2005 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 152 – Snake River Rights Agreement

HOUSE BILL NO. 152

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Bill Status



H0152.........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
SNAKE RIVER RIGHTS AGREEMENT - Adds to existing law to provide for
approval, ratification and confirmation of the Snake River Water Rights
Agreement of 2004; to authorize implementation of the agreement; and to
provide a contingent effective date.
                                                                        
02/10    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/11    Rpt prt - to Res/Con
02/28    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/01    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/02    3rd rdg - PASSED - 55-14-1
      AYES -- Anderson, Barraclough, Bastian, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black,
      Block, Boe, Bolz, Cannon, Chadderdon, Clark, Collins, Crow, Deal,
      Denney, Edmunson, Ellsworth, Eskridge, Field(18), Field(23), Garrett,
      Henbest, Henderson, Jaquet, Jones, Kemp, Lake, LeFavour, Martinez,
      Mathews, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart,
      Pence, Raybould, Ring, Ringo, Rusche, Rydalch, Sayler, Shirley,
      Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Trail,
      Wills, Mr. Speaker
      NAYS -- Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bradford, Hart, Harwood, McGeachin,
      McKague, Roberts, Sali, Schaefer, Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Wood
      Absent and excused -- Loertscher
    Floor Sponsors - Stevenson, Raybould & Clark
    Title apvd - to Senate
03/03    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/14    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/15    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/16    3rd rdg - PASSED - 27-7-0, 1 vacancy
      AYES -- Andreason, Bunderson, Burkett, Burtenshaw, Cameron, Coiner,
      Compton, Corder, Darrington, Davis, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Hill,
      Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Little, Lodge, McGee,
      Richardson, Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett, Werk, Williams
      NAYS -- Brandt, Broadsword, Malepeai, Marley, McKenzie, Pearce, Sweet
      Absent and excused -- (District 21 seat vacant)
    Floor Sponsors - President Pro Tempore Geddes &
    Burtenshaw
    Title apvd - to House
03/17    To enrol
03/18    Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/21    Pres signed
03/22    To Governor
03/24    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 148
         Effective: Gov Proclamation certifying all
         conditions of Snake River Water Rights
         Agreement of 2004 have been satisfied

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-eighth Legislature                   First Regular Session - 2005
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 152
                                                                        
                          BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO THE SNAKE RIVER WATER RIGHTS AGREEMENT OF 2004; TO  DEFINE  TERMS;
  3        TO  PROVIDE  FOR  THE APPROVAL, RATIFICATION AND CONFIRMATION OF THE SNAKE
  4        RIVER WATER RIGHTS AGREEMENT OF 2004; TO AUTHORIZE IMPLEMENTATION  OF  THE
  5        SNAKE  RIVER  WATER  RIGHTS  AGREEMENT OF 2004; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND
  6        PROVIDING A CONTINGENCY ON EFFECTIVENESS.
                                                                        
  7    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  8        SECTION 1.  DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this act:
  9        (1)  "The Snake River Water Rights Agreement of 2004" means  the  document
 10    titled  "Mediator's  Term  Sheet"  dated April 20, 2004, and submitted on that
 11    date to the SRBA Court in SRBA Consolidated Subcase 03-10022 and SRBA Consoli-
 12    dated Subcase 67-13701, with all appendices to the document.
 13        (2)  "SRBA" means the Snake River Basin Adjudication litigation before the
 14    SRBA Court styled as In re Snake River Basin Adjudication, Case No. 39576.
 15        (3)  "SRBA Court" means the District Court of the Fifth Judicial  District
 16    of  the  State of Idaho, In and For the County of Twin Falls in re Snake River
 17    Basin Adjudication.
                                                                        
 18        SECTION 2.  RATIFICATION OF THE SNAKE  RIVER  WATER  RIGHTS  AGREEMENT  OF
 19    2004. The Snake River Water Rights Agreement of 2004 as approved, ratified and
 20    confirmed by the 108th Congress of the United States in the "Snake River Water
 21    Rights  Act  of 2004," Pub. L. No. 108-447 (H.R. 4818), 118 Stat. 3431 to 3441
 22    (December 8, 2004), is hereby approved, ratified and confirmed.
                                                                        
