H-4346.1          _______________________________________________

                            SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2199

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              54th Legislature             1996 Regular Session

By House Committee on Agriculture & Ecology (originally sponsored by Representatives Chandler, Mastin, Schoesler, Sheldon, Hymes, Honeyford, Delvin, Robertson, Campbell, Johnson, Boldt, Linville, Goldsmith and McMahan)

Read first time 01/15/96.  Referred to Committee on .

Granting water rights to certain persons who were water users before January 1, 1993.

     AN ACT Relating to granting water rights; and adding a new section to chapter 90.03 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 90.03 RCW to read as follows:

     If a person placed surface or ground water to beneficial use for irrigation or stock watering purposes before January 1, 1993, for which a permit or certificate was not issued by the department or its predecessors, the person or the person's successor holds a water right in the amount beneficially used and with a priority date that is the date a statement of claim is filed for the right under this section if:

     (1) The person or the person's successor files with the department of ecology a statement of claim for the right during the period beginning September 1, 1996, and ending midnight June 30, 1997, using the standard form prescribed by RCW 90.14.051; and

     (2) The person or the person's successor files with the statement of claim evidence that the water described in the claim was used beneficially before January 1, 1993, in the form of any two of the following:

     (a) A statement signed by two persons other than the person filing the statement of claim verifying that the water was beneficially used by the claimant before January 1, 1993, as described in the statement of claim;

     (b) A copy of a dated photograph clearly demonstrating the presence of a high value crop requiring irrigation in the amounts asserted in the statement of claim or of livestock requiring water in such amounts; or records of receipts of the sale of crops by the person or the person's successor indicating that irrigation in the amount claimed was required to produce the crops;

     (c) Receipts or records of irrigation or stockwatering equipment purchases or repairs associated with the water use specified in the statement of claim;

     (d) Water well construction records identifying the date the well specified in the statement of claim as the point of withdrawal was constructed;

     (e) Records of electricity bills directly associated with the withdrawal of water as specified in the statement of claim;

     (f) Personal records such as photographs, journals, or correspondence indicating the use of water as asserted in the statement of claim.

     A right granted under this section shall not affect or impair in any respect whatsoever a water right existing prior to September 1, 1996.

     This section does not apply to ground water withdrawn in an area that is, during the period established by subsection (2) of this section, the subject of a general adjudication proceeding for water rights in superior court under RCW 90.03.110 through 90.03.245 and the proceeding applies to ground water rights.  This section does not apply to surface water withdrawn in an area that is, during the period established by subsection (2) of this section, the subject of a general adjudication proceeding for water rights in superior court under RCW 90.03.110 through 90.03.245 and the proceeding applies to surface water rights.

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