Ridenbaugh Press/Water Rights

George legislators are continuing to look at the idea of drawing more water from the Tennessee River on the state’s northern edge. On March 31, the George House unanimously passed a measure moving the state toward doing just that.

The House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment in March proposed new language for House Resolution 424, suggesting a look at feasibility of withdrawing more water from that sources.

Its text:

Urging the performance of a feasibility study of the withdrawal, storage, and distribution of waters from a certain portion of the basin of the Tennessee River; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, the need to develop alternative sources of water supply and storage for much of Georgia is an issue of considerable urgency, particularly in light of a decision by the United States District Court entered in 2009 which found that communities in Georgia now dependent on the waters of Lake Lanier for water supply may no longer depend on that supply after 2012, absent a settlement among the States of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida; and
WHEREAS, Lookout Creek in Dade County, Chattanooga Creek in Walker County, and West Chickamauga and South Chickamauga Creeks in Catoosa County have, by some estimates based on the last ten years of available data from the United States Geological Survey and other sources, combined average flows of at least 725 million gallons per day, all of which flow northward into the Tennessee River; and
WHEREAS, there also exist abandoned rock quarries in north Georgia that can and do fill with very large volumes of water, including one in Walker County that is reported to have a water storage capacity of at least 3 billion gallons (9,207 acre-feet) of water; and
WHEREAS, the right of way of a railroad, owned by the State of Georgia, passes through the property on which the Walker County quarry described above is located and runs southward to the vicinity of Rome; and
WHEREAS, it may be possible to withdraw water from such north-flowing tributaries which might otherwise go unused in this state, pump the water into such an abandoned quarry for storage, and distribute water from such storage by means of a pipeline to be laid on the railroad right of way and thence to areas of this state in need of additional water supplies;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body urge the Department of Natural Resources, the Water Supply Division of the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, and private enterprises to study the feasibility of surface water withdrawal, storage, and distribution as described in this resolution.

Department of Water Resources hydrologists on March 30
announced that water content in California’s mountain snowpack is 165 percent of the April 1 full season average.

“Recent storms have significantly contributed to the above-average snowpack, helping to stabilize California’s water supply for the year,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “While this is beneficial for California’s farms, businesses and communities, we remind residents to practice sensible water use and conservation as we transition to warmer weather.”
After the snowpack readings were in, Governor Jerry Brown officially rescinded former Governor Schwarzenegger’s emergency proclamations and executive order issued in 2008 and 2009 relating to water shortage associated with the drought.

Snowpack water content is measured both manually on or near the first of the month from January to May, and in real-time by electronic sensors.

The manual survey and electronic readings are the most important of the year, since April 1 is when the state’s snowpack normally is at its peak before it melts into streams and reservoirs in the spring and summer months. March precipitation has helped register 2011 among the top years in snowpack water content, despite dry weather conditions in January and early February.

The mountain snowpack provides approximately one-third of the water for California’s households, industry and farms as it melts into streams and reservoirs.

The Bureau of Reclamation and the state of Colorado are continuing negotiations on a proposed repayment contract for the Animas-La Plata Project. The contract will provide the terms and conditions by which the state will repay the construction costs associated with all or a portion of its statutory allocation of project water. The second negotiation meeting is scheduled for Wednesday April 6, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. at Reclamation’s office, 835 E. 2nd Ave., Suite 300, Durango, Colorado 81301.

The contract to be negotiated will provide for storage and delivery of project water, identify the amount of project construction costs to be paid to the federal government by the state, and provide for operation and maintenance of the project.

All negotiations are open to the public as observers, and the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer comments pertaining to the contract during a thirty minute comment period following the negotiation session.

A bill introduced in the Idaho House on March 9 is aimed at substantially altering rules on how water can be leased in Idaho, especially between two private parties.

The statement of purpose for House Bill 241 says:

“The intent of this amendment is to create a more certain and predictable process for the leasing of water for hydropower purposes by clarifying the relationship between the private, two-party water leasing provisions of Idaho Code sections 42-108A and 42-108B, and the provisions of the water supply bank and rental pool statutes, Idaho Code sections 42-1761 through 42-1766, to facilitate the rental or leasing of water for hydroelectric generation purposes, which provides low-cost electricity to Idaho. A recent District Court proceeding involving a proposed lease of water for hydroelectric generation purposes raised questions as to the intent, scope, and applicability of these two dif ferent sets of statutes, and the relationship between them, with respect to such rentals or leases. The Court suggested that clarifying legislation might be an appropriate means for resolving the uncertainty or ambiguity on these points. Accordingly , this bill proposes amendments to section 42-108B that will authorize the Director of the Department of W ater Resources to ensure that proposed rentals or leases of water for hydroelectric generation purposes under section 42-108A and 42-108B will be evaluated by the Director under the same standards and requirements applicable to rentals out of the water supply bank and local rental pools, including but not limited to any applicable local rental pool procedures applicable to the rental of storage water.”