 23        SECTION 3.  AUTHORIZATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION  OF  THE  SNAKE  RIVER  WATER
 24    RIGHTS  AGREEMENT OF 2004. The Governor and the executive branch agencies with
 25    obligations under the agreement shall execute and perform all actions  consis-
 26    tent  with  this  act  that  are  necessary to implement The Snake River Water
 27    Rights Agreement of 2004.
                                                                        
 28        SECTION 4.  DECLARING AN EMERGENCY --  CONTINGENCY  ON  EFFECTIVENESS.  An
 29    emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby declared to exist, this
 30    act  shall be in full force and effect at such time that the Governor issues a
 31    proclamation certifying that all conditions for the effectiveness of The Snake
 32    River Water Rights Agreement of 2004 have been satisfied.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                      STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                           RS 14671C3

The purpose of this legislation is to approve, ratify and confirm
the Snake River Water Rights Agreement of 2004 and to authorize
and direct the Governor and the executive branch agencies with
obligations under the agreement to execute and perform all
actions consistent with this act that are necessary to implement
the agreement. 

          
                          FISCAL NOTE

Under the agreement, the State will have an obligation to
contribute a value of not less than twenty-five percent of the
contribution of the United States for the Section 6 Programs
provided for in the Snake River Water Rights Agreement of 2004. 
The state match can be in-kind services provided by state
agencies. The federal money coming to the state for Section 6
programs is $25.66 million. The extent of the state match
required will depend upon the level of participation in the
voluntary Section 6 Programs.

The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) will spend approximately
$2 million of state monies in preparing a biological assessment
and NEPA documents in support of the Idaho Forestry Program.  IDL
has set aside in the FY 2005 budget the monies for these
documents.  No additional staff will be needed to implement the
program on state lands.  Some additional IDL staff time will be
required over the life of the agreement to implement the Idaho
Forestry Program on private lands.  The amount will depend on the
number of private landowners who enroll in the program; however,
this is not expected to result in a large increase in FTEs
because monitoring activities on enrolled lands will be done in
conjunction with routine inspections under the current Forest
Practices Act.

IDL does not expect any measureable impact on the returns
from endowment lands as a result of enrollment of state lands in
the Idaho Forestry Program because it already conducts state
timber operations in a manner that is consistent with the
measures in the Idaho Forestry Program.  

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game will incur additional
costs for staffing necessary to implement the Section 6
Agreements.  The extent of such staffing is uncertain.  Staffing
costs that qualify can be used as a portion of matching
contribution for the federal monies made available for the
Section 6 Program.

The Idaho Department of Water Resources is not expected to
require any additional staffing or funding to complete its duties
under the agreement.

The Office of Species Conservation will have some duties to
assist with the implementation of the Section 6 Agreements.  The
Office does not anticipate any additional needs for funding.  

While participants in the Section 6 Programs may incur some
costs, participation in the programs is entirely voluntary.  In
addition, the federal habitat trust will be available to offset
some of the costs of participants.  

The Upper Snake River Flow augmentation program is based
upon the principle of willing buyer/willing seller.  Therefore,
no regulatory burdens are imposed on private parties.  The
federal government will pay approximately $57 million in today's
dollars in rental fees over the life of the agreement to private
water users.  In addition, the federal government will pay up to
$13 million for the acquisition of natural flow water rights
between Milner and Swan Falls dam and will provide a one-time $2
million mitigation payment to local governments for impacts
arising from these acquisitions.

The transfer of approximately 11,000 acres of BLM lands is
estimated to result in a loss of $11,000 in annual PILT payments
to Lewis and Nez Perce Counties.  The federal government will
provide a one-time payment of $200,000 to mitigate for this
impact to the counties.  This amount of monies will provide the
equivalent of a $13,000 annual payment for 30 years computed at a
five percent rate.

The combined amount of federal dollars made available under
this agreement to the State, local government and private
individuals is approximately $95 million.    



Contact
Names:
Representative Bruce Newcomb       Senator Bob Geddes
Representative John Stevenson      Senator Don Burtenshaw
Representative Dell Raybould       Senator Gary Schroeder
Representative Scott Bedke         Senator Stan Williams
Representative Wendy Jaquet        Senator Clint Stennett


Phone: (208) 332-1000


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                      H 152