2007 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 170 – Water rights, notice of claim

HOUSE BILL NO. 170

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Bill Status



H0170.........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
WATER RIGHTS - Amends existing law relating to the adjudication of water
rights to revise provisions relating to the truth and accuracy of
statements contained in notice of claim or amended notice of claim.
                                                                        
02/12    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/13    Rpt prt - to Res/Con
02/16    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/19    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/22    3rd rdg - PASSED - 66-2-2
      AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Bayer, Bell, Bilbao, Black, Block, Bock,
      Boe, Bolz, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon, Chew, Clark, Collins,
      Crane, Durst, Edmunson, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart, Harwood, Henbest,
      Henderson, Jaquet, Killen, King, Kren, Labrador, Lake, LeFavour,
      Loertscher, Luker, Marriott, Mathews, McGeachin, Mortimer, Moyle,
      Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Patrick, Pence, Raybould, Ring,
      Ringo, Roberts, Ruchti, Rusche, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(2),
      Shepherd(8), Shirley, Shively, Smith(30), Smith(24), Snodgrass,
      Thayn, Trail, Vander Woude, Wills, Wood(27), Wood(35), Mr. Speaker
      NAYS -- Barrett, Chavez
      Absent and excused -- Bedke, Stevenson
    Floor Sponsor - Sayler
    Title apvd - to Senate
02/23    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Env
03/12    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/13    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/19    3rd rdg - PASSED - 32-0-3
      AYES -- Andreason, Bair, Bastian, Bilyeu, Broadsword, Burkett,
      Cameron, Coiner, Corder, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher, Geddes, Goedde,
      Hammond, Heinrich, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Little,
      Lodge, McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce, Richardson, Schroeder,
      Siddoway, Stegner, Werk
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Gannon, Malepeai, Stennett
    Floor Sponsor - Cameron
    Title apvd - to House
03/19    To enrol - Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/20    Pres signed - To Governor
03/26    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 187
         Effective: 07/01/07

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-ninth Legislature                   First Regular Session - 2007
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 170
                                                                        
                          BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO THE ADJUDICATION OF WATER RIGHTS; AMENDING SECTION 42-1409,  IDAHO
  3        CODE,  TO  REVISE  PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE TRUTH AND ACCURACY OF STATE-
  4        MENTS CONTAINED IN NOTICES OF CLAIM OR AMENDED NOTICES OF CLAIM.
                                                                        
  5    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  6        SECTION 1.  That Section 42-1409, Idaho Code, be, and the same  is  hereby
  7    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
  8        42-1409.  NOTICE  OF  CLAIM. (1) The director shall prepare and furnish on
  9    request a standard notice of claim form.
 10        The notice of claim form shall include the following:
 11        (a)  the name and address of the claimant;
 12        (b)  the source of water;
 13        (c)  the quantity of water claimed:
 14             (i)   the quantity of water claimed  to  be  used  for  water  rights
 15             acquired  under  state  law shall describe the rate of  diversion or,
 16             for an instream flow claim, a rate of water flow in  cubic  feet  per
 17             second  or the annual volume of diversion of water for use or storage
 18             in acre-feet per year, or both;
 19             (ii)  the quantity of water  claimed  for  water  rights  established
 20             under  federal law shall describe for each and every purpose the rate
 21             of present and future water diversion or, in the case of an  instream
 22             flow claim the rate of flow in cubic feet per second or annual volume
 23             of present and future diversion in acre-feet per year or both;
 24        (d)  the date of priority claimed:
 25             (i)   the  date  of  priority claimed for water rights acquired under
 26             state law shall be from any license, permit, or  decree;  or  if  the
 27             right  is  not based upon a license, permit, or decree, then the date
 28             when the water was first applied to beneficial use;
 29             (ii)  the date of priority claimed for water rights established under
 30             federal law shall be determined in accordance with federal law;
 31        (e)  the number thereof, if founded upon a right on file with the  depart-
 32        ment; or if the right is founded upon judicial decree not on file with the
 33        department,  then  the  title of the court and cause, number of the action
 34        and the date of entry;
 35        (f)  the legal description of the existing point(s) of diversion;  if  the
 36        claim  is  for an instream flow, then a legal description of the beginning
 37        and ending points of the claimed instream flow;
 38        (g)  the purpose(s) of use and the period of use:
 39             (i)   the purpose(s) of use for water rights acquired under state law
 40             shall describe each purpose of use and the period of  the  year  when
 41             water is used for each purpose;
 42             (ii)  the  purpose(s) of use for a water right established under fed-
 43             eral law shall describe the purposes for which the water included  in
                                                                        
