S-0465.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5785

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By Senators Swecker, Newhouse, Morton, Haugen and Rasmussen

Read first time 02/12/97.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Environment.

Providing for consolidation of ground water rights of exempt wells.

    AN ACT Relating to consolidating ground water rights of exempt wells; and amending RCW 90.44.100.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 90.44.100 and 1987 c 109 s 113 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) After an application to, and upon the issuance by the department of an amendment to the appropriate permit or certificate of ground water right, the holder of a valid right to withdraw public ground waters may, without losing ((his)) the holder's priority of right, construct wells or other means of withdrawal at a new location in substitution for or in addition to those at the original location((,)) or ((he may)) change the manner or the place of use of the water((:  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That such)), if the amendment is made in compliance with subsection (2) of this section.  In addition, the holder may consolidate with the ground water right another ground water right exempt from the permit requirement under RCW 90.44.050 in accordance with subsection (3) of this section.

(2) An amendment to construct wells at a new location or to change the manner or place of use of the water shall be issued only after publication of notice of the application and findings as prescribed in the case of an original application.  Such amendment shall be issued by the department only on the conditions that:  (((1))) (a) The additional or substitute well or wells shall tap the same body of public ground water as the original well or wells; (((2))) (b) use of the original well or wells shall be discontinued upon construction of the substitute well or wells; (((3))) (c) the construction of an additional well or wells shall not enlarge the right conveyed by the original permit or certificate; and (((4))) (d) other existing rights shall not be impaired.  The department may specify an approved manner of construction and shall require a showing of compliance with the terms of the amendment, as provided in RCW 90.44.080 in the case of an original permit.

(3) An amendment for the consolidation of a ground water right exempt from the permit requirement under RCW 90.44.050 shall be issued only after publication of notice of the application and a determination made by the department that:  (a) The exempt well taps the same body of public ground water as the well to which the water right of the exempt well is to be consolidated; (b) use of the exempt well shall be discontinued upon approval of the consolidation of the permit or certificate; (c) legally enforceable agreements have been entered to prohibit the construction of another exempt well to serve the area previously served by the exempt well to be discontinued, and such agreements are binding upon subsequent owners of the land through appropriate binding limitations on the title to the land; and (d) other existing rights, including ground and surface water rights and minimum stream flows adopted by rule, shall not be impaired.  The amount of the water to be added to the holder's permit or certificate upon discontinuance of the exempt well shall be the average withdrawal from the well for the most recent five-year period preceding the date of the application, except that the amount shall not be less than eight hundred gallons per day for each residential connection and shall not exceed five thousand gallons per day.  The department shall accord a presumption in favor of the applicant's proposed amount if the applicant's information establishes activities for the five-year period in the area served by the well to be consistent with average water usage for such activities in the general area.  The department shall develop a schedule of average household and small-area landscaping water usages in consultation with the department of health to aid in applying the presumption.  The presumption may be rebutted by credible evidence of nonusage of the well during the required period or a substantially different use or intensity of use of the land.  The department shall also accord a presumption in favor of approval of such consolidation if the requirements of this subsection are met and the discontinuance of the exempt well is consistent with an adopted coordinated water system plan under chapter 70.116 RCW, an adopted comprehensive land use plan under chapter 36.70A RCW, or other comprehensive watershed management plan applicable to the area containing an objective of decreasing the number of existing and newly developed small ground water withdrawal wells.  The department shall provide a priority to reviewing and deciding upon applications subject to this subsection, and shall make its decision within sixty days of the end of the comment period following publication of the notice by the applicant.

(4) This section shall not apply to the consolidation of ground water withdrawal rights under this section.

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