Why all the concern about water, or, why is this important? Water is absolutely necessary for sustaining life, and the Portland area is blessed with an abundance of this vital and precious resource; in fact, Bull Run water is some of the cleanest in the world. The People’s Water Trust would take major steps to ensure that our water stays clean, affordable, and accessible. What is the People’s Water Trust? The People’s Water Trust formally establishes the City of Portland’s relationship to water and to the residents of Portland as a trust relationship, meaning that the city council (as well as anyone acting on behalf thereof) are required to act as trustees of this resource, and the residents of Portland are the beneficiaries. This establishes duties on the City to preserve and protect this resource for both the current residents of Portland and for future generations of this city. The Peoples Water Trust establishes the rights of watershed ecology and the Peoples right to clean and affordable water. How does it accomplish those things? First, the People’s Water Trust gives residents of the City of Portland a legal mechanism to hold the trustees accountable if they are not fulfilling their responsibilities to protect and preserve the water. Whereas the only current mechanism for accountability is to later vote commissioners out of office if they fail to act on their established duties, the trustees will be legally compelled to fulfill these responsibilities while in office. The City (as well as anyone acting on behalf thereof) will be required to be open and transparent about all of its actions and relationships that may affect water quality. Individual city commissioners will be required to abstain from voting on water issues or projects that involve obvious conflicts of interest (i.e. the individual received campaign funds from a contractor involved in the project). The City will be required to easily demonstrate to the public, in advance of any new and potentially water-affecting activities, how they will enhance the quality of the water supply or otherwise fulfill the duties outlined in the trust. What is the public trust doctrine? The public trust doctrine is a very well-established legal concept.that already has a rich history of being applied to water access. Oregon’s public beaches are an example of the public trust doctrine in use, as is Portland residents’ access to the Willamette River waterfront. The public trust doctrine essentially states that some resources are too invaluable to be privatized. The People’s Water Trust in its most basic form states that the water belongs to the people and that managers of the water must act in the people’s best interest.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 01:02:23 +0000
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