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S1418..........................................by RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATION - Amends existing law relating to water rights
adjudication to delete the Kootenai River Basin from the Northern Idaho
water rights adjudication; and to clarify that Clark Fork-Pend Oreille
River Basins do not include Basin 98.
02/11 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/12 Rpt prt - to Res/Env
02/14 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/15 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/20 3rd rdg - PASSED - 33-1-1
AYES -- Andreason, Bair, Bastian, Bilyeu, Broadsword, Burkett,
Cameron, Coiner, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde,
Hammond, Heinrich, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Little,
Lodge, Malepeai(Sagness), McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce,
Richardson, Schroeder, Siddoway, Stennett, Werk
NAYS -- Stegner
Absent and excused -- Corder
Floor Sponsor - Keough
Title apvd - to House
02/21 House intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Con
02/28 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/29 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/10 3rd rdg - PASSED - 61-0-9
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bell, Bilbao, Bock, Boe,
Bolz, Bowers, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon, Chavez, Chew, Clark,
Collins, Crane, Durst, 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, Roberts, Ruchti,
Rusche, Sayler, Shepherd(02), Shepherd(08), Shively, Smith(30),
Smith(24), Snodgrass, Stevenson, Thayn, Thomas, Vander Woude, Wills,
Wood(27), Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Bedke, Black, Block, Raybould, Ringo, Schaefer,
Shirley, Trail, Wood(35)
Floor Sponsor - Eskridge
Title apvd - to Senate
03/11 To enrol
03/12 Rpt enrol - Pres signed - Sp signed
03/13 To Governor
03/17 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 159
Effective: 07/01/06
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1418 BY RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS; AMENDING SECTION 42-1406B, IDAHO CODE, 3 TO DELETE THE KOOTENAI RIVER BASIN FROM THE NORTHERN IDAHO WATER RIGHTS 4 ADJUDICATION AND TO CLARIFY THAT THE CLARK FORK-PEND OREILLE RIVER BASINS 5 DO NOT INCLUDE BASIN 98; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING RETROACTIVE 6 APPLICATION. 7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 8 SECTION 1. That Section 42-1406B, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 9 amended to read as follows: 10 42-1406B. NORTHERN IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS -- COMMENCEMENT. (1) 11 Effective management of the waters of northern Idaho requires that a compre- 12 hensive determination of the nature, extent and priority of the rights of all 13 users of surface and ground water be determined. Therefore, the director of 14 the department of water resources shall petition the district court to com- 15 mence adjudications within the terms of the McCarran amendment, 43 U.S.C. sec- 16 tion 666, of the water rights from surface water and ground water sources in 17 northern Idaho through initiation of three (3) proceedings. Separate petitions 18 shall be filed for water rights adjudications for each of the following river 19 basins, and related ground water sources whether or not hydraulically con- 20 nected to a surface water source, within Idaho: the Coeur d'Alene-Spokane 21 river basin, the Palouse river basin, and theKootenai andClark Fork-Pend 22 Oreille river basins, which do not include basin 98. The filing of each peti- 23 tion shall be contingent on legislative funding approval. Each petition shall 24 describe the boundaries of the water source or water sources to be adjudi- 25 cated. 26 (2) The adjudication shall be brought in any district court in which any 27 part of the water source is located or before a court of special jurisdiction 28 for water right adjudications. Unless otherwise ordered by the supreme court, 29 special jurisdiction for the water rights general adjudications authorized by 30 this section shall reside in the Snake River Basin Adjudication district court 31 of the fifth judicial district of the state of Idaho, in and for the county of 32 Twin Falls. The clerk of the district court in which the petition is filed 33 shall send to the supreme court a true and certified copy of the petition. The 34 supreme court, by order, shall assign the judge to preside over the general 35 adjudication. Venue of the general adjudication shall be determined by order 36 or rule of the supreme court and venue of hearings under the general adjudica- 37 tion shall be determined by order of the presiding judge. 38 (3) Upon issuance of an order by the district court which authorizes the 39 director to commence an investigation and determination of the various water 40 rights to be adjudicated from the water source or water sources, and which 41 defines the boundaries of the source or sources within the state to be adjudi- 42 cated, the director of the department of water resources shall proceed in the 43 manner provided under the provisions of chapter 14, title 42, Idaho Code, to 2 1 the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this section. 2 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 3 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 4 passage and approval, and retroactively to July 1, 2006.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 17857
In 2006, the Idaho Legislature authorized the Idaho Department of
Water Resources to commence a general stream adjudication of the
waters of northern Idaho within the terms of the McCarran
amendment, 43 U.S.C. 666. Idaho Code 42-1406B. "The McCarran
Amendment requires the adjudication of the rights of all those
who use the water of a river system within a state, including
those who use the water of tributaries." In re the General
Adjudication of Rights to the Use of Water from the SNAKE RIVER
BASIN WATER SYSTEM, STATE of Idaho v. UNITED STATES, 115 Idaho
1,764 P.2d 78(1988).
The purpose of this legislation is to clarify that the definition
of the waters of northern Idaho contained in Idaho Code 42-
1406B does not extend to the Idaho Department of Water Resources
administrative basin 98. Inclusion of basin 98 is not required
for purposes of adjudication of the other waters of northern
Idaho. Given the absence of current water conflicts within this
basin and the complexity of addressing international issues
within this basin, there is no compelling reason to proceed
immediately with the adjudication of the water rights within
administrative basin 98.
FISCAL IMPACT
Removal of this basin from the proposed northern Idaho
adjudication will save the state general fund money in this
proposed process.
Contact
Name: Sen. Shawn Keough
Phone: 208 332 1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1418