1st Sub.
H.B.
422
PREREQUISITES FOR UTAH ENTERING AN AGREEMENT TO DIVIDE
GROUNDWATER WITH ANOTHER STATE
house committee
Amendments
Amendment 1 February 20, 2007 9:07 am
Representative Melvin Brown
proposes the following amendments:
1. Page
4, Line 110
:
110
(b) review the inventory and assessment
.
{
required by Section
73-29-201
;
}
2. Page
4, Line 114 through Page 6, Line 157
:
{
114
Section 4.
Section
73-29-201
is enacted to read:
115
Part 2. Agreement Requirements
116
73-29-201. Inventory and assessment required.
117
(1) Before the executive director may sign the agreement, as authorized by Section
118
73-29-202
, the department shall complete the inventory and assessment required by this
119
section.
120
(2) The state engineer, in cooperation with other divisions within the department, shall:
121
(a) inventory the vested water rights in the area affected by the interstate groundwater
122
flow system; and
123
(b) obtain current information on surface water and groundwater resources, including:
124
(i) springs;
125
(ii) seeps;
126
(iii) water flows;
127
(iv) water tables; and
128
(v) vegetation.
129
(3) The state engineer, as authorized by Sections
73-2-15
and
73-2-17
, may enter into
130
agreements to investigate the surface water and groundwater resources as required by this
131
section.
132
(4) (a) The Utah Geological Survey shall use the information collected under
133
Subsection (2) along with data from any test wells to predict and assess the impacts the project
134
will have on:
135
(i) Utah water rights;
136
(ii) the agricultural industry and other business development in the area;
137
(iii) air quality;
138
(iv) water quality; and
139
(v) Utah's ecosystem, including:
140
(A) plant life;
141
(B) wildlife; and
142
(C) sensitive or endangered species.
143
(b) The Department of Environmental Quality shall cooperate with the department in
144
making the assessment required by this section.
145
Section 5.
Section
73-29-202
is enacted to read:
146
73-29-202. Executive director to sign agreement -- Legislature to ratify.
147
The executive director may not execute the agreement until:
148
(1) the inventory and assessment required by Section
73-29-201
is complete;
149
(2) the water resources study required by the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation,
150
and Development Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-424, is complete; and
151
(3) the agreement has been approved by the governor and the Legislature in a
152
concurrent resolution.
153
Section 6. Intent language.
154
It is the intent of the Legislature that if this bill and H.B. 134, School and Institutional
155
Trust Lands Amendments, both pass that the money appropriated to the Geological Survey in
156
Subsection
53C-3-203
(4) for test wells and hydrologic studies in the West Desert be used by
157
the Geological Survey to satisfy its responsibilities under Section
73-29-201
.
}
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