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S1101.............................................by RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
WATER RIGHTS - DIGITAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION - Amends existing law to provide
that an objection to a digital boundaries description of a water right in the
Snake River Basin adjudication shall not be required to use similar
technology-based descriptions; and to provide that the filing of a decree with
the county recorder shall not supercede the legal description of irrigation
district boundaries recorded as provided in Chapter 7, title 43, Idaho Code.
02/10 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/11 Rpt prt - to Res/Env
02/25 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/26 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/03 3rd rdg - PASSED - 35-0-0
AYES -- Andreason, Bailey, Brandt, Bunderson, Burkett, Burtenshaw,
Calabretta, Cameron, Compton, Darrington, Davis, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde,
Hill, Inram, Kennedy, Keough, Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McKenzie,
McWilliams, Noble, Noh, Pearce, Richardson, Schroeder, Sorensen,
Stegner, Stennett, Sweet, Werk, Williams
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Williams
Title apvd - to House
03/04 House intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Con
03/12 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/13 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/17 3rd rdg - PASSED - 68-0-2
AYES -- Andersen, Barraclough, Barrett, Bauer, Bedke, Bell, Bieter,
Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Bradford, Campbell, Cannon, Clark, Collins,
Crow, Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Douglas, Eberle, Edmunson, Ellsworth,
Eskridge, Field(18), Field(23), Gagner, Garrett, Henbest, Jaquet, Jones,
Kellogg, Kulczyk, Lake, Langford, Langhorst, Martinez, McGeachin,
McKague, Meyer, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Naccarato, Nielsen, Raybould,
Ridinger, Ring, Ringo, Robison, Rydalch, Sali, Sayler, Schaefer,
Shepherd, Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass,
Stevenson, Tilman, Trail, Wills, Wood, Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Harwood, Roberts
Floor Sponsors - Barraclough & Cuddy
Title apvd - to Senate
03/19 To enrol
03/20 Rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/21 Sp signed
03/24 To Governor
03/27 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 167
Effective: 07/01/03
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1101
BY RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO DESCRIPTIONS OF WATER RIGHTS; AMENDING SECTION 42-1411, IDAHO
3 CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT AN OBJECTION TO A DIGITAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION OF A
4 WATER RIGHT IN THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN ADJUDICATION SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO
5 USE SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY-BASED DESCRIPTIONS; AND AMENDING SECTION 42-1413,
6 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT THE FILING OF A DECREE WITH THE COUNTY
7 RECORDER SHALL NOT SUPERSEDE THE LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF IRRIGATION DISTRICT
8 BOUNDARIES RECORDED AS PROVIDED IN CHAPTER 7, TITLE 43, IDAHO CODE.
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
10 SECTION 1. That Section 42-1411, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
11 amended to read as follows:
12 42-1411. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR. (1) The director shall prepare a
13 director's report on the water system. The director may file the director's
14 report in parts as the director deems appropriate. The director may include
15 such explanatory material as he deems appropriate in the director's report.
16 Such explanatory material shall not impose any conditions or restrictions on
17 the rights reported and shall not be subject to objection. This explanatory
18 material shall not be used to support any notice of claim, objection to a
19 notice of claim, or response to an objection.
20 (2) The director shall determine the following elements, to the extent
21 the director deems appropriate and proper, to define and administer the water
22 rights acquired under state law:
23 (a) the name and address of the claimant;
24 (b) the source of water;
25 (c) the quantity of water used describing the rate of water diversion or,
26 in the case of an instream flow right, the rate of water flow in cubic
27 feet per second or annual volume of diversion of water for use or storage
28 in acre-feet per year as necessary for the proper administration of the
29 water right;
30 (d) the date of priority;
31 (e) the legal description of the point(s) of diversion; if the claim is
32 for an instream flow, then a legal description of the beginning and ending
33 points of the claimed instream flow;
34 (f) the purpose of use;
35 (g) the period of the year when water is used for such purposes;
36 (h) a legal description of the place of use; if one (1) of the purposes
37 of use is irrigation, then the number of irrigated acres within each forty
38 (40) acre subdivision, except that the place of use may be described using
39 a general description in the manner provided under section 42-219, Idaho
40 Code, which may consist of a digital boundary as defined in section
41 42-202B, Idaho Code, if the irrigation project would qualify to be so
42 described under section 42-219, Idaho Code;
43 (i) conditions on the exercise of any water right included in any decree,
2
1 license, or approved transfer application; and
2 (j) such remarks and other matters as are necessary for definition of the
3 right, for clarification of any element of a right, or for administration
4 of the right by the director.
5 (3) The director may include such general provisions in the director's
6 report, as the director deems appropriate and proper, to define and to admin-
7 ister all water rights.
8 (4) The director shall file the director's report with the district
9 court, and the director's report shall be a part of the record. Upon filing
10 with the court, the director's report, except for the explanatory material
11 referred to in subsection (1) of this section, shall constitute prima facie
12 evidence of the nature and extent of the water rights acquired under state
13 law. The unobjected to portions of the director's report shall be decreed as
14 reported.
