1     
WATER RIGHTS INVENTORY REQUIREMENTS

2     
2023 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Phil Lyman

5     
Senate Sponsor: ____________

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill addresses an entity submitting an inventory of water rights related information.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     defines terms;
13          ▸     requires the submission of a comprehensive inventory;
14          ▸     makes the comprehensive inventory a public record;
15          ▸     provides that the comprehensive inventory is not an official verification or approval
16     of the information in the comprehensive inventory;
17          ▸     authorizes rulemaking regarding the comprehensive inventory; and
18          ▸     directs the Division of Water Rights to publish a comprehensive inventory on a
19     public website.
20     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
21          None
22     Other Special Clauses:
23          None
24     Utah Code Sections Affected:
25     ENACTS:
26          73-5-8.5, Utah Code Annotated 1953
27     


28     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
29          Section 1. Section 73-5-8.5 is enacted to read:
30          73-5-8.5. Water rights inventory.
31          (1) As used in this section:
32          (a) "Comprehensive inventory" means the information required to be submitted under
33     Subsection (2).
34          (b) "Division" means the Division of Water Rights.
35          (2) A public water provider required to file an annual water use report with the
36     Division of Water Rights under Section 73-5-8 shall include with the annual water use data
37     report a comprehensive inventory that includes, at a minimum, a list of:
38          (a) water rights that the public water provider claims to own and the amount in
39     acre-feet of water that the water rights represent, including:
40          (i) a certificated water right;
41          (ii) an approved water right; or
42          (iii) a water right to supply water for municipal, industrial, commercial, livestock,
43     irrigation, or other uses;
44          (b) water contracts that the person claims to have executed that are in effect at the time
45     of filing and the amount in acre-feet of water that the water contracts represent;
46          (c) water shares that the person claims to own and the amount in acre-feet of water that
47     the shares represent;
48          (d) water rights described in Subsection (2)(a) for which a nonuse application has been
49     filed under Section 73-1-4 and the amount in acre-feet of water that the water rights represent;
50          (e) a list of the unapproved applications to appropriate water filed by the person and
51     the amount in acre-feet of water that the unapproved applications represent; and
52          (f) a break down of inventory by surface water and underground water.
53          (3) The person filing the information required under Subsection (2) shall report the
54     information in the maximum amount of acre-feet for each item listed in Subsection (2).
55          (4) The comprehensive inventory provided to the division under this section is a public
56     record.
57          (5) Submission of the comprehensive inventory in acre-feet with the division does not
58     constitute official verification or approval of a claim made in the comprehensive inventory.

59          (6) The state engineer may by rule, made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3,
60     Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, require additional information related to the
61     comprehensive inventory including reporting:
62          (a) amounts in acre-feet;
63          (b) depletion or usage;
64          (c) comparisons of the comprehensive inventory over time;
65          (d) waste;
66          (e) unaccounted water or leakage by meter; or
67          (f) evaporation.
68          (7) The division shall publish the comprehensive inventory on a public website.