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Water and Irrigation | |
Amended Bear River Compact | |
Section 2 | Text of compact. |
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73-16-2. Text of compact. The text of the Bear River Compact is as follows: The State of Idaho, the State of Utah and the State of Wyoming, acting through their respective Commissioners after negotiations participated in by a representative of the United States of America appointed by the President, have agreed to an Amended Bear River Compact as follows: A. The major purposes of this Compact are to remove the causes of present and future controversy over the distribution and use of the waters of the Bear River; to provide for efficient use of water for multiple purposes; to permit additional development of the water resources of Bear River; to promote interstate comity; and to accomplish an equitable apportionment of the waters of the Bear River among the compacting States. B. The physical and all other conditions peculiar to the Bear River constitute the basis for this Compact. No general principle or precedent with respect to any other interstate stream is intended to be established. As used in this Compact the term 1. "Bear River" means the Bear River and its tributaries from its source in the Uinta Mountains to its mouth in Great Salt Lake; 2. "Bear Lake" means Bear Lake and Mud Lake; 3. "Upper Division" means the portion of Bear River from its source in the Uinta Mountains to and including Pixley Dam, a diversion dam in the Southeast Quarter of Section 25, Township 23 North, Range 120 West, Sixth Principal Meridian, Wyoming; 4. "Central Division" means the portion of Bear River from Pixley Dam to and including Stewart Dam, a diversion dam in Section 34, Township 13 South, Range 44 East, Boise Base and Meridian, Idaho; 5. "Lower Division" means the portion of the Bear River between Stewart Dam and Great Salt Lake, including Bear Lake and its tributary drainage; 6. "Upper Utah Section Diversions" means the sum of all diversions in second-feet from the Bear River and the tributaries of the Bear River joining the Bear River upstream from the point where the Bear River crosses the Utah-Wyoming State line above Evanston, Wyoming; excluding the diversions by the Hilliard East Fork Canal, Lannon Canal, Lone Mountain Ditch, and Hilliard West Side Canal; 7. "Upper Wyoming Section Diversions" means the sum of all diversions in second-feet from the Bear River main stem from the point where the Bear River crosses the Utah-Wyoming State line above Evanston, Wyoming, to the point where the Bear River crosses the Wyoming-Utah State line east of Woodruff, Utah, and including the diversions by the Hilliard East Fork Canal, Lannon Canal, Lone Mountain Ditch, and Hilliard West Side Canal; 8. "Lower Utah Section Diversions" means the sum of all diversions in second-feet from the Bear River main stem from the point where the Bear River crosses the Wyoming-Utah State line east of Woodruff, Utah, to the point where the Bear River crosses the Utah-Wyoming State line northeast of Randolph, Utah; 9. "Lower Wyoming Section Diversions" means the sum of all diversions in second-feet from the Bear River main stem from the point where the Bear River crosses the Utah-Wyoming
State line northeast of Randolph to and including the diversion at Pixley Dam;
North 330 feet from the Southeast corner of Section 16, Township 2 North, Range 10 East, Salt
Lake Base and Meridian, Utah, and runs in a northerly direction crossing the Utah-Wyoming
State line into the Southwest Quarter of Section 21, Township 12 North, Range 119 West, Sixth
Principal Meridian, Wyoming; A. There is hereby created an interstate administrative agency to be known as the "Bear River Commission" which is hereby constituted a legal entity and in such name shall exercise the powers hereinafter specified. The Commission shall be composed of nine Commissioners, three Commissioners representing each signatory State, and if appointed by the President, one additional Commissioner representing the United States of America who shall serve as chairman, without vote. Each Commissioner, except the chairman, shall have one vote. The State Commissioners shall be selected in accordance with State law. Six Commissioners who shall include two Commissioners from each State shall constitute a quorum. The vote of at least two-thirds of the Commissioners when a quorum is present shall be necessary for the action of
the Commission. Rights to direct flow water shall be administered in each signatory State under state law, with the following limitations: A. When there is a water emergency, as hereinafter defined for each division, water shall be distributed therein as provided below. 1. Upper Division. a. When the divertible flow as defined below for the upper division is less than 1,250 second-feet, a water emergency shall be deemed to exist therein and such divertible flow is allocated for diversion in the river sections of the Division as follows: Upper Utah Section Diversions - 0.6%, Upper Wyoming Section Diversions - 49.3%, Lower Utah Section Diversions - 40.5%, Lower Wyoming Section Diversions - 9.6%. Such divertible flow shall be the total of the following five items: (1) Upper Utah Section Diversions in second-feet, (2) Upper Wyoming Section Diversions in second-feet, (3) Lower Utah Section Diversions in second-feet, (4) Lower Wyoming Section Diversions in second-feet, (5) The flow in second-feet passing Pixley Dam. b. The Hilliard East Fork Canal, Lannon Canal, Lone Mountain Ditch, and Hilliard West Side Canal, which divert water in Utah to irrigate lands in Wyoming, shall be supplied from the
divertible flow allocated to the Upper Wyoming Section Diversions.
