Why did Iowa Supreme Court side with reservoir landowners?

On Friday, April 10, the Iowa Supreme Court announced they were siding with the landowners in the case of the Clarke County Reservoir Commission's reservoir project that was to take place in northern Clarke County.

The reservoir project has been worked on by many officials for not just months or years, but for decades.

It was supposed to provide a water supply for Osceola and Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) with an 816-acre lake, which could provide 2.2 million gallons of water per day.

West Lake, the current water source, doesn't meet the needs of Clarke County and SIRWA.

Here's what made the Iowa Supreme Court, the highest jurisdiction in the state of Iowa, side in favor of the landowners, also known as the Edwin D. and Deloris A. Robins Revocable Trust.

Documents from Iowa Supreme Court state, "We strictly construe statutes delegating the power of eminent domain and note the absence of a clear legislative authorization for a joint public-private entity to condemn private property."

Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use by a state.

2014 district ruling

The decision by Iowa Supreme Court overturn's a local district ruling that was in favor of CCRC's right to proceed with the reservoir project.

On April 8, 2014, Judge Sherman W. Phipps of the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa ruled CCRC's ongoing Squaw Creek Watershed project is for a public use, public purpose or public improvement as defined in the Iowa Code.

Therefore, CCRC may use the power of declaratory judgment and eminent domain in the reservoir project. Declaratory judgment is a court review for acquiring land for a public project. It authorizes CCRC to purchase land from voluntary sellers and exercise eminent domain for involuntary sellers within the area of the watershed project.

Appeal

An appeal from local landowners was filed May 6, 2014, in Clarke County Courthouse on the judge's ruling in the CCRC court case.

However, the CCRC had the power to purchase land during the appeal process. Purchase agreements from local landowners were being worked out in the past couple of months.

Iowa Supreme Court set the oral argument for the appeal on eminent domain to be heard Feb. 18, 2015. It takes a period of a few months for the court to issue a judgment.

When the appeal was filed to the supreme court, "the sole issue raised on appeal was that the district court erred by ruling the commission with private members had eminent domain powers."

CCRC reorganization

According to court records, in an attempt to correct this potential error, CCRC showed that Clarke County Conservation Board, Clarke County Development Corporation and Clarke County Soil and Water Conservation District had withdrawn as members of the commission.

The Robins Trust resisted the motion to dismiss the appeal on legal grounds, but didn't dispute the fact the CCRC no longer included any private members.

However, Iowa Supreme Court retained the appeal and moved forward in the legal process.

Court records state, "We hold a 28E commission with members lacking the power of eminent domain cannot itself exercise the power of eminent domain or serve as an acquiring agency seeking a declaratory judgment under section 6A.24(2). We determine the post judgment withdrawal of the private members did not render this appeal moot because the district court erred by entering judgment in favor of an improper acquiring agency. We therefore reverse the district court's declaratory judgment that the commission, as then constituted, was a proper acquiring agency and remand the case for further proceedings."

All Iowa Supreme Court justices concurred on the case, except one who dissented — Justice Wiggins.