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H0545.........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATION - NORTHERN IDAHO - Adds to and amends existing law relating to water to provide for Northern Idaho water rights adjudication; to revise fee provisions for filing notice of claims with the Director of the Department of Water Resources; to provide legislative findings relating to accomplished transfers and the public interest regarding Northern Idaho adjudications; to provide that certain changes of place of use, points of diversion, nature or purpose of use, or period of use of a water right may be claimed in the Northern Idaho adjudications; and to provide for objections to recommendations for specified accomplished changes. 02/02 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/03 Rpt prt - to Res/Con 02/24 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 02/27 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/02 3rd rdg - PASSED - 64-1-5 AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black, Boe, Bolz, Brackett, Bradford, Cannon, Chadderdon, Clark, Collins, Deal, Denney, Edmunson, Ellsworth, Eskridge, Field(23), Garrett, Hart, Henbest, Henderson, Jaquet, Kemp, Lake, LeFavour, Loertscher, Martinez, Mathews, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Pence, Raybould, Ring, Ringo, Roberts, Rusche, Rydalch, Sali, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Trail, Wills, Wood, Mr. Speaker NAYS -- Harwood Absent and excused -- Block, Crow, Field(18), McGeachin, McKague Floor Sponsors - Clark & Sayler Title apvd - to Senate 03/03 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Env 03/16 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 03/17 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/22 3rd rdg - PASSED - 30-5-0 AYES -- Andreason, Bunderson, Burkett(Clark), Burtenshaw, Cameron, Coiner, Compton, Corder, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher, Gannon, Geddes, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McGee, McKenzie, Richardson, Stegner, Stennett, Sweet, Werk, Williams NAYS -- Brandt, Broadsword, Goedde, Pearce, Schroeder Absent and excused -- None Floor Sponsor - Jorgenson Title apvd - to House 03/23 To enrol 03/24 Rpt enrol - Sp signed 03/27 Pres signed 03/28 To Governor 03/30 Governor signed Session Law Chapter 222 Effective: 07/01/06
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 545 BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO WATER; AMENDING CHAPTER 14, TITLE 42, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION 3 OF A NEW SECTION 42-1406B, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR SPECIFIED NORTHERN 4 IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS; AMENDING SECTION 42-1414, IDAHO CODE, TO 5 REVISE FEE PROVISIONS FOR FILING NOTICE OF CLAIMS WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE 6 DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES; AND AMENDING SECTION 42-1425, IDAHO CODE, 7 TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS RELATING TO ACCOMPLISHED TRANSFERS AND THE 8 PUBLIC INTEREST REGARDING NORTHERN IDAHO ADJUDICATIONS, TO PROVIDE THAT 9 CERTAIN CHANGES OF PLACE OF USE, POINTS OF DIVERSION, NATURE OR PURPOSE OF 10 USE, OR PERIOD OF USE OF A WATER RIGHT MAY BE CLAIMED IN THE NORTHERN 11 IDAHO ADJUDICATIONS AND TO PROVIDE FOR OBJECTIONS TO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 12 SPECIFIED ACCOMPLISHED CHANGES. 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 14 SECTION 1. That Chapter 14, Title 42, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 15 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 16 ignated as Section 42-1406B, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 17 42-1406B. NORTHERN IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS -- COMMENCEMENT. (1) 18 Effective management of the waters of northern Idaho requires that a compre- 19 hensive determination of the nature, extent and priority of the rights of all 20 users of surface and ground water be determined. Therefore, the director of 21 the department of water resources shall petition the district court to com- 22 mence adjudications within the terms of the McCarran amendment, 43 U.S.C. sec- 23 tion 666, of the water rights from surface water and ground water sources in 24 northern Idaho through initiation of three (3) proceedings. Separate petitions 25 shall be filed for water rights adjudications for each of the following river 26 basins, and related ground water sources whether or not hydraulically con- 27 nected to a surface water source, within Idaho: the Coeur d'Alene-Spokane 28 river basin, the Palouse river basin, and the Kootenai and Clark Fork-Pend 29 Oreille river basins. The filing of each petition shall be contingent on leg- 30 islative funding approval. Each petition shall describe the boundaries of the 31 water source or water sources to be adjudicated. 32 (2) The adjudication shall be brought in any district court in which any 33 part of the water source is located or before a court of special jurisdiction 34 for water right adjudications. Unless otherwise ordered by the supreme court, 35 special jurisdiction for the water rights general adjudications authorized by 36 this section shall reside in the Snake River Basin Adjudication district court 37 of the fifth judicial district of the state of Idaho, in and for the county of 38 Twin Falls. The clerk of the district court in which the petition is filed 39 shall send to the supreme court a true and certified copy of the petition. The 40 supreme court, by order, shall assign the judge to preside over the general 41 adjudication. Venue of the general adjudication shall be determined by order 42 or rule of the supreme court and venue of hearings under the general adjudica- 43 tion shall be determined by order of the presiding judge. 