user in Utah may file a petition with the Commission alleging that by reason of diversions in
Idaho he is being deprived of water to which he is justly entitled, and that by reason thereof, a
water emergency exists, and requesting distribution of water under the direction of the
Commission. If the Commission finds a water emergency exists, it shall put into effect water
delivery schedules based on priority of rights and prepared by the Commission without regard to
the boundary line for all or any part of the Division, and during such emergency, water shall be
delivered in accordance with such schedules by the State official charged with the administration
of public waters. A. Water rights in the Lower Division acquired under the laws of Idaho and Utah covering water applied to beneficial use prior to January 1, 1976, are hereby recognized and shall be administered in accordance with State law based on priority of rights as provided in Article IV, paragraph A3. Rights to water first applied to beneficial use on or after January 1, 1976, shall be satisfied from the respective allocations made to Idaho and Utah in this paragraph and the water allocated to each State shall be administered in accordance with State law. Subject to the foregoing provisions, the remaining water in the Lower Division, including ground water tributary to the Bear River, is hereby apportioned for use in Idaho and Utah as follows: (1) Idaho shall have the first right to the use of such remaining water resulting in an annual depletion of not more than 125,000 acre-feet. (2) Utah shall have the second right to the use of such remaining water resulting in an annual depletion of not more than 275,000 acre-feet. (3) Idaho and Utah shall each have an additional right to deplete annually on an equal basis, 75,000 acre-feet of the remaining water after the rights provided by subparagraphs (1), and (2) above have been satisfied. (4) Any remaining water in the Lower Division after the allocations provided for in subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3) above have been satisfied shall be divided; 30% to Idaho and 70% to Utah. B. Water allocated under the above subparagraphs shall be charged against the State in which it is used regardless of the location of the point of diversion. C. Water depletions permitted under provisions of subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3), and (4) above, shall be calculated and administered by a Commission-approved procedure. A. Existing storage rights in reservoirs constructed above Stewart Dam prior to February 4, 1955, are as follows: Idaho .................................................................................................................324 acre-feet
Utah .............................................................................................................11,850 acre-feet
Wyoming ......................................................................................................2,150 acre-feet
Additional rights are hereby granted to store in any water year above Stewart Dam, 35,500 acre-feet of Bear River water and no more under this paragraph for use in Utah and Wyoming; and to store in any water year in Idaho or Wyoming on Thomas Fork 1,000 acre-feet of water for use in Idaho. Such additional storage rights shall be subordinate to, and shall not be exercised when the effect thereof will be to impair or interfere with (1) existing direct flow rights for consumptive use in any river division and (2) existing storage rights above Stewart Dam, but shall not be subordinate to any right to store water in Bear Lake or elsewhere below Stewart Dam. One-half of the 35,500 acre-feet of additional storage right above Stewart Dam so granted to Utah and Wyoming is hereby allocated to Utah, and the remaining one-half thereof is allocated to Wyoming. B. In addition to the rights defined in Paragraph A of this Article, further storage entitlements above Stewart Dam are hereby granted. Wyoming and Utah are granted an additional right to store in any year 70,000 acre-feet of Bear River water for use in Utah and Wyoming to be divided equally; and Idaho is granted an additional right to store 4,500 acre-feet of Bear River water in Wyoming or Idaho for use in Idaho. Water rights granted under this paragraph and water appropriated, including ground water tributary to Bear River, which is applied to beneficial use on or after January 1, 1976, shall not result in an annual increase in depletion of the flow of the Bear River and its tributaries above Stewart Dam of more than 28,000 acre-feet in excess of the depletion as of January 1, 1976. Thirteen thousand (13,000) acre-feet of the additional depletion above Stewart Dam is allocated to each of Utah and Wyoming, and two thousand (2,000) acre-feet is allocated to Idaho. The additional storage rights provided for in this Paragraph shall be subordinate to, and shall not be exercised when the effect thereof will be to impair or interfere with (1) existing direct flow rights for consumptive use in any river division and (2) existing storage rights above Stewart Dam, but shall not be subordinate to any right to store water in Bear Lake or elsewhere below Stewart Dam; provided, however, there shall be no diversion of water to storage above Stewart Dam under this Paragraph B when the water surface elevation of Bear Lake is below
5,911.00 feet, Utah Power & Light Company datum (the equivalent of elevation 5,913.75 feet
based on the sea level datum of 1929 through the Pacific Northwest Supplementary Adjustment
of 1947). Water depletions permitted under this Paragraph B shall be calculated and administered
