Ridenbaugh Press/Water Rights

Frost is water; but water can also be used to protect crops from frost, especially highly sensitive crops such as wine grapes.

From a California Farm Bureau report on disputes over use of Russian River water in protection of grapes from frost:

A government agency letter announcing plans to conduct unannounced, predawn inspections of farm properties marks the latest development in an ongoing controversy related to use of Russian River water to protect grapevines from frost.

Winegrape growers with vineyards along the river received the “access notification” letter, which warns farmers that the State Water Resources Control Board, National Marine Fisheries Service or state Department of Fish and Game may conduct the unannounced inspections unless the farmer sends formal notification in advance, denying permission.

The letter, signed by water board Deputy Director for Water Rights Victoria A. Whitney, states in part: “Because diversions for frost protection are weather-dependent and occur irregularly, mostly during early morning hours, initial contact prior to a site visit would be impracticable. Therefore, by this letter, you are being requested to provide reasonable access to your property. We will assume, unless informed otherwise, that you are allowing…access to your property.”

Devon Jones, executive director of the Mendocino County Farm Bureau, said she has been hearing an overwhelming negative reaction from farmers, who express concern about the potential dangers of such unannounced inspections in the dead of night.

“In terms of the property access letter, participants in the Russian River Frost Program are concerned with the liability issues that could arise if regulatory agencies perform unannounced visits during the early morning hours when frost events typically can occur,” Jones said. “We are recommending a cooperative approach with the regulatory agencies, but do not see the terms that the SWRCB put forth in the access letter as being a reasonable method for performing inspections.” Continue Reading »

The Alberta Court of Appeal has turned back a challenge to the province from the Tsuu T’ina Nation and Samson Cree Nation, which argued that the province had not adequately consulted them before developing a new water management (and water rights) plan.

The plan, okayed in August 2006, covered the South Saskatchewan River Basin.

This is not the only lawsuit growing out of the water plan; another is proceeding as well in another court.

[see the Calgary (AB) Herald, April 29]

A water right approval for General Moly Inc. mining operations in Eureka County was bounced back to state regulators who were told to do a more precise job this time of filling in objectors on the actual water conditions in the area.

General Moly, which is based in Lakewood, Colorado, was seeking 11,300 acre-feet per year for the Mount Hood molybdenum mine. The Nevada State engineer’s office had approved the request. The court said however, that objectors were not given the most recent available water modeling information, and should be before a final decision is made.

The company’s statement:

The Court’s decision remands the water rights applications back to the State Engineer to reconsider in a new hearing, a date for which has not been set.

The Court ruled that the Petitioners’ (Eureka County and certain farmers in the Diamond Valley) due process rights to a full and fair hearing were violated when the State Engineer considered and relied upon an updated version of the Company’s hydrology model that had not been presented to the Petitioners.

Bruce D. Hansen, Chief Executive Officer, said, “this procedural flaw is disappointing given the strong legal and technical findings by the State Engineer to determine that the Company’s water applications should be granted for the Mt. Hope project. The updated model referenced in the State Engineer’s decision had substantially the same conclusions as the model the petitioners had reviewed. With our final hydrology models being completed this week, all parties involved will now be reviewing a single, final model, so this procedural issue can be avoided moving forward.”

The Company anticipates the State Engineer will promptly schedule a new hearing, again grant the Company’s water rights applications, and does not believe the new hearing will impact the Mt. Hope construction or production time lines. The Company continues to believe it has every right to be granted access to water for the Mt. Hope project. The District Court’s decision is separate from and does not impact the Federal permitting process and the work associated with the Environmental Impact Statement.