At month’s end, the bill still was in the House Resources & Conservation Committee, an indicator that its chances for passage before the legislature adjourned (probably sometime in mid-April) were not good.

The Washington Department of Ecology and the Methow Valley Irrigation District have signed an agreement that settles all penalties and legal disputes outstanding since 2003.

In addition, the parties have agreed to a yearly schedule for incrementally reducing the amount of water the district will divert to improve streamflows, with a final required reduction to be achieved by the year 2016.

Under the terms of the agreement, lawsuits pending before the Court of Appeals, Okanogan County Superior Court, and the Pollution Control Hearings Board will be dismissed.

In 2002, Ecology ordered the district to limit water it diverted from the Twisp and Methow rivers on the basis that the district was unlawfully wasting water. The Methow Valley watershed is one of 16 fish-critical basins where reduced streamflows are a concern for endangered and migrating fish species. In 2003, the order was upheld by the state’s Pollution Control Hearings Board and later challenged by the irrigation district to Superior Court and the Court of Appeals.

A number of orders, notices, and penalties totaling $37,200, were issued by Ecology in an attempt to bring the district into compliance. These orders and penalties were appealed by MVID.

Under the terms of the settlement, in lieu of paying the penalties, MVID agrees to draft and submit a schedule of projects designed to help it comply with court-affirmed limits and administrative orders related to diversion rates. The projects, to total $37,200, will be paid for by patron assessments. Projects must be implemented by Dec. 31, 2015.

MVID also agrees to measure all flows diverted into the East and West Canals, beginning this irrigation season in accordance with an Ecology administrative order.

Ecology will actively support MVIDs efforts to secure funding to comply with the orders, including letters of support of funding applications and attending meetings, when requested. Ecology also will give priority to processing applications from the district or its patrons to move surface water withdrawals to groundwater wells. Seasonal groundwater withdrawals are expected to have less impact on surface water flows.

“Ecology is excited to return to a collaborative working relationship with the district. Our goal is to work with the MVID to both improve flows in the Twisp River and ensure reliable service is provided to district patrons” said Mark Schuppe, Water Resources section manager for Ecology.

Settlement negotiations have been under way since 2007.

Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf was headed to the Sudan in late March as talks about division of water from the Nile River continue to evolve across eastern Africa.

Egypt traditionally has taken a large share of the Nile River water – most of it has been allowed to run to its drainage in the Mediterranean Sea. But a number of countries to the south of Egypt have been challenging that approach.

Development of a new agreement on relative water rights could grow more challenging with the impending split between northern and southern Sudan.

One news story noted, “Local newspapers said the visit is related to the recent escalation of problems between the Nile Basin countries and the signing of the Entebbe Agreement, a water treaty agreement that could affect Egypt’s lion’s share of the Nile river water. Sharaf was quoted by the state-owned media as saying his visit to Sudan is just a start and that it will be an important focus in the Egyptian Foreign diplomacy in the coming period.”

The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission on March 25 approved by a unanimous vote an evaluation process for projects or proposals to be considered for funding under the Arizona Water Settlements Act, at a Commission meeting on in Albuquerque.

The State stands to receive between $66 million and $128 million in federal money, beginning in 2012 for development projects in the southwestern part of the state for use by New Mexicans. Funding could be used to pay costs for development of up to 14,000 acre-feet per year of new water supplies or to fund water utilization alternatives to meet water supply demands. Funding could also be used for costs associated with planning and environmental compliance activities and/or environmental mitigation and restoration.

“This process is the result of ten years of consultation with stakeholders in southwest New Mexico and has been the subject of an intensive consultation with stakeholders in the past months, including
a number of conference calls open to all individual stakeholders and stakeholder groups in the region,” said ISC Special Projects Bureau Chief Craig Roepke. “Where stakeholder consensus exists, staff has
endeavored to include those recommendations.”

“Staff will continue, even after final selection of proposals, during further studies and assessments, and through completion of all funded projects and activities, to keep all stakeholders in the region fully abreast of all actions and developments,” said Roepke.

