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8 LONG TITLE
9 Committee Note:
10 The Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee
11 recommended this bill.
12 The Legislative Water Development Commission recommended this bill.
13 Membership: 13 legislators 10 non-legislators
14 Legislative Vote: 8 voting for 0 voting against 5 absent
15 General Description:
16 This resolution requests recommendations on the development and creation of water
17 banks to further the 2017 State Recommended Water Strategy.
18 Highlighted Provisions:
19 This resolution:
20 ▸ encourages the study of possible options to create and develop water banks to
21 further the 2017 State Recommended Water Strategy and the preparation of
22 recommendations for the Legislature to consider for the 2020 General Session.
23 Special Clauses:
24 None
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26 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
27 WHEREAS, in July 2017, the Governor's Water Strategy Advisory Team finalized a
28 Recommended State Water Strategy, which identified strategies to help meet the water
29 demands of the more than five million people who are projected to live in Utah by 2060;
30 WHEREAS, the Recommended State Water Strategy identified ways to stretch Utah's
31 limited water supplies and provide clean and affordable water to sustain thriving communities
32 and businesses, robust agriculture, ample recreation, and a healthy and resilient natural
33 environment;
34 WHEREAS, the Recommended State Water Strategy found that there is a need to
35 facilitate temporary water right transfers through leases, contracts, or other voluntary
36 arrangements to supply competing water uses during a given year and to meet authorized uses
37 and short-term needs;
38 WHEREAS, the Recommended State Water Strategy found that water banks could
39 facilitate voluntary temporary transfers and provide increased transparency regarding the nature
40 and costs of such transactions;
41 WHEREAS, a water bank facilitates the temporary transfer of water by allowing water
42 users to "deposit" unused water into the bank in years when they do not need it so that other
43 users in the region can lease the water for lawful purposes;
44 WHEREAS, the Recommended State Water Strategy recommended the establishment
45 of "water banking procedures through legislative action that could allow flexibility in the
46 availability of water for various uses in a particular drainage system depending on needs and
47 availability";
48 WHEREAS, during the 2017 General Session, the Legislature passed S.B. 214 "Public
49 Water Supplier Amendments," which encouraged the Legislative Water Development
50 Commission and the Executive Water Task Force to study possible options for expanding the
51 groups who may file an application for instream flows;
52 WHEREAS, in response to S.B. 214, an informal committee of interested stakeholders
53 was formed, consisting of agricultural representatives, public water suppliers, environmental
54 organizations, and other stakeholders to study instream flows;
55 WHEREAS, the informal committee identified water banking as a topic ripe for
56 discussion;
57 WHEREAS, water banking would address S.B. 214's goals of facilitating instream
58 flows while also supporting many of the Recommended State Water Strategy's other
59 recommendations, including providing water for environmental needs and minimizing the need
60 to convert agricultural water rights to supply growing municipal and industrial needs; and
61 WHEREAS, interested stakeholders continue to develop consensus-based
62 recommendations to implement the Recommended State Water Strategy's water banking
63 findings and recommendations and further the goals of S.B. 214:
64 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature encourages the:
65 (1) continued study of ways to implement the recommendations in the 2017
66 Recommended State Water Strategy regarding water banking; and
67 (2) support of the goals of S.B. 214.
68 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature encourages the presentation of
69 findings, conclusions, and recommendations, including any suggested legislation, to the
70 Legislature before the 2020 General Session.
71 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that recommendations and legislation presented to the
72 Legislature:
73 (1) recognize that the majority of water rights in Utah are agricultural in nature;
74 (2) incentivize agricultural water users to participate in water banking;
75 (3) protect against abandonment and forfeiture for water rights placed within a water
76 bank;
77 (4) minimize the potential for water right impairment; and
78 (5) ensure that water placed within a water bank may be leased or otherwise used for
79 any lawful purpose.