H-1712.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 2184

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State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representatives Linville, Veloria, Lantz and Grant

Read first time 02/17/1999.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Ecology.

Changing provisions relating to water resource administration.

    AN ACT Relating to water resource administration; amending RCW 90.03.060; and adding a new section to chapter 90.03 RCW.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 90.03.060 and 1987 c 109 s 69 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section:

(a) Water masters shall be appointed by the department whenever it shall find the interests of the state or of the water users to require them((.)); and

(b) The districts for or in which the water masters serve shall be designated water master districts, which shall be fixed from time to time by the department, as required, and they shall be subject to revision as to boundaries or to complete abandonment as local conditions may indicate to be expedient, the spirit of this provision being that no district shall be created or continued where the need for the same does not exist.

(2) The department shall appoint a water master for each watershed management area for which a plan has been adopted by a planning unit and by the counties with territory in the watershed management area under RCW 90.82.130.

(3) Water masters shall be supervised by the department, shall be compensated for services from funds of the department, and shall be technically qualified to the extent of understanding the elementary principals of hydraulics and irrigation, and of being able to make water measurements in streams and in open and closed conduits of all characters, by the usual methods employed for that purpose.  Counties and municipal and public corporations of the state are authorized to contribute moneys to the department to be used as compensation to water masters in carrying out their duties.  All such moneys received by the department shall be used exclusively for said purpose.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 90.03 RCW to read as follows:

    If a watershed planning process has been initiated under chapter 90.82 RCW for a water resource inventory area or WRIA as defined in RCW 90.82.020 and a person has filed an application for a water right permit for a beneficial use of water within or from the WRIA that has been documented as having been used by the applicant before January 1, 1993, the person may continue to use the water beneficially until one of the following occurs:

    (1) Following the adoption by the counties with territory in the WRIA of a water resource plan for the WRIA under RCW 90.82.130, the department makes its final decision granting or denying the water right application filed by the person; or

    (2) If the department has not made a final decision on the water right application, a court of competent jurisdiction issues a decree pursuant to a general adjudication under RCW 90.03.200 that defines or denies the person's right to appropriate water as provided in the application.

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