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SENATE BILL NO. 1249

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S1249.............................................................by KEOUGH
NORTH IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATION - Amends existing law relating to
water rights adjudication to delete reference to water rights adjudication
in the Kootenai and Clark Fork-Pend Oreille river basin.

01/10    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/11    Rpt prt - to Res/Env

Bill Text

                                                                       
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-ninth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2008

                                                                       

                                       IN THE SENATE

                                    SENATE BILL NO. 1249

                                         BY KEOUGH

  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO WATER; AMENDING SECTION 42-1406B, IDAHO CODE, TO DELETE  REFERENCE
  3        TO  WATER  RIGHTS ADJUDICATION IN THE KOOTENAI AND CLARK FORK-PEND OREILLE
  4        RIVER BASIN.

  5    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

  6        SECTION 1.  That Section 42-1406B, Idaho Code, be, and the same is  hereby
  7    amended to read as follows:

  8        42-1406B.  NORTHERN  IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS -- COMMENCEMENT. (1)
  9    Effective management of the waters of northern Idaho requires that  a  compre-
 10    hensive  determination of the nature, extent and priority of the rights of all
 11    users of surface and ground water be determined. Therefore,  the  director  of
 12    the  department  of  water resources shall petition the district court to com-
 13    mence adjudications within the terms of the McCarran amendment, 43 U.S.C. sec-
 14    tion 666, of the water rights from surface water and ground water  sources  in
 15    northern  Idaho  through  initiation  of  three two (32) proceedings. Separate
 16    petitions shall be filed for water rights adjudications for each of  the  fol-
 17    lowing river basins, and related ground water sources whether or not hydrauli-
 18    cally  connected  to  a surface water source, within Idaho: the Coeur d'Alene-
 19    Spokane river basin, and the Palouse river basin, and the Kootenai  and  Clark
 20    Fork-Pend  Oreille  river basins. The filing of each petition shall be contin-
 21    gent on legislative funding approval. Each petition shall describe the  bound-
 22    aries of the water source or water sources to be adjudicated.
 23        (2)  The  adjudication shall be brought in any district court in which any
 24    part of the water source is located or before a court of special  jurisdiction
 25    for  water right adjudications. Unless otherwise ordered by the supreme court,
 26    special jurisdiction for the water rights general adjudications authorized  by
 27    this section shall reside in the Snake River Basin Adjudication district court
 28    of the fifth judicial district of the state of Idaho, in and for the county of
 29    Twin  Falls.  The  clerk  of the district court in which the petition is filed
 30    shall send to the supreme court a true and certified copy of the petition. The
 31    supreme court, by order, shall assign the judge to preside  over  the  general
 32    adjudication.  Venue  of the general adjudication shall be determined by order
 33    or rule of the supreme court and venue of hearings under the general adjudica-
 34    tion shall be determined by order of the presiding judge.
 35        (3)  Upon issuance of an order by the district court which authorizes  the
 36    director  to  commence an investigation and determination of the various water
 37    rights to be adjudicated from the water source or  water  sources,  and  which
 38    defines the boundaries of the source or sources within the state to be adjudi-
 39    cated,  the director of the department of water resources shall proceed in the
 40    manner provided under the provisions of chapter 14, title 42, Idaho  Code,  to
 41    the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this section.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact

                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                             RS 17501

The purpose of this legislation is to remove Basins # 96, 97, 98,
from the NIA.  These basins were not scheduled to begin the
adjudication process until 2011 at the earliest.  An overwhelming
number of residents in these basins have communicated very
clearly that they do not wish to be included in this adjudication
process, and that they need more time and information.  
This legislation provides the time by removing the basins from
the list of those to be adjudicated. 


                         FISCAL IMPACT       

There is no fiscal impact to the general fund as these basins
were not scheduled to be considered until 2011 at the earliest,
if at all.



Contact                         
Name:     Senator Keough
          Representative Eskridge
          Representative Anderson
Phone:    (208)332-1000



STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                        S 1249