2 1 (3) Upon issuance of an order by the district court which authorizes the 2 director to commence an investigation and determination of the various water 3 rights to be adjudicated from the water source or water sources, and which 4 defines the boundaries of the source or sources within the state to be adjudi- 5 cated, the director of the department of water resources shall proceed in the 6 manner provided under the provisions of chapter 14, title 42, Idaho Code, to 7 the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this section. 8 SECTION 2. That Section 42-1414, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 9 amended to read as follows: 10 42-1414. FEES FOR FILING NOTICE OF CLAIMS WITH THE DIRECTOR. (1) In order 11 to provide an adequate and equitable cost-sharing formula for financing the 12 costs of adjudicating water rights the department of water resources shall 13 accept no notice of claim required under the provisions of section 42-1409, 14 Idaho Code, unless such notice of claim is submitted with a filing fee based 15 upon the fee schedule set forth below. Failure to pay the variable water use 16 fee in accordance with the timetable provided shall be cause for the depart- 17 ment to reject and return the notice of claim to the claimant. The fee sched- 18 ule set forth below applies to adjudication proceedings commenced or enlarged 19 on or after January 1, 1985. 20 (a) Flat fee per claim filed: 21 (i) Claims for domestic and/or stock watering rights based on per- 22 mit, license, decree or statutory claim ..................... $250.00 23 (ii) Claims for all other rights .......................... $5100.00 24 (b) Additional variable water use fee for claims filed based upon acre- 25 age, power generating capacity, c.f.s., or equivalent volume of water: 26 (i) Irrigation use (one fee irrespective of number of 27 claims): ........................................... $12.00 per acre 28 (ii) Power: .................... $3.507.00 per kilowatt of capacity 29 (manufacturer's nameplate rating) 30 (iii) Aquaculture: .............................. $120.00 per c.f.s. 31 (iv) Municipal, industrial, commercial, mining, heating, cooling: .. 32 ................................................. $1200.00 per c.f.s. 33 (v) Public instream flow, public lake level maintenance, wildlife: . 34 ........................................................ $1200.00 per 35 c.f.s. 36 (c)Payment of a variable water use fee of more than one thousand dollars37($1,000) may be spread out over as many as five (5) annual equal payments38with ten percent (10%) interest accruing on the unpaid balance.All fees 39 collected by the department pursuant to this section shall be placed in 40 the water resources adjudication account established in section 42-1777, 41 Idaho Code. 42 (2) If a claimant increases in an amended notice of claim the amount of 43 water claimed, the amount of land irrigated, or the kilowatt capacity of the 44 generating facility, the claimant shall pay upon filing the amended notice of 45 claim an additional variable fee in accordance with the rates set forth in 46 subsection (1) of this section. Claimants shall be entitled to a return of 47 filing fees or late fees only where the fee was miscalculated at the time the 48 original or amended notice of claim was filed. 49 (3) If a claimant files a notice of claim after the date set by the 50 director in the notice mailed or served in accordance with subsections (2), 51 (3), or (4) of section 42-1408, Idaho Code, or with subsection (7) of section 52 42-1409, Idaho Code;, the claimant shall pay the fee set forth in subsection 53 (1) of this section, and in addition, the amount offiftyone hundred dollars 3 1 ($50.100) or fifteen percent (15%) of the original filing fee, whichever is 2 greater. The director may waive the late processing fee or a portion thereof 3 for good cause. 4 SECTION 3. That Section 42-1425, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 5 amended to read as follows: 6 42-1425. ACCOMPLISHED TRANSFERS. (1) Legislative findings regarding 7 accomplished transfers and the public interest. 8 (a) The legislature finds and declares that prior to the commencement of 9 the Snake River basin adjudication, and the northern Idaho adjudications, 10 many persons entitled to the use of water or owning land to which water 11 has been made appurtenant either by decree of the court or under provi- 12 sions of the constitution and statutes of this state changed the place of 13 use, point of diversion, nature or purpose of use, or period of use of 14 their water rights without compliance with the transfer provisions of sec- 15 tions 42-108 and 42-222, Idaho Code. 16 (b) The legislature finds that many of these changes occurred with the 17 knowledge of other water users and that the water has been distributed to 18 the right as changed. The legislature further finds and declares that the 19 continuation of the historic water use patterns resulting from these 20 changes is in the local public interest provided no other existing water 21 right was injured at the time of the change. Denial of a claim based 22 solely upon a failure to comply with sections 42-108 and 42-222, Idaho 23 Code, where no injury or enlargement exists, would cause significant undue 24 financial impact to a claimant and the local economy. Approval of the 25 accomplished transfer through the procedure set forth in this section 26 avoids the harsh economic impacts that would result from a denial of the 27 claim. 