“Things are heading in the right direction, and we want to ensure transparency in this process,” said Executive Director of the Gila Conservation Coalition Allyson Siwik. “We want to make sure the role of the stakeholder groups is maintained throughout this process, as they represent a variety of different interests.”

Application and submission of projects or proposals as well as evaluation will be in a two-tiered format.

Tier-1 applications must provide, with as much detail as the applicant is able, the information required in on the project or proposal. Final Tier-1 applications must be submitted by a deadline of June 30, 2011 to be considered. Tier-1 criteria will be scored pass/fail. If a proposal fails any of the four requisite criteria, the proposal will not be eligible for further consideration in Tier-2 evaluation.

The Bureau of Reclamation’s Great Plains Region has selected Richard Long to serve as the Dakotas Area Office Manager in Bismarck, ND. He replaces Dennis Breitzman who is retiring.
“Dick brings a wealth of operations and management experience to the position from his 36 year Reclamation career,” said Mike Ryan, Great Plains Regional Director. “His depth of on the ground experience, his ability to communicate and collaborate, along with his vision, will guide the Dakotas Area Office into the future.”

Long began his federal career with Reclamation as an Agricultural Engineer in McCook, Neb. in 1974. He worked in Reclamation’s Great Plains Regional Office in Billings, Mont., for ten years, administering the Rehabilitation and Betterment Program, along with facility operations and maintenance programs.

From 1987 to 1990 he was Water and Land Division Chief at the Grand Junction Projects Office in western Colorado. In 1990, he joined the Montana Area Office in Billings, as Chief, Water & Land Division, and has held various positions since that time as a supervisor responsible for water and land resource management, facility operation and maintenance and dam safety. Before coming to Reclamation, Long worked for two years as a surveyor for a contractor on the construction the McClusky Canal in North Dakota.

High water conditions are occurring along the North Platte River in
Nebraska and conditions are expected to continue to intensify throughout the spring, according to Brian Dunnigan, Director of the Department of Natural Resources, and Al Berndt, Assistant Director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation indicates there is limited storage space in the Wyoming reservoirs along the North Platte River and its tributaries to capture all of the expected snowmelt runoff from the mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is reporting snowpack in the Upper North
Platte area at 134% of average (with some areas having as much as 182% of average) and in the Lower North Platte area (including Sweetwater and Laramie rivers) at 114% of average.

The total conservation storage capacity of the Wyoming reservoirs is 2,787,800 acrefeet of water. At the end of February, the reservoirs were near their maximum capacity with 2,258,801 acre-feet of water. The estimated snowmelt runoff potential in the North Platte system above the lowest reservoir is approximately 1,475,000 acre-feet. In response, the Bureau of Reclamation began releasing storage water downstream in early March to make room in the Wyoming reservoirs for expected spring runoff.

In Nebraska, Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, the owners and operators of Lake McConaughy, are currently bypassing some inflows and are also storing some water in Lake McConaughy. CNPPID may request a temporary variance from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to allow an increase in the amount of water that can be stored in Lake McConaughy to help alleviate flooding downstream.

In 2010, the Department increased many of its fees for fiscal year 2010-2011 through an exempt rulemaking authorized by the Legislature. The Department is now proposing to make
those fee increases permanent, with certain modifications, through a formal rulemaking proceeding under Title 41, Chapter 6, Arizona Revised Statutes.

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for this rulemaking was published in the Arizona Administrative Register on December 31, 2010, and an oral proceeding was held on January 31. On February 1, 2011, the Department submitted a Notice of Final Rulemaking containing the preamble and text of the rules to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council. Based on comments received after the Notice of Final Rulemaking was submitted to GRRC, the Department revised the Notice of Final Rulemaking by reducing several of the fees
established by the rules and making technical, grammatical and formatting changes to the preamble and text of the rules. The Department submitted the revised Notice of Final
Rulemaking to GRRC on March 22.

GRCC will consider whether to approve the fee rules at its meeting on April 5, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be held in the Pharmacy Boardroom located at 1700 W. Washington Street, Third Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85007. If the rules are approved by GRRC, they will become effective 60 days after they are filed with the Secretary of State.

The revised Notice of Final Rulemaking submitted to GRRC on March 22, 2011 is available online. For further information, contact Ken Slowinski, Chief Counsel, at 602-771-8472 or by email at kcslowinski@azwater.gov.