BILL REQ. #:  H-4926.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to exempting limited water storage facilities from permit requirements; amending RCW 90.03.250 and 90.03.370; adding a new section to chapter 90.03 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 90.03.250 and 1987 c 109 s 83 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any person, municipal corporation, firm, irrigation district, association, corporation, or water users' association hereafter desiring to appropriate water for a beneficial use shall make an application to the department for a permit to make such appropriation, and shall not use or divert such waters until he or she has received a permit from the department as in this chapter provided. The construction of any ditch, canal or works, or performing any work in connection with said construction or appropriation, or the use of any waters, shall not be an appropriation of such water nor an act for the purpose of appropriating water unless a permit to make said appropriation has first been granted by the department((: PROVIDED, That)).
     (2) A temporary permit may be granted upon a proper showing made to the department to be valid only during the pendency of such application for a permit unless sooner revoked by the department((: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That)).
     (3) Nothing in this chapter ((contained)) shall be deemed to affect RCW 90.40.010 through 90.40.080 except that the notice and certificate ((therein)) provided for in RCW 90.40.030 shall be addressed to the department, and the department shall exercise the powers and perform the duties prescribed by RCW 90.40.030.
     (4) This section does not apply to rain barrels, cisterns, and other similar facilities for capturing runoff from roofs, paved areas, and other hard surfaces on a single residential, commercial, or industrial property or public facility when used in accordance with section 3 of this act.

Sec. 2   RCW 90.03.370 and 2003 c 329 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) All applications for reservoir permits are subject to the provisions of RCW 90.03.250 through 90.03.320. But the party or parties proposing to apply to a beneficial use the water stored in any such reservoir shall also file an application for a permit, to be known as the secondary permit, which shall be in compliance with the provisions of RCW 90.03.250 through 90.03.320. Such secondary application shall refer to such reservoir as its source of water supply and shall show documentary evidence that an agreement has been entered into with the owners of the reservoir for a permanent and sufficient interest in said reservoir to impound enough water for the purposes set forth in said application. When the beneficial use has been completed and perfected under the secondary permit, the department shall take the proof of the water users under such permit and the final certificate of appropriation shall refer to both the ditch and works described in the secondary permit and the reservoir described in the primary permit. The department may accept for processing a single application form covering both a proposed reservoir and a proposed secondary permit or permits for use of water from that reservoir.
     (b) The department shall expedite processing applications for the following types of storage proposals:
     (i) Development of storage facilities that will not require a new water right for diversion or withdrawal of the water to be stored;
     (ii) Adding or changing one or more purposes of use of stored water;
     (iii) Adding to the storage capacity of an existing storage facility; and
     (iv) Applications for secondary permits to secure use from existing storage facilities.
     (c) A secondary permit for the beneficial use of water shall not be required for use of water stored in a reservoir where the water right for the source of the stored water authorizes the beneficial use.
     (2)(a) For the purposes of this section, "reservoir" includes, in addition to any surface reservoir, any naturally occurring underground geological formation where water is collected and stored for subsequent use as part of an underground artificial storage and recovery project. To qualify for issuance of a reservoir permit an underground geological formation must meet standards for review and mitigation of adverse impacts identified, for the following issues:
     (i) Aquifer vulnerability and hydraulic continuity;
     (ii) Potential impairment of existing water rights;
     (iii) Geotechnical impacts and aquifer boundaries and characteristics;
     (iv) Chemical compatibility of surface waters and ground water;
     (v) Recharge and recovery treatment requirements;
     (vi) System operation;
     (vii) Water rights and ownership of water stored for recovery; and
     (viii) Environmental impacts.
     (b) Standards for review and standards for mitigation of adverse impacts for an underground artificial storage and recovery project shall be established by the department by rule. Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 90.03.250 through 90.03.320, analysis of each underground artificial storage and recovery project and each underground geological formation for which an applicant seeks the status of a reservoir shall be through applicant-initiated studies reviewed by the department.
     (3) For the purposes of this section, "underground artificial storage and recovery project" means any project in which it is intended to artificially store water in the ground through injection, surface spreading and infiltration, or other department-approved method, and to make subsequent use of the stored water. However, (a) this subsection does not apply to irrigation return flow, or to operational and seepage losses that occur during the irrigation of land, or to water that is artificially stored due to the construction, operation, or maintenance of an irrigation district project, or to projects involving water reclaimed in accordance with chapter 90.46 RCW; and (b) RCW 90.44.130 applies to those instances of claimed artificial recharge occurring due to the construction, operation, or maintenance of an irrigation district project or operational and seepage losses that occur during the irrigation of land, as well as other forms of claimed artificial recharge already existing at the time a ground water subarea is established.
