Woodbury County Soil Conservation District v. Ortner
Iowa Supreme Court
279 N.W.2d 276 (1979)
- Written by Colette Routel, JD
Facts
The Woodbury County Soil Conservation District (county) (defendant) issued an administrative order requiring the owners of the Ortner and Schrank farms (collectively, the farms) (plaintiffs) to engage in specific soil-conservation efforts after soil erosion from the farms was determined to have exceeded levels permitted by statute and damaged neighboring property. The county’s order required the farms to either seed a portion of their land for pasture/hay or terrace the land. The expense of either of these options was high, but the state, by law, would pay three-fourths of that cost, leaving the farms with a total required outlay of approximately $14,000. The farms sued the county to challenge the order, arguing that the statute creating state erosion limits was unconstitutional taking. The district court agreed with the farms and declared the statute unconstitutional. The county appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (LeGrand, J.)
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