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S1277.........................................................by BROADSWORD WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS - Amends existing law relating to water rights adjudications to delete reference to all users of surface and ground water in northern Idaho; to provide a limitation relating to the petition to commence adjudications; to provide that claimants of certain types of water rights may file notices of claim in a general adjudication but shall not be required to file notices of claim; and to provide that certain water rights shall not be lost by failure to file a notice of claim. 01/16 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 01/17 Rpt prt - to Res/Env
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1277 BY BROADSWORD 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS; AMENDING SECTION 42-1406B, IDAHO CODE, 3 TO DELETE REFERENCE TO ALL USERS OF SURFACE AND GROUND WATER IN NORTHERN 4 IDAHO, TO PROVIDE A LIMITATION RELATING TO THE PETITION TO COMMENCE ADJU- 5 DICATIONS, TO PROVIDE THAT CLAIMANTS OF CERTAIN TYPES OF WATER RIGHTS MAY 6 FILE NOTICES OF CLAIM IN A GENERAL ADJUDICATION BUT SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED 7 TO FILE NOTICES OF CLAIM AND TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN WATER RIGHTS SHALL 8 NOT BE LOST BY FAILURE TO FILE A NOTICE OF CLAIM; AND DECLARING AN EMER- 9 GENCY. 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 11 SECTION 1. That Section 42-1406B, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 12 amended to read as follows: 13 42-1406B. NORTHERN IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS -- COMMENCEMENT. (1) 14 Effective management of the waters of northern Idaho requires that a compre- 15 hensive determination of the nature, extent and priority of the rights ofall16 users of surface and ground water be determined. Therefore, the director of 17 the department of water resources shall petition the district court to com- 18 mence adjudications within the terms of the McCarran amendment, 43 U.S.C. sec- 19 tion 666, of the water rights from surface water and ground water sources in 20 northern Idaho, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, through 21 initiation of three (3) proceedings. Separate petitions shall be filed for 22 water rights adjudications for each of the following river basins, and related 23 ground water sources whether or not hydraulically connected to a surface water 24 source, within Idaho: the Coeur d'Alene-Spokane river basin, the Palouse river 25 basin, and the Kootenai and Clark Fork-Pend Oreille river basins. The filing 26 of each petition shall be contingent on legislative funding approval. Each 27 petition shall describe the boundaries of the water source or water sources to 28 be adjudicated. 29 (2) The adjudication shall be brought in any district court in which any 30 part of the water source is located or before a court of special jurisdiction 31 for water right adjudications. Unless otherwise ordered by the supreme court, 32 special jurisdiction for the water rights general adjudications authorized by 33 this section shall reside in the Snake River Basin Adjudication district court 34 of the fifth judicial district of the state of Idaho, in and for the county of 35 Twin Falls. The clerk of the district court in which the petition is filed 36 shall send to the supreme court a true and certified copy of the petition. The 37 supreme court, by order, shall assign the judge to preside over the general 38 adjudication. Venue of the general adjudication shall be determined by order 39 or rule of the supreme court and venue of hearings under the general adjudica- 40 tion shall be determined by order of the presiding judge. 41 (3) Upon issuance of an order by the district court which authorizes the 42 director to commence an investigation and determination of the various water 43 rights to be adjudicated from the water source or water sources, and which 2 1 defines the boundaries of the source or sources within the state to be adjudi- 2 cated, the director of the department of water resources shall proceed in the 3 manner provided under the provisions of chapter 14, title 42, Idaho Code, to 4 the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this section. 5 (4) All claimants of those types of water rights designated in paragraphs 6 (a) through (d) of subsection (1) of section 42-1420, Idaho Code, provided 7 however, that water rights for domestic use or stock watering use do not have 8 to be specifically excluded from the general adjudication by court order for 9 the provisions of this subsection to apply, may file a notice of claim for 10 such water rights with the director in a general adjudication commenced pursu- 11 ant to the provisions of this section, but shall not be required to file a 12 notice of claim, and said water rights shall not be lost by failure to file a 13 notice of claim. 14 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 15 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 16 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 17612
The purpose of this legislation is to amend Idaho Code section
42-1406B to make the participation in the northern Idaho water
adjudication of individual domestic water users voluntary. In
other water adjudications Idaho has undertaken domestic water
users were not mandated to participate. This would make the
treatment of northern Idaho citizens equal to the treatment
afforded other Idahoans in the adjudication of water rights.
FISCAL IMPACT
Estimates given by the Department of Water Resources for the cost
of the northern Idaho water adjudication are $16.2 million
dollars. The passage of this legislation would have a $1,940,000
impact to the state.
Contact
Name: Sen. Joyce Broadsword
Phone: 208-332-1000
Senator Shawn Keough
Rep. Eric Anderson
Rep. George Eskridge
Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd
Rep. Dick Harwood
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1277