H-4742.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 3106
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 55th Legislature 1998 Regular Session
By Representative Chandler
Read first time 02/03/98. Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Ecology.
AN ACT Relating to ground water; amending RCW 90.44.050; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. On October 10, 1997, attorney general Christine O. Gregoire issued AGO 1997 No. 6 in response to questions posed by the director of the department of ecology and the secretary of the department of health. The first question addressed in the opinion reaches to the heart of the questions posed. It addresses the applicability of a provision of RCW 90.44.050 exempting certain withdrawals of ground water from the permit requirements of the ground water code, chapter 90.44 RCW. In AGO 1997 No. 6, the attorney general's brief answer to the question posed is as follows: "A group of wells drilled by the same person or group at or about the same time in the same area for the same purpose or project should be considered a single 'withdrawal' and would not be exempt from the permitting requirement contained in RCW 90.44.050 if the total amount withdrawn for domestic use exceeds 5000 gallons per day." At the conclusion of the analysis provided for that brief answer, the attorney general further states: " . . . we conclude that where water is withdrawn by a property owner for a single housing development, within a reasonable short period of time, a single 'withdrawal' occurs for purposes of applying RCW 90.44.050 and determining whether the withdrawal requires a water rights permit, no matter how many individual wells or other withdrawal mechanisms are employed."
The purpose of this act is to affirm the opinion of the attorney general contained in AGO 1997 No. 6 and the analysis that supports it.
Sec. 2. RCW 90.44.050 and 1987 c 109 s 108 are each amended to read as follows:
After June 6, 1945, no withdrawal of public ground waters of the state shall be begun, nor shall any well or other works for such withdrawal be constructed, unless an application to appropriate such waters has been made to the department and a permit has been granted by it as herein provided: EXCEPT, HOWEVER, That any withdrawal of public ground waters for stock-watering purposes, or for the watering of a lawn or of a noncommercial garden not exceeding one-half acre in area, or for single or group domestic uses in an amount not exceeding five thousand gallons a day, or for an industrial purpose in an amount not exceeding five thousand gallons a day, is and shall be exempt from the provisions of this section, but, to the extent that it is regularly used beneficially, shall be entitled to a right equal to that established by a permit issued under the provisions of this chapter: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That the department from time to time may require the person or agency making any such small withdrawal to furnish information as to the means for and the quantity of that withdrawal: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That at the option of the party making withdrawals of ground waters of the state not exceeding five thousand gallons per day, applications under this section or declarations under RCW 90.44.090 may be filed and permits and certificates obtained in the same manner and under the same requirements as is in this chapter provided in the case of withdrawals in excess of five thousand gallons a day.
A group of wells drilled by the same person or group at or about the same time in the same area for the same purpose or project constitutes a single withdrawal for the purposes of this section and is not exempt from the permitting requirement contained in this section if the total amount withdrawn for use exceeds five thousand gallons per day.
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