                                       2
                                                                        
  1             the  claim  is presently being used, if at all, and the period of the
  2             year when water is necessary for the designated purposes;
  3        (h)  a legal description of the place of use:
  4             (i)   the legal description of the place  of  use  for  water  rights
  5             acquired  under  state law shall describe the land where the water is
  6             beneficially used; if one (1) of the purposes  of use is  irrigation,
  7             then the number of irrigated acres within each forty (40) acre subdi-
  8             vision, except as provided in section 42-219, Idaho Code;
  9             (ii)  the  legal  description  of  the place of use for a water right
 10             established under federal law shall describe the federal  reservation
 11             and the existing or proposed place of use for each consumptive use;
 12        (i)  the  dates  of  any  changes  or enlargements in use for water rights
 13        acquired under state law, including the dimension of the  diversion  works
 14        as originally constructed and as enlarged;
 15        (j)  conditions on the exercise of any water right included in any decree,
 16        license, approved transfer application or other document; and
 17        (k)  such remarks and other matters as are necessary for definition of the
 18        right,  for  clarification of any element of a right or for administration
 19        of the right by the director.
 20        (2)  With respect to any water right for which a change  was  approved  by
 21    the  director  pursuant  to section 42-211 or 42-222, Idaho Code, after filing
 22    the notice of claim and prior to filing of the director's report, the claimant
 23    shall amend the notice of claim  consistent  with  the  determination  of  the
 24    director on the change.
 25        (3)  Each  claimant,  through submission of a claim, shall sign and verify
 26    under oath solemnly swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that  the  state-
 27    ments  contained  in a the notice of claim or amended notice of claim are true
 28    and correct.
 29        (4)  All claimants of water rights that are included in a general  adjudi-
 30    cation  shall  file  with the director a notice of claim for all water rights,
 31    except for those types of water rights designated in  paragraphs  (a)  through
 32    (d) of subsection (1) of section 42-1420, Idaho Code.
 33        (5)  Any  person  who  fails to submit a required notice of claim shall be
 34    deemed to have been constructively served with notice of a  general  adjudica-
 35    tion by publication and mailing as required by section 42-1408, Idaho Code.
 36        (6)  Each  purchaser  of a water right from the water system shall inquire
 37    of the director whether a notice of claim has been filed, and  if  not,  shall
 38    file a notice of claim in accordance with this section. All claimants and pur-
 39    chasers  shall  provide the director written notice of any change in ownership
 40    or of any change in mailing address during the pendency of a general adjudica-
 41    tion. All purchasers shall submit some evidence of ownership  along  with  the
 42    notice of change of ownership.
 43        (7)  At  least  one  hundred  twenty  (120)  days  prior  to filing of the
 44    director's report with the court, the director may notify  each  holder  of  a
 45    permit  or license to appropriate water from the water system, for which proof
 46    of beneficial use was filed after entry of the court's order commencing a gen-
 47    eral adjudication, to file a notice of claim within thirty (30) days of  mail-
 48    ing  of  the  notice.  The  director  shall notify the holder of the permit or
 49    license by certified mail at the most recent address shown in the  records  of
 50    the department.
 51        (8)  The  district  court  or  director  may  extend the time for filing a
 52    notice of claim.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                            RS 16546C1

Idaho Code Section 42-1409 (3) states that each notice of a claim
in a water right adjudication shall be signed and verified under
oath, thus requiring notarization.  Notarization has not been
found to improve the quality or reliability of claims.  Also, the
notarization requirement hinders the ability of a water user to
file a claim using the Internet.  Thus, this requirement is
proposed to be removed from the statute.


                           FISCAL NOTE
Implementation of this idea will decrease the cost of an
adjudication for the claimants (by removing the need to travel to
a notary and enabling Internet filing), and to the State of Idaho
(by enabling Internet filing of claims).  The quality of claims
is not anticipated to be diminished by deletion of this
requirement.


Contact
Name: Dr. David Tuthill, Water Resources, Dept of 
Phone: 208-287-4800




STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                         H 170