Podcast - 2024 Legislative Preview

I was a guest on the Ripple Effect podcast to talk about some of the water-related bills that will be considered at the 2024 session of the Utah Legislature. To listen to the podcast, click here.

2024 Legislative Preview

The 2024 general session of the Utah Legislature begins next week. Here is a summary of the water-related bills that have been released so far. As the session goes along, additional water bills will certainly be added.

HB 11 - Water Efficient Landscaping Requirements
Rep. Doug Owens

House Bill 11 mandates that after May 1, 2024 certain government entities in the Great Salt Lake Basin will not use grass or turf in more than 20% the landscaped area of a new construction or reconstruction of a building or facility. Despite this restriction, this bill does not consider the following type of grass or turf uses to be included in the 20% limitation: land for sporting purposes, parks, amphitheaters, golf courses (including driving ranges and putting greens), cemeteries, retention basins, and other areas that use grass and turf for a special use. This bill also authorizes a municipality or county to impose landscaping requirements on state government facilities or require certain government entities to obtain approval for their landscaping. The purpose of this bill is to conserve water that then can be used for the Great Salt Lake and other conservation needs. This bill is the product of the Legislative Water Development Commission examining and retooling the 2023 Legislative Session’s failed HB 272 (Water Efficient Landscaping Amendments), as it was not examined by the Legislative Water Development Commission prior to the 2023 Legislative Session. 

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 42 - Water Rights Publication Amendments
Rep. Joel K. Briscoe

House Bill 42 proposes amending Utah Code section 73-3-6, which addresses the State Engineer’s publication of notices of Applications to Appropriate, Change Applications, and other filings. The bill would allow the State Engineer to confirm the publication of a notice of application through electronic means.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 57 – Snake Valley Aquifer Advisory Council Amendments
(Rep. Walt Brooks)

House Bill 57 dissolves the Snake Valley Aquifer Advisory Council by repealing the entirety of Title 63C, Chapter 12 of the Utah Code. The Council was originally established by the legislature in 2009, primarily to deal with the Snake Valley water right filings made by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Because the SNWA water right filings are now a moot issue, the Council is no longer needed. The bill also removes references to the Council from other sections in the Code.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 61 - Water Measuring and Accounting Amendments
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht

House Bill 61 proposes amending Utah Code sections 73-1-21 and 73-2-1. Section 73-1-21 addresses Utah’s overall water policy and section 73-2-1 outlines the State Engineer's powers and duties and the qualifications for those duties. The bill modifies the state water policy to allow for the use of telemetry in water data collection and permits the State Engineer to make rules governing telemetry and water distribution accounting. The bill also removes outdated language regarding rulemaking authority on preferences of water rights under Section 73-3-21.5, which was repealed in 2023.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 62 - Utah Water Ways Amendments
Rep. Doug Owens

House Bill 62 proposes amending Utah Code section 79-2-408 to add an additional method for educating the public about water issues. Specifically, the bill permits the partnership to coordinate with the department of education to implement resources and development opportunities to select grades in kindergarten through grade twelve of the public school system. 

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 206 – Columbia Interstate Compact Amendments
Rep. Thomas W. Peterson

House Bill 206 withdraws Utah’s ratification of the Columbia Interstate Compact and repeals several Utah Code sections relating to the Compact.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 242 – Water Usage Data Amendments
Rep. Melissa G. Ballard

House Bill 242 requires the Utah Division of Water Resources to study the water use of Utah’s public schools, including charter schools. The Division is to complete the study by October 1, 2025. The results of the study are to include recommendations of actions that schools can take to reduce water use and recommendations to the legislature regarding whether schools should be required to provide annual reports of water use to the Division. The bill also provides a mechanism for schools and school districts to purchase smart irrigation controllers. Finally, the bill requires all State agencies to report their annual water use data to the Division beginning in 2027.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 243 – Riparian Amendments
Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion

House Bill 243 requires counties and municipalities (except for fifth class cities and towns) to include a riparian area element in their general plans, beginning in 2029. The riparian area element should address the preservation and enhancement of natural streams; management of erosion, sedimentation, and flood control; removal of dead or diseased vegetation to minimize flood and fire risk; reduction of water pollution; protection of fish and wildlife; preservation or restoration of vegetation; management of invasive plant species and weeds; and preservation of aesthetic and recreation values.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 275 – Water Amendments
Rep. Casey Snider