15 (5) Each claimant of a water right acquired under state law has the ulti-
16 mate burden of persuasion for each element of a water right. Since the
17 director's report is prima facie evidence of the nature and extent of the
18 water rights acquired under state law, a claimant of a water right acquired
19 under state law has the burden of going forward with the evidence to establish
20 any element of a water right which is in addition to or inconsistent with the
21 description in a director's report. Any party filing an objection to any por-
22 tion of the director's report shall have the burden of going forward with the
23 evidence to rebut the director's report as to all issues raised by the objec-
24 tion. Provided however, that a claimant objecting to the director's recom-
25 mended place of use described by a digital boundary or other similar technol-
26 ogy shall not be required to produce digital boundary or other similar
27 technology-generated evidence in order to meet the burden provided by this
28 section. Places of use described using digital boundaries or other similar
29 technology-based descriptions shall not be entitled to any greater weight than
30 descriptions by metes and bounds, the number of irrigated acres within each
31 forty (40) acre subdivision, or other method adequate for the description of
32 water rights. Any other party to the proceeding may submit evidence in oppo-
33 sition to the objector's position and in support of the director's report. All
34 such proceedings shall be governed by the Idaho rules of civil procedure and
35 Idaho rules of evidence.
36 (6) The director shall file an original of the director's report with the
37 district court. The director shall also distribute for display and review at
38 least one (1) copy of the director's report to the office of the clerk of the
39 district court for each county in which any part of the water system is
40 located. The director shall also serve on each claimant or the claimant's
41 attorney whose water right is listed in the director's report a notice of fil-
42 ing of the director's report. Notice shall be sent to the last known address
43 of the claimant or the claimant's attorney. The notice shall be prepared by
44 the director using plain and concise language and shall include:
45 (a) a statement that the director's report of the various water rights
46 acquired under state law has been filed with the district court, naming
47 the district court(s) to which the report was filed;
48 (b) a copy of that portion of the report setting forth the claimant's
49 water right;
50 (c) a statement that a complete copy of the director's report is avail-
51 able for inspection, listing the locations at which the director's report
52 is available, which shall include the office of the clerk of the district
53 court for each county in which any part of the water system is located,
54 the offices of the department, and any other locations the director may
55 designate;
3
1 (d) a statement that all or a portion of the director's report is avail-
2 able upon request at the offices of the department, subject to payment of
3 a reasonable fee to cover costs of reproduction and mailing;
4 (e) a statement that any claimant may file objections to any portion of
5 the director's report with the district court specified in the notice and
6 must mail a copy of the objection to the director, and to the claimant of
7 each claimed right objected to, if the objector is not also the claimant
8 of the right for which the objection is filed;
9 (f) the date prior to which all objections must be filed, which shall not
10 be less than sixty (60) days for any director's report containing five
11 hundred (500) claims or less, one hundred twenty (120) days for any
12 director's report containing more than five hundred (500) claims and not
13 more than five thousand (5,000) claims, and one hundred eighty (180) days
14 for any director's report containing more than five thousand (5,000)
15 claims; the above-stated periods of time shall commence on the date of
16 service by mail of the notice of filing;
17 (g) a statement that claimants may file responses with the court to
18 objections filed against their claims, and that a copy of any response
19 must be mailed to the director and to the objector;
20 (h) the date prior to which all responses to objections must be filed
21 with the court, which shall not be less than sixty (60) days following
22 receipt of a copy of the objection; and
23 (i) a statement that any part of the report to which no objections are
24 filed shall be decreed by the district court and the time and location set
25 for the hearing at which the unobjected parts of the report will be
26 decreed, which time shall not be less than sixty (60) days following the
27 expiration of the period for filing objections.
28 (7) The director shall file an affidavit with the district court demon-
29 strating compliance with the notice requirements of subsection (6) of this
30 section.
31 SECTION 2. That Section 42-1413, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
32 amended to read as follows:
33 42-1413. FILING OF FINAL DECREE. (1) When a decree has become final in an
34 adjudication in which the director filed a report, the director shall file a
35 certified copy of the decree or a transcript thereof in the office of the
36 county recorder of each county in which the place of use or point of diversion
37 of the water rights contained in the decree is located.
38 (2) Upon entry of a final decree, the director shall administer the water
39 rights by distributing water in accordance with the final decree and with
40 title 42, Idaho Code.
41 (3) When a decree has become final in an adjudication in which the direc-
42 tor has not filed a report, the clerk of the district court in which the
43 decree is entered shall file a certified copy of the decree or a transcript
44 thereof in the office of the county recorder for each county in which the
45 place of use or point of diversion of the water rights decreed is located, and
46 shall send a certified copy of the decree to the director as required in sec-
47 tion 42-1403, Idaho Code.
48 (4) The transcript of decree shall contain the following:
49 (a) title of the district court;
50 (b) name of the case;
51 (c) the case number;
52 (d) names of each party;
53 (e) date of entry;
4
1 (f) the description of the boundaries of the water system, which is the
2 subject of the general adjudication;
3 (g) a statement that the decree is entered in the records of the clerk of
4 the district court;
5 (h) a statement that information as to the rights decreed is available at
6 the offices of the department; and
7 (i) such other information as may be necessary to assist any person
8 searching the title of a parcel to find the decree.
9 (5) A decree or transcript recorded pursuant to this section from the
10 time it is filed with the recorder for record, is constructive notice of the
11 contents of the decree within the county in which the decree or transcript is
12 recorded to subsequent purchasers and mortgagees.
13 (6) Notwithstanding the filing of a certified copy of the decree or a
14 transcript thereof in the office of the county recorder, only the legal
15 description of an irrigation district's boundaries recorded in compliance with
16 title 43, Idaho Code, shall constitute conclusive proof of the district's
17 boundaries. The decree shall not be construed to define, limit or otherwise
18 affect the apportionment of benefits to lands within an irrigation district
19 pursuant to chapter 7, title 43, Idaho Code. A notice consistent with this
20 subsection shall be filed with the certified copy of the decree or a tran-
21 script thereof.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 12843
The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that the use of
digital boundaries to describe the place of use of a water right
in the Snake River Basin Adjudication shall not increase the
burden of proof for claimants. This legislation also clarifies
that the filing of the decree with a county recorder will not
conflict with an irrigation district's boundaries.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact.
Contact
Name: Norman M. Semanko, Idaho Water Users Association
Phone: 208-344-6690
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1101