BILL REQ. #:  S-4598.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/06/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to classifications for irrigation district conveyance and drainage facilities; and adding a new section to chapter 90.48 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW to read as follows:
     The department, as resources allow, shall at the request of the United States bureau of reclamation or federal reclamation project irrigation districts cooperatively conduct a use attainability analysis of water bodies located within the boundaries of the federal reclamation project. The department, consistent with applicable federal water quality laws and regulations, shall adopt rules designating uses for water bodies within the federal reclamation project that support beneficial uses consistent with the primary authorized project purposes of constructed storage and conveyance facilities and other water transport systems and that recognize the unique site-specific characteristics of the arid and semiarid regions of the state of Washington where federal reclamation projects are located. The rules shall also recognize the need to deliver project irrigation water and to construct, operate, and maintain project facilities.