TITLE 42

IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE — WATER RIGHTS AND RECLAMATION

CHAPTER 51

GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS

42-5112.  Powers and duties of board of directors. The board shall have the following powers and duties:

(1)  To manage and conduct the business and affairs of the district;

(2)  To employ and appoint such agents, officers and employees as may be required to perform the duties as set out in this chapter and prescribe their duties;

(3)  To incur indebtedness, for the purpose of financing repair or abandonment of wells in the district, the term of which shall not exceed ten (10) years, by contract with a money-lending institution, including the Idaho water resource board;

(4)  To levy assessments for the retirement of indebtedness incurred for purposes of financing repair or abandonment of wells in the district and for the cost of operating the district, including participating in state and/or federal aquifer monitoring programs;

(5)  To contract with owners of wells in the district which require repair or abandonment as ordered by the director of the Idaho department of water resources to effectuate repair or abandonment of such wells. The contracts may include financial participation in repair or abandonment, as necessary, to meet minimum well construction standards adopted by the Idaho water resource board, as follows:

(a)  Repair of wells which owners intend to continue to use: grants of up to fifty percent (50%) of total cost of repair; loans at interest rates and terms determined by the board of directors of up to one hundred percent (100%) of total cost of repair;

(b)  Abandonment of wells which owners do not intend to continue to use: grants or loans of up to one hundred percent (100%) of total cost; total cost of repair or abandonment includes all costs, including technical evaluation, design and inspections;

(6)  To contract with the director of the department of water resources to evaluate proposed contracts with well owners to evaluate the repairs or other work proposed and the costs of the proposed work;

(7)  To adopt rules, in accordance with the administrative procedure act, chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code, for determining the percentage of the total repair or abandonment cost that the district will grant or loan, the maximum amounts of grants and loans and their terms, a procedure for determining which water users will be given the financial assistance offered by the district, and a limitation on the total indebtedness of the district. For the purposes of chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code, the district shall be considered an agency. Among the factors to be considered by the board of directors in the adopted rules shall be the following:

(a)  Characteristics of the well to be repaired or abandoned; i.e., location, depth, diameter, depth to water or water pressure in the well, rate of leakage above and below land surface, and the purpose of the well;

(b)  Financial ability of the owner;

(c)  Estimated relative impact of the repair or abandonment on water levels or pressures in the aquifer and in surrounding wells;

(d)  Total number and estimated total cost of repairs to be made in the district as compared to the repayment capability from allowable annual assessments to be collected by the district; and

(e)  Orders and recommendations of the director of the Idaho department of water resources;

(8)  To accept gifts and grants or to enter into cost share agreements with any person, corporation, association or governmental agency in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter;

(9)  To enter upon any land to make inventories, surveys, and monitoring or construction inspections in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter;

(10) To do any and every lawful act necessary to be done that the provisions of this chapter may be carried out;

(11) At such intervals as the director of the department of water resources shall establish, the board of directors shall report to the director, in the form and manner prescribed by him, concerning the operations of the district;

(12) The board of directors annually shall submit to the director of the department of water resources a financial report setting forth the financial condition of the district. The report shall be in the form prescribed by the director and shall specify the amount of the assessments levied by the district for the year, the outstanding obligations of the district, and such other information as the director may require. The director shall have the authority to conduct an audit of the financial transactions and operations of the district.

(13) To adopt and implement a plan for the repair of leaking artesian wells within the district.

History:

[42-5112, added 1987, ch. 349, sec. 1, p. 769; am. 1995, ch. 294, sec. 2, p. 1037.]