y'all get the gist. :dizzy:

[av8erjm]

This happened a while back, but the fact remains, Oregon is bat **** crazy. Lived there for pretty much all my life, used to be level headed, right of center ideals. Then somewhere back in the 60's it slowly became more liberal, progressive state of mind. This past spring just couldn't take another year of it and moved to Idaho, best thing I've done for my well being

[SSI01]

[he had to dismantle the system ( i did it,installed it and removed it) because he was taking away from PG&Es right to charge him electricity usage to heat and cool his home.]

I believe everything you said, knowing what kind of folks seemed to have gravitated as staff toward federal and state environmental agencies in the last 20 years or so. I'm just wondering how this squares with what I heard about power companies being obligated to buy back any electricity you generate beyond your needs using solar panels, etc. I heard that too was Federally-mandated and they were outraged by it, and trying hard to get that provision in the regs thrown out.

[n4gix]

I believe everything you said, knowing what kind of folks seemed to have gravitated as staff toward federal and state environmental agencies in the last 20 years or so. I'm just wondering how this squares with what I heard about power companies being obligated to buy back any electricity you generate beyond your needs using solar panels, etc. I heard that too was Federally-mandated and they were outraged by it, and trying hard to get that provision in the regs thrown out.

Yes, that is indeed the case, but there is a huge downside to this scheme. You see, if the power grid is down for any reason, your solar and or wind power must be automatically disconnected from the power grid. This is because if your system is feeding power towards the grid, it becomes a danger to the power company's personnel working on the lines, transformers, et cetera.

The only alternative simply adds more cost to your system and involves inserting an automatic transfer switch to the home power system that disconnects from the grid, but continues to power your home (or office). Upon restoral of the power grid, the system will automatically resume normal operation.

I have a natural gas powered generator for emergency power. When the mains go down, the generator starts automatically and the transfer switch likewise disconnects and isolates the meter, and switches over to the generator's output.

With regards to the point I raised in the opening post, it was the insanity of forcing this gentleman to remove and fill in the retention ponds, thereby eliminating a ready source of water for fire fighting helicopters! It's not as though this man was using any of the water himself!

[Naismith]

This happened a while back, but the fact remains, Oregon is bat **** crazy. Lived there for pretty much all my life, used to be level headed, right of center ideals. Then somewhere back in the 60's it slowly became more liberal, progressive state of mind. This past spring just couldn't take another year of it and moved to Idaho, best thing I've done for my well being
It always amuses me when people, nations, whatever describe themselves as - liberal, democratic, progressive are inevitably the complete opposite in reality.

[SPman]

It always amuses me when people, nations, whatever describe themselves as - liberal, democratic, progressive are inevitably the complete opposite in reality.

Yep.
Once, where we live, there wasn't a house to be seen - now, there are 6 around us, and the bloody rules and regulations are starting to slowly creep in with an imbecilic local council. Time to sell up and move out.....10 acres ain't enough......100 acres maybe in the middle of nowhere and built a shed in the middle of it with solar panels and batteries.
New houses on properties around our way have to have 100,000 litres of water storage minimum (26,500 gals US) - there is no scheme water, and we get a darn sight less rain than Oregon. I guess the intent of the law was good enough, it's just the small minded, pedantic interpretation, to satisfy some small time beauracrat's need for a power trip that is the problem - and that's not a US only problem....