Alaska Supreme Court goes to Valley school to hear case of smelly septage

PALMER — The Alaska Supreme Court made its first foray to the Valley this week via an unusual program aimed at educating students about the state's judicial system.

The state's highest court traveled to Colony High School Wednesday to hear oral arguments in the appeal of a case involving a developer who built homes next to a Fairbanks septage hauler's farm and later sued over the stench arising from his fields.

The case apparently marks the first state Supreme Court review of an appeal involving the state's right-to-farm law.

The Colony event, part of the Supreme Court LIVE outreach program that turns schools into impromptu courtrooms, also marked the five justices' first pilgrimage to Mat-Su, after visits to schools in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka and Barrow since the program began in 2010.

Chief Justice Craig Stowers, wearing a sport jacket and bolo tie before donning his black robes, told the audience he'd wanted to bring the LIVE program to the Valley since he became chief justice a few months ago.

"I want to apologize for taking so long to get out here," said Stowers, a former Anchorage Superior Court judge who moved to Alaska for a ranger job at Denali National Park and Preserve. "I assure you no one is happier than I am that we finally made it."

'Fitting' locale

Developer Eric Lanser bought 115 acres on Eielson Farm Road in 2007 and built homes about a quarter-mile from the septage lagoons on Robert Riddle's 500-acre farm. Riddle bought the farm in 2005 and used part of it to store septage from his septic system servicing business, intending to use it as fertilizer.

He didn't apply it to his fields until 2009 and started accepting septage from another company in 2010, according to a summary of the case. That's when Lanser noticed the offensive odors.

Colony sits in a grassy sea of former farmland turned subdivision. The Matanuska Valley remains the state's agricultural hub, but the Matanuska-Susitna Borough's still-growing population is pushing suburbia into once-remote spots.

The Valley location was "fitting" for Wednesday's hearing, said Bill Satterberg Jr., the Fairbanks attorney representing Riddle.

The appeal hinges on the interpretation of Alaska's Right to Farm Act adopted in 1986 to protect farmers against nuisance lawsuits.

"The reason that Alaska did so was because there was a concern … that the farms were being pushed out, they were being relegated to a back-door position," said Satterberg, who grew up on a homestead in Houston at Mile 61 of the Parks Highway.

First time

The case hinged on what constitutes a farm when the stink of septage bothers the neighbors.

Lanser's attorney, Anchorage-based Susan Orlansky, on Wednesday told the justices that they probably aren't very familiar with the state statutes at play because they haven't heard prior cases under Alaska's Right to Farm Act.

Riddle, owner of Fairbanks Pumping and Thawing, stored septage on land where he grew crops and raised some livestock. Developer Lanser began building homes on adjacent property.

Lanser in 2011 asked a Superior Court judge to stop the odor rising off Riddle's farm, which was drawing complaints from homeowners. Riddle raised a defense based on a state law protecting farms but Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Bethany Harbison ruled the law didn't protect him and issued an order to stop or minimize the smell. Harbison awarded nearly $90,000 to Lanser.

Riddle appealed to the Supreme Court in hopes of getting the order reversed.

Commercial question

The lower court found Riddle needed to prove the septage storage was done in connection with crop production, but he stored it in a lagoon for five years before applying it to any fields on his 500-acre farm, Orlansky said.

Riddle applied 8 million gallons of septage to his property as fertilizer, according to Satterberg.

"Farming is a process which takes a long time to develop," he said.

Harbison also found Riddle's operation did not constitute an agricultural operation protected under the farm law, in part because it wasn't a commercial operation, Orlansky said. Riddle made two hay sales totaling less than $2,000 in nine years.

There's little guidance to define "commercial" farms, both sides agreed.
Justice Daniel E. Winfree wondered if Satterberg thought a "guy with a 500-acre farm" who earns $1,000 a year selling hay could "make all the smells he wants" and be protected from nuisance suits by Alaska's Right to Farm Act.

The Legislature gave little direction in the state's farm statute, Stowers noted. "We're left with a very broad statement … a strong intent to protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits when people start coming in from the city and building near farms."

Slam dunk

More than 300 students from Colony, Wasilla, Burchell and Su Valley high schools filled the bleachers in the school gymnasium Wednesday, with additional classes live-streaming the event, according to Catherine Esary, spokeswoman for Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District.

Volunteer attorneys from the Alaska Bar Association and court system staff visited Mat-Su schools in the days leading up to the program to help students understand the appeal process and the case, according to information from court staff.

Students attending the proceedings got to ask questions of the lawyers and the justices after oral arguments concluded.

The justices took the proceedings seriously but bantered easily with students after. Stowers volunteered Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young when someone suggested a question about the justices' taste in music.

One student asked about yoga or meditation. Yes, Justice Joel H. Bolger said, he meditates.

"It helps me focus on being in the present and focus on being in the courtroom rather than letting my mind wander," Bolger said.

Another student asked how Wednesday's proceedings were different from those held in the court's Anchorage chambers.

Justice Peter J. Maassen said the differences were few.

"We're used to quiet in the background. We concentrate on the lawyers," Maassen said. "This audience in particular was very quiet and respectful. It sort of had the feel of a courtroom."

Stowers added there was a "flip side" to the location too.

"We can't shoot hoops in the courtroom," he said.