     (4) Nothing in chapter 98, Laws of 2000 changes the requirements of existing law governing issuance of permits to appropriate or withdraw the waters of the state.
     (5) The department shall report to the legislature by December 31, 2001, on the standards for review and standards for mitigation developed under subsection (3) of this section and on the status of any applications that have been filed with the department for underground artificial storage and recovery projects by that date.
     (6) Where needed to ensure that existing storage capacity is effectively and efficiently used to meet multiple purposes, the department may authorize reservoirs to be filled more than once per year or more than once per season of use.
     (7) This section does not apply to facilities to recapture and reuse return flow from irrigation operations serving a single farm under an existing water right as long as the acreage irrigated is not increased beyond the acreage allowed to be irrigated under the water right.
     (8) In addition to the facilities exempted under subsection (7) of this section, this section does not apply to small irrigation impoundments. For purposes of this section, "small irrigation impoundments" means lined surface storage ponds less than ten acre feet in volume used to impound irrigation water under an existing water right where use of the impoundment: (a)(i) Facilitates efficient use of water; or (ii) promotes compliance with an approved recovery plan for endangered or threatened species; and (b) does not expand the number of acres irrigated or the annual consumptive quantity of water used. Such ponds must be lined unless a licensed engineer determines that a liner is not needed to retain water in the pond and to prevent ground water contamination. Although it may also be composed of other materials, a properly maintained liner may be composed of bentonite. Water remaining in a small irrigation impoundment at the end of an irrigation season may be carried over for use in the next season. However, the limitations of this subsection (8) apply. Development and use of a small irrigation impoundment does not constitute a change or amendment for purposes of RCW 90.03.380 or 90.44.055.
     (9) Rain barrels, cisterns, and other similar facilities for capturing runoff from roofs, paved areas, and other hard surfaces on a single residential, commercial, or industrial property or public facility are exempt from the reservoir and secondary permit requirements of this chapter when used in accordance with section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 90.03 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) In order to qualify for the exemptions created in RCW 90.03.250 and 90.03.370, the owner of a rain barrel, cistern, or other similar water storage facility that has a storage capacity of less than one thousand gallons must intend to put the stored water to beneficial use on the property where the rainwater was collected.
     (2) In order to qualify for the exemptions created in RCW 90.03.250 and 90.03.370, the owner of a rain barrel, cistern, or other similar water storage facility that has a storage capacity of greater than one thousand gallons must intend to put the stored water to beneficial use on the property where the rainwater was collected and manage the water stored in the facility in compliance with rules developed by the department under this section.
     (3)(a) The department shall work with the representatives of a broad group of interested parties, individuals with technical expertise, and proponents of rainwater capture and use systems to adopt rules, consistent with chapter 34.05 RCW, that allow for pilot areas to use rainwater collection and use systems with a capacity greater than one thousand gallons, including one pilot area where the use of rainwater collection and use systems is a proposed means of contributing to storm water runoff control and one pilot area located on an island where ground water and surface water availability is limited due to saltwater intrusion. The intent of the pilot areas is to gauge the feasibility of adopting area-specific permits by rule and the impact of rainwater storage and use facilities on the natural hydrologic system.
     (b) The department must take into consideration annual rainfall and population density when selecting pilot areas. The department shall also, when selecting the pilot rule areas, give preference to those areas that can most benefit because of local hydrologic conditions and to areas in which local watershed plans or similar efforts have identified the use of rainwater collection systems as a source of beneficial water supply.
     (c) Upon completion of the pilot projects authorized by this section, the department shall adopt permanent rules that govern the use of rainwater storage and use facilities eligible for exemptions under RCW 90.03.250 and 90.03.370.
     (d) The pilot rules and any subsequent permanent rules adopted under this section must establish procedures for making applications for inclusion under the exemption, must specify the criteria under which an application may qualify for the exemption, and must contain a mechanism for the department to regulate the storage of water by rainwater collection systems if necessary to prevent the impairment of water rights senior to the rainwater project. The rules may also specify conditions regarding the storage capacity of individual rain collection systems, the times of the year when it is permissible to store rainwater, and locations within the area in which rainwater systems are and are not appropriate due to local hydrologic conditions and potential interference with existing water rights.
     (4) Rainwater collected under this exemption does not result in a water right under this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The department of ecology shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature no later than December 31, 2007, regarding the implementation of section 3 of this act. After June 1, 2008, the department of ecology shall proceed with permanent rule making to establish exemptions by rule for rainwater systems consistent with section 3 of this act unless the legislature acts to direct otherwise.