Show state supreme court hands down decision in favor of vermilion irrigation co marks first time upper rights prevail against lower greatly benefits A decision of vital importance for farmers with lands under the vermilion irrigation company and one that may form a precedent was recently handed down by the state supreme court written by judge ellas elias hansen whose decision was concurred in by two other members of the court the decision grants the vermillon vermilion irrigation companas comp anys request for year around use of their decreed rights of c f a with beneficial use as the only limitation it reestablishes the morse decree rights for the company farmers will chuckle with delight at this announcement as it marks the first time the rights of users along the upper sevier river have prevailed against rights of users along the so called lo lower sevier the vermilion canal arises southeast of richfield and runs to redmond it is the longest canal in the state an opinion dissenting in part and concurring in part was written by justice woolfe and concurred in by justice folland it granted the vermilion people all the water at their diversion darn dam up to and including c f a and restricted them to the water available at the dam without the to demand that that quantity be available the me vermilion company of which john dastrup is president and irvin L warnock wamock secretary had as attorneys henry E beat laeal of richfield and arnold rich of salt lake city the case had bad been in litigation lId gation for more than two years it was started by the state engineers office asking for legal interpretation of the stipulation that was entered into by all the canal companies on the sevier river there was a question as to the water rights of the vermilion irrigation company during the fall and spring or in the so called non ir season particularly with reference to the elsinore roller mills power rights in january 1936 a hearing was held before jd judge ge leroy cox of st george at that time a ruling was made favorable to the vermilion company but the sevier bridge reservoir interests in millard county filed a petition for rehearing hearing re hearing which was granted with the result that a decision able to the vermilion company was given the vermilion company appealed the case to the supreme court and a hearing before the court was held february 16 of this year as a result of which the favorable decision was handed banded down the case has an interesting background when the stipulation w was written in 1931 other canal companies along the river limited themselves to an irrigation period of six months in lieu of a storage privilege in the summer time whereby they could call on demand for their water the vermilion com company p any because there is a certain a mount amount of pickup pick up in the riv river r bafo before re it reaches their locality 1 ty asked a instead that their year around right continue as under the morse decree certain wording in the stipulation setting up the t he vermilion rights was later found to be misleading and it was on the possibility of misinterpreting this wording that the case developed ve loped the favorable decision means meana much to farmers in the vermilion area especially for early irrigation of beet lands and for fall watering mr air warnock stated in announcing noun cing the decision |