Wyoming State Water Plan
Wyoming State Water Plan
Wyoming Water Development Office
6920 Yellowtail Rd
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: 307-777-7626
Wyoming Water Development Office
6920 Yellowtail Rd
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: 307-777-7626
SUBJECT: |
Appendix B Ammended Bear River Compact (Source: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/statutes/titles/title41/c12a01.htm) [new link 10/2009 http://www.le.state.ut.us/~code/TITLE73/73_16.htm] |
PREPARED BY: | Forsgren & Associates |
ARTICLE 1
41-12-101. Generally.
Ratification and approval is hereby given to the Bear River Compact as signed at Salt Lake City, in the state of Utah, on the 22nd day of December, A.D., 1978, by George L. Christopulos, the state engineer of the state of Wyoming, and others, which compact was also signed by the duly authorized commissioners of the states of Idaho and Utah, and approved by the representative of the United States, which Bear River Compact is in full as follows:
BEAR RIVER COMPACT
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:
ARTICLE I
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; 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.
ARTICLE II
As used in this compact the term
ARTICLE III
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.
B. The compensation and expenses of each commissioner and each adviser shall be paid by the government which he represents. All expenses incurred by the commission in the administration of this compact, except those paid by the United States of America, shall be paid by the signatory states on an equal basis.
C. The commission shall have power to:
D. The commission shall:
ARTICLE IV
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 percent,
Upper Wyoming section diversions - 49.3 percent,
Lower Utah section diversions - 40.5 percent,
Lower Wyoming section diversions - 9.6 percent.
Such divertible flow shall be the total of the following five items:
- Upper Utah section diversions in second-feet,
- Upper Wyoming section diversions in second-feet,
- Lower Utah section diversions in second-feet,
- Lower Wyoming section diversions in second-feet,
- 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.
c. The Chapman, Bear River, and Francis Lee Canals, which divert water from the main stem of Bear River in Wyoming to irrigate lands in both Wyoming and Utah, shall be supplied from the divertible flow allocated to the Upper Wyoming section diversions.
d. The Beckwith Quinn West Side Canal, which diverts water from the main stem of Bear River in Utah to irrigate lands in both Utah and Wyoming, shall be supplied from the divertible flow allocated to the Lower Utah section diversions.
e. If for any reason the aggregate of all diversions in a river section of the upper division does not equal the allocation of water thereto, the unused portion of such allocation shall be available for use in the other river sections in the upper division in the following order: (1) In the other river section of the same state in which the unused allocation occurs; and (2) In the river sections of the other state. No permanent right of use shall be established by the distribution of water pursuant to this paragraph e.
f. Water allocated to the several sections shall be distributed in each section in accordance with state law.
2. Central division
a. When either the divertible flow as hereinafter defined for the central division is less than 870 second-feet, or the flow of the Bear River at Border Gauging Station is less than 350 second-feet, whichever shall first occur, a water emergency shall be deemed to exist in the central division and the total of all diversions in Wyoming from Grade Creek, Pine Creek, Bruner Creek and Pine Creek Springs, Spring Creek, Sublette Creek, Smiths Fork, and all the tributaries of Smiths Fork above the mouth of Hobble Creek including Hobble Creek, and from the main stem of the Bear River between Pixley Dam and the point where the river crosses the Wyoming-Idaho state line near Border shall be limited for the benefit of the state of Idaho, to not exceeding forty-three (43) percent of the divertible flow. The remaining fifty-seven (57) percent of the divertible flow shall be available for use in Idaho in the central division, but if any portion of such allocation is not used therein it shall be available for use in Idaho in the lower division.3. Lower divisionThe divertible flow for the central division shall be the total of the following three items:
- Diversions in second-feet in Wyoming consisting of the sum of all diversions from Grade Creek, Pine Creek, Bruner Creek and Pine Creek Springs, Spring Creek, Sublette Creek, and Smiths Fork and all the tributaries of Smiths Fork above the mouth of Hobble Creek including Hobble Creek, and the main stem of the Bear River between Pixley Dam and the point where the river crosses the Wyoming-Idaho state line near Border, Wyoming.
- Diversions in second-feet in Idaho from the Bear River main stem from the point where the river crosses the Wyoming-Idaho state line near Border to Stewart Dam including West Fork Canal which diverts at Stewart Dam.
- Flow in second-feet of the Rainbow Inlet Canal and of the Bear River passing downstream from Stewart Dam.
b. The Cook Canal, which diverts water from the main stem of the Bear River in Wyoming to irrigate lands in both Wyoming and Idaho, shall be considered a Wyoming diversion and shall be supplied from the divertible flow allocated to Wyoming.
c. Water allocated to each state shall be distributed in accordance with state law.
a. When the flow of water across the Idaho-Utah boundary line is insufficient to satisfy water rights in Utah, covering water applied to beneficial use prior to January 1, 1976, any water 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.B. The commission shall have authority upon its own motion (1) to declare a water emergency in any or all river divisions based upon its determination that there are diversions which violate this compact and which encroach upon water rights in a lower state, (2) to make appropriate orders to prevent such encroachments, and (3) to enforce such orders by action before state administrative officials or by court proceedings.