by a Commission-approved procedure. 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,500 36,500 E. Subject to existing rights, each State shall have the use of water, including groundwater, for ordinary domestic, and stock watering purposes, as determined by State law and shall have the right to impound water for such purposes in reservoirs having storage capacities not in excess, in any case, of 20 acre-feet, without deduction from the allocation made by paragraphs A, B, and C of this Article. F. The storage rights in Bear Lake are hereby recognized and confirmed subject only to the restrictions hereinbefore recited. It is the policy of the signatory States to encourage additional projects for the
development of the water resources of the Bear River to obtain the maximum beneficial use of
water with a minimum of waste, and in furtherance of such policy, authority is granted within the
limitations provided by this Compact, to investigate, plan, construct, and operate such projects
without regard to State boundaries, provided that water rights for each such project shall, except
as provided in Article VI, Paragraphs A and B, thereof, be subject to rights theretofore initiated
and in good standing. A. No State shall deny the right of the United States of America, and subject to the conditions hereinafter contained, no State shall deny the right of another signatory State, any person or entity of another signatory State, to acquire rights to the use of water or to construct or to participate in the construction and use of diversion works and storage reservoirs with appurtenant works, canals, and conduits in one State for use of water in another State, either directly or by exchange. Water rights acquired for out-of-state use shall be appropriated in the State where the point of diversion is located in the manner provided by law for appropriation of water for use within such State. B. Any signatory State, any person or any entity of any signatory State, shall have the right to acquire in any other signatory State such property rights as are necessary to the use of water in conformity with this Compact by donation, purchase, or, as hereinafter provided through the exercise of the power of eminent domain in accordance with the law of the State in which such property is located. Any signatory State, upon the written request of the Governor of any other signatory State for the benefit of whose water users property is to be acquired in the State to which such written request is made, shall proceed expeditiously to acquire the desired property either by purchase at a price acceptable to the requesting Governor, or if such purchase cannot be made, then through the exercise of its power of eminent domain and shall convey such property to the requesting State or to the person, or entity designated by its Governor provided, that all costs of acquisition and expenses of every kind and nature whatsoever incurred in obtaining such property shall be paid by the requesting State or the person or entity designated by its Governor. C. Should any facility be constructed in a signatory State by and for the benefit of another signatory State or persons or entities therein, as above provided, the construction, repair, replacement, maintenance and operation of such facility shall be subject to the laws of the State in which the facility is located. D. In the event lands or other taxable facilities are acquired by a signatory State in another signatory State for the use and benefit of the former, the users of the water made available by such facilities, as a condition precedent to the use thereof, shall pay to the political subdivisions of the State in which such facilities are located, each and every year during which such rights are enjoyed for such purposes, a sum of money equivalent to the average of the amount of taxes annually levied and assessed against the land and improvements thereon during the ten years preceding the acquisition of such land. Said payments shall be in full reimbursement for the loss of taxes in such political subdivision of the State. E. Rights to the use of water acquired under this Article shall in all respects be subject to this Compact. Stored water, or water from another watershed may be turned into the channel of the Bear River in one State and a like quantity, with allowance for loss by evaporation, transpiration, and seepage, may be taken out of the Bear River in another State either above or below the point
where the water is turned into the channel, but in making such exchange the replacement water
shall not be inferior in quality for the purpose used or diminished in quantity. Exchanges shall
not be permitted if the effect thereof is to impair vested rights or to cause damage for which no
compensation is paid. Water from another watershed or source which enters the Bear River by
actions within a State may be claimed exclusively by that State and use thereof by that State shall
not be subject to the depletion limitations of Articles IV, V and VI. Proof of any claimed increase
in flow shall be the burden of the State making such claim, and it shall be approved only by the
unanimous vote of the Commission. A. The following rights to the use of Bear River water carried in interstate canals are recognized and confirmed. Lands irrigated Name of Canal Date of priority Primary right second-feet Acres State ______________________________________________________________________________