House Bill 275 amends a provision about who may receive a State grant for water meter projects. The law currently requires secondary water providers to meter every connection, but allows for some secondary water providers to only meter at strategic points instead of metering every connection. The law provides three circumstances under which a secondary water provider only has to meter at strategic points. In two of the circumstances, however, the secondary water provider was not eligible to receive State grants to install the meters. This bill would allow the grants to go to a secondary water provider under any of the three circumstances.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

SB 18 - Water Modifications
Sen. Scott D. Sandall

Senate Bill 18 is a follow-up to SB 277, Water Conservation and Augmentation, which passed late in the 2023 Legislative Session. Among other things, SB 277 allowed water users who install agricultural water optimization projects to file applications with the Division of Water Rights to put the “saved water”—the now-excess water which was diverted and consumed under the more wasteful irrigation system—to another beneficial use. SB 18 retools those provisions, moving them into the State Engineer’s section of code and adding language clarifying the definition of saved water and the administrative procedures to secure its separate use and protect it from forfeiture. It also clarifies that saved water cannot increase the depletion of the underlying water right.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

SB 39 – Water Shareholder Amendments
(Sen. Scott D. Sandall)

Senate Bill 39 proposes amended Utah Code section 73-3-3.5 regarding shareholder change applications. Previously, if a shareholder filed a proposed change application with a water company, the water company had 120 days to respond if it was a permanent change application and 60 days to respond if it was a temporary change application. This bill would make it a 120-day deadline for the water company, irrespective of whether the change application is permanent or temporary. The bill also has some minor clean-up language, which mainly clarifies when the term “it” in the statute is referring to a water company or to a court.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

SB 77 – Water Rights Restricted Account Amendments
Sen. Scott D. Sandall

Senate Bill 77 modifies the purposes for which money in the Water Rights Restricted Account may be used. The bill adds that the Division of Water Rights may use the Account to pay for installing, operating, and maintaining water measurement infrastructure and for sharing in the costs of installing stream gauges (with the U.S. Geological Survey).

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

Unnumbered - Water Related Changes
Rep. Casey Snider

This bill would change how Utah funds water infrastructure projects. The bill is currently unnumbered, but the Utah Legislative Water Development Commission recommended it to the full Legislature in November. 

Under the bill, “relevant agencies” with water-related missions, such as the Divisions of Water Resources, Drinking Water, and Water Quality, among others, would develop annual water infrastructure plans that would describe needed water projects that fall within their jurisdiction. Once adopted, these relevant agencies would submit their plans to Utah’s Water Development Coordinating Council, which consists of representatives from the Division of Water Resources, the Water Quality Board, the Drinking Water Board, the Housing and Community Development Division, the Treasurer’s office, and the Department of Agriculture and Food. Using the plans submitted by the relevant agencies, the Council would develop a “unified water infrastructure plan” that would identify water projects needed to “maintain the reliable supply of safe and clean water.” The Council would create the first unified plan by January 1, 2025, which it would update at least every four years. Once created, the Division of Water Resources would be required to reference the unified plan in the state water plan. 

The Council would also work in consultation with the relevant agencies to develop a written prioritization process for ranking and prioritizing water infrastructure projects that are or will be funded with state money beginning in fiscal year 2026. This process would also include several criteria requiring consideration of hardships, the public interest, the use of state funding to match federal funding, and local entity consultation, along with the requirement to solicit public input on the prioritization process.  

The bill would further require the Board of Water Resources to assess an annual “water use fee” on retail water providers beginning on July 1, 2027. This fee would be based in part on the amount of water suppliers provide to their end users and would be deposited into a new “Water Infrastructure Fund,” which would also include appropriations from the Legislature and interest earnings on the fund. The Board would use the fund to issue loans and grants for water projects the Council has prioritized. In addition, the bill would require the Board to make recommendations to the Legislature by the October 2024 interim session regarding the possible consolidation of Utah’s various water infrastructure funding tools into a single fund or account.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

Unnumbered - Water Usage Amendments
Rep. Doug Owens

This bill is an amended version of HB 538, which passed the House in the 2023 Legislative Session but failed in the Senate. It would prohibit the watering of lawn or turf from October 1 to April 1 in counties in the Great Salt Lake watershed. However, irrigation of trees, shrubs, gardens, and newly established turf would be allowed. Violating the prohibitions would be a civil infraction with a fine of at least $50 for the first violation and $100 for additional violations. It would allow municipalities and other water providers to impose these and other penalties or consequences for violation of the law.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.