C. When the flow of water in an interstate tributary across a state boundary line is insufficient to satisfy water rights on such tributary in a lower state, any water user may file a petition with the commission alleging that by reason of diversions in an upstream state 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 that a water emergency exists and that interstate control of water of such tributary is necessary, it shall put into effect water delivery schedules based on priority of rights and prepared without regard to the state boundary line. The state officials in charge of water distribution on interstate tributaries may appoint and fix the compensation and expenses of a joint water commissioner for each tributary. The proportion of the compensation and expenses to be paid by each state shall be determined by the ratio between the number of acres therein which are irrigated by diversions from such tributary, and the total number of acres irrigated from such tributary.
D. In preparing interstate water delivery schedules the commission, upon notice and after public hearings, shall make findings of fact as to the nature, priority and extent of water rights, rates of flow, duty of water, irrigated acreages, types of crops, time of use, and related matters; provided that such schedules shall recognize and incorporate therein priority of water rights as adjudicated in each of the signatory states. Such findings of fact shall, in any court or before any tribunal, constitute prima facie evidence of the facts found.
E. Water emergencies provided for herein shall terminate on September 30 of each year unless terminated sooner or extended by the commission.
ARTICLE V
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 A.3. 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:
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.
ARTICLE VI
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.
C. In addition to the rights defined in article VI, paragraphs A. and B., Idaho, Utah and Wyoming are granted the right to store and use water above Stewart Dam that otherwise would be bypassed or released from Bear Lake at times when all other direct flow and storage rights are satisfied. The availability of such water and the operation of reservoir space to store water above Bear Lake under this paragraph shall be determined by a commission-approved procedure. The storage provided for in this paragraph shall be subordinate to all other storage and direct flow rights in the Bear River. Storage rights under this paragraph shall be exercised with equal priority on the following basis: six (6) percent thereof to Idaho; forty-seven (47) percent thereof to Utah; and forty-seven (47) percent thereof to Wyoming.
D. The waters of Bear Lake below elevation 5,912.91 feet, Utah Power & Light Company Bear Lake datum (the equivalent of elevation 5915.66 feet based on the sea level datum of 1929 through the Pacific Northwest Supplementary Adjustment of 1947) shall constitute a reserve for irrigation. The water of such reserve shall not be released solely for the generation of power, except in emergency, but after release for irrigation it may be used in generating power if not inconsistent with its use for irrigation. Any water in Bear Lake in excess of that constituting the irrigation reserve may be used for the generation of power or for other beneficial uses. As new reservoir capacity above the Stewart Dam is constructed to provide additional storage pursuant to paragraph A. of this article, the commission shall make a finding in writing as to the quantity of additional storage and shall thereupon make an order increasing the irrigation reserve in accordance with the following table:
Additional storage acre-feet |
Lake surface elevation Utah Power & Light Company Bear Lake datum |
5,000 ................................. | 5,913.24 |
10,000 ................................ | 5,913.56 |
15,000 ................................ | 5,913.87 |
20,000 ................................ | 5,914.15 |
25,000 ................................ | 5,914.41 |
30,000 ................................ | 5,914.61 |
35,500 ................................ | 5,914.69 |
36,500 ................................ | 5,914.70 |
E. Subject to existing rights, each state shall have the use of water, including ground water, 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.
ARTICLE VII
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.
ARTICLE VIII
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.
ARTICLE IX
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.
ARTICLE X
A. The following rights to the use of Bear River water carried in interstate canals are recognized and confirmed.
Name of Canal | Date of Priority | Primary Right (Second-feet) |
Lands Irrigated (Acres) |
State |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hilliard East Fork | 1914 | 28.00 | 2644 | Wyoming |
Chapman | 8-13-86 | 16.46 | 1155 | Wyoming |
8-13-86 | 98.46 | 6892 | Wyoming | |
4-12-12 | 0.57 | 40 | Wyoming | |
5-3-12 | 4.07 | 285 | Utah | |
5-12-12 | 10.17 | 712 | Utah | |
2-6-13 | 0.79 | 55 | Wyoming | |
8-28-05 | 134.00* | |||
Francis Lee | 1879 | 2.20 | 154 | Wyoming |
1879 | 7.41 | 519 | Utah |
*Under 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.
ARTICLE XI
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.
ARTICLE XII
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.
ARTICLE XIII
Nothing contained in this compact shall be deemed:
ARTICLE XIV
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.
ARTICLE XV
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.
ARTICLE XVI
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.
ARTICLE XVII
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 legislature 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: | |
Clifford J. Skinner | /s/ Clifford J. Skinner |
J. Daniel Roberts | /s/ J. Daniel Roberts |
Don W. Gilbert | /s/ Don W. Gilbert |
For the State of Utah: | |
S. Paul Holmgren | /s/ S. Paul Holmgren |
Simeon Weston | /s/ Simeon Weston |
Daniel F. Lawrence | /s/ Daniel F. Lawrence |
For the State of Wyoming: | |
George L. Christopulos | /s/ George L. Christopulos |
John A. Teichert | /s/ John A. Teichert |
J. W. Myers | /s/ J. W. Myers |
Approved: | Attest: |
/s/ Wallace N. Jibson | /s/ Daniel F. Lawrence |
Wallace N. Jibson | Daniel F. Lawrence |
Representative of the United States of America |
Secretary of the Bear River Compact Commission |
41-12-102. When binding; notice of ratification.
Said compact shall not be binding or obligatory upon any of the high contracting parties thereto unless and until the same shall have been ratified by the legislature of each of the said states and approved by the congress of the United States. The governor of Wyoming shall give notice of the ratification and approval of said compact by the Wyoming legislature to the governors of the states of Idaho and Utah and to the president of the United States.