US man sentenced to 30 days and fined $1,500 for collecting rainwater

In Oregon, USA, a man was fined for collecting rain water on his own property. Gary Harrington of Eagle Point, has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and more than $1,500 in fines. The man was punished for owing three reservoirs on his own property, that he used to collect and use rainwater.

"They've just gotten to be big bullies and if you just lay over and die and give up, that just makes them bigger bullies. So, we as Americans, we need to stand on our constitutional rights, on our rights as citizens and hang tough. This is a good country, we'll prevail," the man said. 

It all started back in 2002, when Harrington was attacked for having three "reservoirs" - ponds - on his 170 acres of land.

However, the authorities of the state claim that collecting water requires a permit from the state.

One of those ponds had been on his land for 37 years. He applied for the permit, which he saw as ridiculous. But the state first approved him in 2003 and then denied, having reversed the previous decision.

Tom Paul, the administrator of the Oregon Water Resources Department, says that the law doesn't need to ban collecting rain water, because all of the water in the state is "public water," which doesn't actually mean the water belongs to the public, it means the government has claimed ownership of it.

Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru