S-1960

AN ACT Relating to conducting the proof examination for issuance of a water right certificate; and amending RCW 90.03.330.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 90.03.330 and 1987 c 109 s 89 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) After a permit holder has completed the project as provided in the permit and has put water to beneficial use, the permit holder must submit to the department a statement to that effect. The statement must be made on a form provided by the department and signed before a notary public.

(2) The department must review the following information before it issues a water right certificate under this section:

(a) A description and the location of any constructed works and other equipment or methods used for acquiring, storing, conveying, and making beneficial use of water, including the sizes and capacities of the facilities;

(b) An accurate and legible site map suitable for permanent recordkeeping that illustrates the location of facilities and the lands upon which water has been beneficially used;

(d) The source or sources from which water is withdrawn or diverted;

(e) The beneficial uses of water that are served by the works;

(f) The date water was first beneficially used under the permit;

(g) The maximum instantaneous and annual quantity of water that has been put to beneficial use based on measurements of flow through the system during operation;

(h) A legal description of the lands on which water has been beneficially used;

(i) For irrigation, the acreage that has been irrigated, the crops grown, and the type of irrigation system employed;

(j) For domestic or municipal water supply, the number and type of housing units, businesses, or other end uses that have received and beneficially used water from the system;

(k) For hydroelectric power, the head, the maximum flow used during generation, the capacity of turbines, and the maximum electrical output;

(l) Evidence that the conditions of the permit have been complied with including, but not limited to, the proper installation and operation of any required measuring devices, fish screens, well inspection ports, well identification tags, and well surface seals; and

(m) Any other information the department determines is necessary to confirm that the permit holder has completed the project and has put water to beneficial use.

(3) Upon a showing satisfactory to the department that any appropriation or change of water right has been perfected in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, it shall be the duty of the department to issue to the applicant a certificate stating such facts in a form to be prescribed by ((~~him~~)) the department, and such certificate shall thereupon be recorded with the department. Any original water right certificate issued, as provided by this chapter, shall be recorded with the department and thereafter, at the expense of the party receiving the same, be transmitted by the department ((~~transmitted~~)) to the county auditor of the county or counties where the distributing system or any part thereof is located, and be recorded in the office of such county auditor, and thereafter be transmitted to the owner thereof.

(4) The permit holder may choose at his or her expense to use a water rights examiner certified by the department to conduct the proof examination in subsection (2) of this section. If the person elects to use a certified water rights examiner, the examiner must prepare a report of the proof examination and submit it to the department. The first page of the report and the first page of any attachments to the report, including any map or maps, must have the written certification and signature of the water rights examiner and the permit holder attesting to the truth and accuracy of the contents. The form of the written certification must be specified by the department.

(5) The department shall make its decision whether to issue a certificate within one hundred twenty days of receiving the report of a certified water rights examiner provided to the department under this section.