28 (c) The legislature further finds and declares that examination of these 29 changes by the director through the procedures of section 42-222, Idaho 30 Code, would be impractical and unduly burdensome. The more limited exami- 31 nation of these changes provided for in this section, constitutes a rea- 32 sonable procedure for an expeditious review by the director while ensuring 33 that the changes do not injure other existing water rights or constitute 34 an enlargement of use of the original right. 35 (2) Any change of place of use, point of diversion, nature or purpose of 36 use or period of use of a water right by any person entitled to use of water 37 or owning any land to which water has been made appurtenant either by decree 38 of the court or under the provisions of the constitution and statutes of this 39 state, prior to November 19, 1987, the date of commencement of the Snake River 40 basin adjudication, and prior to January 1, 2006, for the northern Idaho adju- 41 dications authorized by section 42-1406B, Idaho Code, may be claimed inathe 42 applicable general adjudication even though the person has not complied with 43 sections 42-108 and 42-222, Idaho Code, provided no other water rights exist- 44 ing on the date of the change were injured and the change did not result in an 45 enlargement of the original right. Except for the consent requirements of sec- 46 tion 42-108, Idaho Code, all requirements of sections 42-108 and 42-222, Idaho 47 Code, are hereby waived in accordance with the following procedures: 48 (a) If an objection is filed to aclaimrecommendation for accomplished 49 change of place of use, point of diversion, nature or purpose of use or 50 period of use, the district court shall remand the water right to the 51 director for further hearing to determine whether the change injured a 52 water right existing on the date of the change or constituted an enlarge- 53 ment of the original right. After a hearing, the director shall submit a 4 1 supplemental report to the district court setting forth his findings and 2 conclusions. If the claimant or any person who filed an objection to the 3 accomplished transfer is aggrieved by the director's determination, they 4 may seek review before the district court. If the change is disallowed, 5 the claimant shall be entitled to resume use of the original water right, 6 provided such resumption of use will not cause injury or can be mitigated 7 to prevent injury to existing water rights. The unapproved change shall 8 not be deemed a forfeiture or abandonment of the original water right. 9 (b) This section is not applicable to any claim based upon an enlargement 10 of use.
REPRINT REPRINT REPRINT REPRINT REPRINT REPRINT STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 15705 This legislation authorizes the initiation of general water rights adjudication for those portions of northern Idaho not included within the Snake River Basin. The legislation authorizes the adjudication of all rights to the use of water from surface water and ground water sources whether or not hydraulically connected within the Coeur d'Alene-Spokane River Basin, the Palouse River Basin and the Kootenai and Clark Fork-Pend Oreille River Basins. The Ground Water Management Plan Advisory Committee for the Rathdrum Prairie-Spokane Aquifer recommended the adjudication of water rights as an element of the Management Plan for the aquifer. The Legislature's approval of the Department of Water Resources' budget for fiscal year 2006 included direction to the Department to work with the Rathdrum Ground Water Management Plan Advisory Committee and local elected officials to determine the feasibility, cost and potential funding mechanisms to begin the adjudication of water rights in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. (2005 Idaho Session Laws, Chapter 172, Section 4) This legislation providing for the adjudication of all water rights in northern Idaho, subject to funding availability, is the result of the directed coordination. FISCAL NOTE The projected cost for the adjudication of all water rights in the remaining un-adjudicated basins in northern Idaho is $16.2 million over a nine year period, plus funding for the negotiation of federal claims. The legislation proposes to double the existing adjudication claim fees as established by statute in 1985 for the Snake River Basin Adjudication. The claim filing fees are anticipated to provide for about one third of the cost of the northern Idaho adjudication. This percentage is similar to the funding provided by fees in the Snake River Basin Adjudication. The cost for FY 2007 is projected to be $1.335 million, to be provided from the general fund. It is anticipated that funds from claim fees will be collected beginning in FY 2008. Contact Name: Rep. Jim Clark Phone: (208) 332-1000 Rep. George Sayler Co-Sponsors: Reps. Eric Anderson, George Eskridge, Mary Lou Shepherd, Phil Hart, Marge Chadderdon, Frank Henderson and Bob Nonini. Senators Shawn Keough, Mike Jorgenson, and Dick Compton STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 545