2008 Legislation
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SENATE BILL NO. 1277<br /> – N. Idaho water rights, claims

SENATE BILL NO. 1277

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Bill Status



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

Bill Text




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

                                                                       

                                       IN 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 of all
 16    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 / Fiscal Impact



                       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