Hilliard East Fork 1914 28.00 2,644 Wyoming Chapman 8-13-86 16.46 1,155 Wyoming 8-13-86 98.46 6,892 Utah 4-12-12 .57 40 Wyoming 5-3-12 4.07 285 Utah 5-21-12 10.17 712 Utah 2-6-13 .79 55 Wyoming 8-28-05 134.001 Francis Lee 1879 2.20 154 Wyoming 1879 7.41 519 Utah 1Under the right as herein confirmed not to exceed 134 second-feet may be carried across the Wyoming-Utah State line in the Chapman Canal at any time for filling the Neponset Reservoir, for irrigation of land in Utah and for other purposes. The storage right in Neponset Reservoir is for 6,900 acre-feet, which is a component part of the irrigation right for the Utah lands listed above. All other rights to the use of water carried in interstate canals and ditches, as adjudicated in the State in which the point of diversion is located, are recognized and confirmed. B. All interstate rights shall be administered by the State in which the point of diversion is located and during times of water emergency, such rights shall be filled from the allocations specified in Article IV hereof for the Section in which the point of diversion is located, with the exception that the diversion of water into the Hilliard East Fork Canal, Lannon Canal, Lone Mountain Ditch, and Hilliard West Side Canal shall be under the administration of Wyoming. During times of water emergency these canals and the Lone Mountain Ditch shall be supplied from the allocation specified in Article IV for the Upper Wyoming Section Diversions. Applications for appropriation, for change of point of diversion, place and nature of use, and for exchange of Bear River water shall be considered and acted upon in accordance with the law of the state in which the point of diversion is located, but no such application shall be approved if the effect thereof will be to deprive any water user in another state of water to which he is entitled, nor shall any such application be approved if the effect thereof will be an increase in the depletion of the flow of the Bear River and its tributaries beyond the limits authorized in
each State in Articles IV, V and VI of this Compact. The official of each State in charge of water
administration shall, at intervals and in the format established by the Commission, report on the
status of use of the respective allocations. Nothing in this Compact shall be construed to prevent the United States, a signatory State or political subdivision thereof, person, corporation, or association, from instituting or maintaining any action or proceeding, legal or equitable, for the protection of any right under State or Federal law or under this Compact. Nothing contained in this Compact shall be deemed 1. To affect the obligations of the United States of America to the Indian tribes; 2. To impair, extend or otherwise affect any right or power of the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities involved herein; nor the capacity of the United States to hold or acquire additional rights to the use of the water of the Bear River; 3. To subject any property or rights of the United States to the laws of the States which were not subject thereto prior to the date of this Compact; 4. To subject any property of the United States to taxation by the States or any subdivision thereof, nor to obligate the United States to pay any State or subdivision thereof for loss of taxes. At intervals not exceeding twenty years, the Commission shall review the provisions hereof, and after notice and public hearing, may propose amendments to any such provision, provided, however, that the provisions contained herein shall remain in full force and effect until such proposed amendments have been ratified by the legislatures of the signatory States and consented to by Congress. This Compact may be terminated at any time by the unanimous agreement of the signatory States. In the event of such termination all rights established under it shall continue unimpaired. Should a court of competent jurisdiction hold any part of this Compact to be contrary to the constitution of any signatory State or to the Constitution of the United States, all other severable provisions of this Compact shall continue in full force and effect. This Compact shall be in effect when it shall have been ratified by the Legislature of each signatory State and consented to by the Congress of the United States of America. Notice of ratification by the legislatures of the signatory States shall be given by the Governor of each signatory State to the Governor of each of the other signatory States and to the President of the United States of America, and the President is hereby requested to give notice to the Governor of each of the signatory States of approval by the Congress of the United States of America. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The Commissioners and their advisers have executed this Compact in five originals, one of which shall be deposited with the General Services Administration of the United States of America, one of which shall be forwarded to the Governor of each of the signatory States, and one of which shall be made a part of the permanent records of the Bear River Commission. Done at Salt Lake City, Utah, this 22nd day of December, 1978. For the State of Idaho: (s) Clifford J. Skinner (s) Don W. Gilbert (s) J. Daniel Roberts For the State of Utah: (s) S. Paul Holmgren (s) Daniel F. Lawrence (s) Simeon Weston For the State of Wyoming: (s) George L. Christopulos (s) John A. Teichert (s) J. W. Myers Approved: Attest: Wallace N. Jibson Daniel F. Lawrence Representative of the Secretary of the Bear River United States of America Commission
Amended by Chapter 254, 1979 General Session |
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