2000 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 399 – Water right/injury claim, file/when

HOUSE BILL NO. 399

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H0399........................................................by MR. SPEAKER
               Requested by:  Department of Water Resources
WATER RIGHTS - Amends existing law to provide references to the enactment
date of the section; to provide a reference to a later in time water right;
and to reduce the time in which certain persons may file a petition with
the Department of Water Resources asserting an injury from an enlargement
of a water right.
                                                                        
01/17    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
    Rpt prt - to Res/Con

Bill Text


 H0399
                                                                        
  ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
 Fifty-fifth Legislature                  Second Regular Session - 2000
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 399
                                                                        
                                       BY MR. SPEAKER
                        Requested by: Department of Water Resources
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO WATER RIGHTS; AMENDING SECTION 42-1426,  IDAHO  CODE,  TO  PROVIDE
  3        REFERENCES TO THE ENACTMENT DATE OF THE SECTION, TO PROVIDE A REFERENCE TO
  4        A  LATER  IN TIME WATER RIGHT, TO REDUCE THE TIME IN WHICH CERTAIN PERSONS
  5        MAY FILE A PETITION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER  RESOURCES  ASSERTING  AN
  6        INJURY  FROM  AN  ENLARGEMENT OF A WATER RIGHT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
  7        DATE.
                                                                        
  8    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  9        SECTION 1.  That Section 42-1426, Idaho Code, be, and the same  is  hereby
 10    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
 11        42-1426.  ENLARGEMENTS  --  WAIVER  OF  MANDATORY PERMIT REQUIREMENTS. (1)
 12    Legislative findings regarding enlargements:
 13        (a)  The legislature finds that prior to the  commencement  of  the  Snake
 14        River  basin  adjudication  and  subsequent to the mandatory permit system
 15        provided in sections 42-201 and 42-229, Idaho Code,  persons  entitled  to
 16        the  use of water or owning any land to which water has been made appurte-
 17        nant by decree, license  or  constitutional  appropriation  have,  through
 18        water conservation and other means, enlarged the use of said water without
 19        increasing  the rate of diversion and without complying with the mandatory
 20        permit system adopted by the legislature. Enlargements have been done with
 21        the knowledge of other water users, and water has been  distributed  based
 22        upon  the  right as enlarged. Junior water users made appropriations based
 23        upon a water system that reflected these enlarged uses. Thus, the legisla-
 24        ture further finds and declares that it is in the public interest to waive
 25        the mandatory permit requirements for these enlargements in use  prior  to
 26        the  commencement  of a general adjudication, so long as such enlargements
 27        in use did not increase the rate of diversion of the original water  right
 28        or exceed the rate of diversion for irrigation provided in section 42-202,
 29        Idaho  Code,  after the enlargement of use, and the enlargement of use did
 30        not reduce the quantity of water available to other water rights  existing
 31        on the date of the enlargement in use.
 32        (b)  The  legislature  further  finds that it is in the public interest to
 33        waive certain statutory provisions for the appropriation of water that has
 34        been diverted and applied to beneficial use to  insure  the  economic  and
 35        agricultural  base  in the state of Idaho as it existed on the date of the
 36        commencement of the Snake River basin adjudication and  to  maintain  his-
 37        toric water use patterns existing on that date.
 38        (2)  The  mandatory  permit requirements of sections 42-201 and/or 42-229,
 39    Idaho Code, are waived, and a new water right may be decreed for the  enlarged
 40    use  of  the  original water right based upon the diversion and application to
 41    beneficial use, with a priority date as of  the  date  of  completion  of  the
 42    enlargement  of  use  for  any enlargement occurring on or before November 19,
 43    1987; provided however, that the rate of diversion of the original water right
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1    and the separate water right for the enlarged use, combined, shall not  exceed
  2    the  rate  of  diversion  authorized for the original water right; and further
  3    provided, that the enlargement in use did not injure water rights existing  on
  4    the  date  of  the enlargement of use. An enlargement may be decreed if condi-
  5    tions directly related to the injury can be  imposed  on  the  original  water
  6    right and the new water right that mitigate any injury to a water right exist-
  7    ing on April 12, 1994, the date of enactment of this act section. If injury to
  8    a  water  right later  in time cannot be mitigated, then the new right for the
  9    enlarged use shall be advanced to a date one (1) day later than  the  priority
 10    date  for  the junior later in time water right injured by the enlargement. It
 11    is further provided that any such enlargement of  use  allowed  in  a  general
 12    adjudication shall not constitute an abandonment or forfeiture of the original
 13    water right to the extent of current use.
 14        (3)  The director shall publish a notice of enlargement of water right for
 15    all  water  rights  recommended under this section. The notice shall contain a
 16    summary of the notice of claim and shall be published in the  same  manner  as
 17    notices  for applications to appropriate water in section 42-203A, Idaho Code.
 18    Any person who has filed an application for a water right prior to the  enact-
 19    ment  of  this act April 12, 1994, or who has been issued a permit for a water
 20    right prior to enactment of this act April 12, 1994, but who has not  filed  a
 21    claim  in an adjudication shall have one hundred twenty (120) thirty (30) days
 22    from the date of last publication of the notice  of  enlargement  of  a  water
 23    right  under  this  section  to  file  a petition with the department of water
 24    resources to assert any claimed injury from the enlargement. No appeal of  the
 25    determination  of the department shall be allowed. If the applicant or permit-
 26    tee is dissatisfied with the determination of the department on any  claim  of
 27    injury, the sole remedy is to intervene in the general adjudication and assert
 28    their claim of injury in an objection to the water right.
                                                                        
 29        SECTION  2.  This  act shall be in full force and effect on and after July
 30    1, 2000.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                      STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
                            RS09384
                                
Amend Section 42-1426, Idaho Code, to reduce the response period
for the petition to assert injury from 120 days to 30 days by
owners of water rights in the Snake River Basin not claimed by the
Snake River Basin Adjudication.  This amendment would streamline
and expedite the Snake River Basin Adjudication while causing no
discernable hardship to interested parties.

The purpose of this amendment is to eliminate a needless
complication in the preparation of Director's Reports.  The
department sends a proposed recommendation for each water right to
the claimant, initiating a 60-day error correction process.  Water
rights for enlarged uses are simultaneously advertised. At the end
of this process, the Director's Report is filed with the court. 
Presently, water rights for enlargements cannot be filed until the
120-day response period is complete.  Unless the Director's Report
is held back, a separate mailing is required, causing confusion for
the claimants involved and slowing dispute resolution in the basin. 
 A 30-day response period after two consecutive weekly
advertisements could occur concurrently with the error correction
process, enabling the Director's Report recommendation for the
water rights enlargements to be included with recommendations for
all other water rights in the basin.



                         FISCAL IMPACT
                                
                                
Implementation of this legislation is estimated to create a savings
of 100 personnel hours per year, equivalent to about $2500 per year
of general fund monies.



CONTACT
Name:     Karl J. Dreher
Agency:   Water Resources
Phone:    327-7910
Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Impact              H0399