Tim Arnold, Mt. Hope General Manager, said, “We are clearly disappointed that the State Engineer’s original ruling was not upheld. We will continue to work with the Commissioners of Eureka County and the farmers in Diamond Valley to find a solution to their opposition to our water applications. Our scientific studies continue to indicate that our water pumping in Kobeh Valley, 15 miles to the west of Diamond Valley, will have virtually no impact to their water table and we will continue to engage and educate all stakeholders on that issue. Additionally, we will continue to develop a comprehensive long-term monitoring and mitigation plan.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on April 26 signed a bill which explicitly lets the city of Prescott use groundwater from the Big Chino Aquifer, a major development for a city heavily reliant on groundwater.

Senate Bill 1445 provides an exemption from a 1980 law on groundwater which ordinarily bans interbasin transfers. It says that “a city or town in the Prescott Active Management Area may withdraw and transport 8,068 acre-feet per year of groundwater.”

The key additions to the statute were:

45-543. Transportation between sub-basins or away from an active management area; damages; non-irrigation grandfathered right not associated with retired irrigated land; service area withdrawals; permit; exempt well

45-555. Transportation of groundwater withdrawn in Big Chino sub-basin of the Verde River groundwater basin to initial active management area; exception

By the time it was signed, the bill was not especially controversial. It followed years of discussion and resolution between Prescott and the Salt River Project, which manages much of the water in the area.

“We could go on for years litigating this issue, and in the end we wouldn’t have an answer about the (Upper Verde River) impacts” from Prescott’s Big Chino pumping, said Greg Kornrumph, analyst for the project’s Water Rights and Contracts Division, told the Prescott Daily Courier on April 28.

Floyd Dominy/BOR

One of the longest serving Commissioners in the history of Reclamation, Floyd Dominy, has passed away at the age of 100. Dominy served as Reclamation Commissioner from 1959 to 1969 serving under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.

“Reclamation has a long history of ‘larger than life’ Commissioners and Floyd was certainly at the top of that list,” said Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor. “I hope I have the strength, determination, and tenacity to carry on the legacy that Floyd set in this position to implement my agenda for Reclamation, as he was with his.”

Dominy joined Reclamation in 1946 as a land settlement specialist. He supervised the Allocations and Repayment Branch, Division of Irrigation in 1950. He rose to Assistant Commissioner in 1957 and was named Associate Commissioner in 1958. He retired from Reclamation in 1969.

Notable events that occurred during his term as Commissioner include the completion of Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, and Navajo Dams of the Colorado River Storage Project. He also played a role in the authorization and initiation of construction of the San Luis Unit and pushed for the completion of the Trinity River Division, Central Valley Project.

Dominy was born and grew up on a farm in Adams County, Neb., and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1932.

“This is definitely the end of an era. His was a life full of great accomplishments and he will definitely be missed,” added Connor.

Citing April’s wintry Sierra storms, the California Department of Water Resources on April 23 increased its 2010 allocation of State Water Project deliveries to 30 percent.

“The spring storms have been good to California’s snowpack, allowing us to increase our water deliveries to communities, farms and businesses this year,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “Still, three years of drought, low reservoir storage and regulatory limits on Delta pumping to protect fish keep our allocations far below average and underscore the need for ongoing conservation across the state.”

The SWP allocation had been set at 20 percent of contractors’ requests earlier in April. The initial 2010 allocation estimate, made back in December 2009, was 5 percent. That projection rose incrementally as
snowpack accumulated during winter and early spring. Later in May, DWR expects to make a final allocation announcement.

Electronic snow surveys indicate that statewide, water content in the mountain snowpack is 132% of normal for the date. Electronic readings are online.

A final manual snow survey will be conducted on April 30.

Lake Oroville in Butte County, the key Northern California storage reservoir for the State Water Project, remains low, at 55% of capacity, recovering slowly after three consecutive dry years.

Reservoir storage levels are online.

Fishery agency restrictions on Delta pumping continue to limit amounts of water that can be delivered to SWP contractors serving the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast and Southern California.

In 2009, the SWP delivered 40% of the amount requested by the 29 public agencies with long-term contracts to buy SWP water. The SWP contractors deliver water to about 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland.

Michigan House Bill 5319 is short – just two pages – and its essence comes down to a sentence or so: “The waters of the state, including groundwater, are held in trust by the state. The state shall protect these waters and other natural resources that are subject to the public trust for the benefit of present and future generations.”

Short and simple it may be, but not uncontroversial. The measure, which has passed the House, has drawn concern that some existing water users may be impacted. The Oakland County committee on government has passed a measure declaring, “HB 5319 is attempting to quietly strip away these property rights without landowner compensation and poses a dangerous threat to the economic prosperity of the State of Michigan and Oakland County.”

Backers of the bill warn that while the new Great Lakes Compact does provide some restrictions on expert of water from the region, it allows for some export in bottles.

Russ Harding, senior environmental analyst and director of the Property Rights Network at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute headquartered in Midland, said in an article for the Detroit Free Press, “Placing groundwater in government ownership is not needed to protect our natural resources. Worse, it is bad public policy. Michigan’s water is an economic asset and is the envy of most states. Wise use of water should be encouraged to serve as a catalyst for providing much-needed jobs in the state, rather than turning that asset into a liability by subjecting job providers to a new, costly and time-consuming permit process. Water rights are an important component of property rights. Michigan voters recognized the importance of protecting against physical taking of property by passing Proposition 4 in 2006, making it more difficult for government to take property by eminent domain. Protecting private water rights from regulatory taking is no less important.”

The T. Boone Pickens company Mesa Water LP is filing a lawsuit against three local Texas water planning entities, arguing that their planning efforts could have the effect of devaluing his water rights.

The suit was reported filed in March, with the statewide Texas Water Development Board noted as a defendant.

Pickens said the planning effort could have the effect of taking as much as 18,000 acre feet of water in the Ogallala Aquifer from him and another business party.

Sounding a lot like some American states reluctant to sign water agreements, the government of Egypt – through Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohammed Nassr Eddin Allam – said on April 19 his country will not be bound by any compact limiting its rights to the River Nile.

A group of African countries in the Nile basin have developed a Cooperative Framework Agreement of the Nile Basin Countries, which would seek to govern use of the river water. Egypt, the most downstream of the countries, is one of those most impacted.

The Egyptian minister said, however, that any such deal “will not be binding to Egypt and will not have a legal impact to its right in water.”

The Ethiopian Reporter said, in an article (“Is the Nile Cooperation Framework Agreement doomed to be stillborn?“) noting the background of the agreement: “The only agreement that has been reached to date on the use of the Nile is the 1959 accord signed between Egypt and Sudan at the behest of their then colonial master England. The agreement not only excludes the other riparian countries, which are the river’s source and contribute the majority of its waters, but also provides that the exclusive beneficiaries of the Nile are the two countries and sets out the amount of water each of them can use as well as the purpose to which they can put the river. The NBI was signed precisely because the agreement was said to be unfair and not legally binding on the other basin countries. It was bright and indeed timely that a consensus was reached by the nine basin countries, excluding Eritrea, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Egypt, to put in place a new cooperation framework agreement.”

Jason King, who has been acting state engineer for Nevada on and off since the fall of 2008, was named to the job permanently effective April 19. The engineer is the chief water official in the state of Nevada.

Allen Biaggi, director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, made the announcement.

King has been Acting State Engineer in place of Tracy Taylor who has recently had health concerns. King’s appointment was made in consultation with Governor Jim Gibbons and Leo Drozdoff, who will be taking over as acting director of the department May 3, after Biaggi’s retirement.

“Because of ongoing health issues, Taylor will become a deputy state engineer as of today April 19, 2010,” Biaggi said. “I want to thank Tracy for his nearly four years of service as the State Engineer. He has guided the agency through some challenging times.”

Biaggi added: “Jason (King) has done an excellent job as acting State Engineer, and we appreciate the service of both Tracy and Jason during this time of transition.”

King is a registered professional engineer and has been with the Division of Water Resources for more than 19 years.