The 2025 general session of the Utah Legislature begins next week. Below are summaries (written by the water attorneys at Smith Hartvigsen) of the water-related bills that have been released so far. As the session goes along, additional water bills will certainly be added.
HB 41 – State Water Policy
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht
House Bill 41 seeks to amend Utah Code section 73-1-21,
which enunciates water policy for the State of Utah. This bill came out of the
Legislative Water Development Commission and will likely have widespread
support. It adds promotion of the quality of groundwater, in addition to lakes
and rivers already listed. It also adds “the monitoring of activities in
watersheds that provide water to drinking water systems to protect the
watersheds”; the promotion of “state water planning, including the formation of
the state water plan as provided in Section 73-10-15”; and “water reuse
with appropriate conditions for the region in which the water reuse” as water
policy objectives.
All of the additions are laudable and will likely have
little opposition. There are two deletions from existing water policy in the bill
which may be controversial. The first is the deletion of the “balanc[ing]
social, economic, public interest, and environmental” needs or values when
considering water pricing and funding mechanisms or the “study and development
of strategies and practices necessary to address declining water levels and
protect the water quality and quantity of the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, and
Bear Lake.”
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 45 – Irrigation Amendments
Rep. Rex P. Shipp
House Bill 45 seeks to modify Utah Code section 73-1-8
regarding the duties and liabilities of the owners or operators of irrigation
ditches and canals. While the section already specifies that the owners or
operators of water facilities must exercise “reasonable and ordinary care” in
operating and maintaining those facilities, the bill would clearly assign
liability to the owners or operators of ditches and canals if their failure to
meet that care standard results in the waste of water, property damage, or
injury to others. In addition, if an individual is held liable to a third party
for any waste, damage, or injury directly caused by the failure of an owner or
operator to exercise reasonable and ordinary care in maintaining a ditch or
canal located within a municipality, the bill would allow that individual to
recover the amount for which they are liable from the owner or operator of the
ditch or canal.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 46 – Water Rights Applications Amendments
Rep. Doug Owens
House Bill 46 seeks to modify Utah Code section 73-3-18
regarding the State Engineer’s process of reinstating lapsed applications. The
law currently allows the State Engineer to reinstate a lapsed application
within 60 days of the lapsed application upon a showing of reasonable cause but
gives no guidance on how a water right owner is to file this request for
reinstatement. HB 46 directs the State Engineer to create a reinstatement form
that will be used (in conjunction with a request for extension of time) for
future requests to reinstate lapsed applications within the 60-day time period.
The bill also provides that if an application is reinstated, the priority date
will be changed to the date that the request for reinstatement was filed.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 47 – Public Lands Water Rights Amendments
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht
House Bill 47 seeks to modify Utah Code sections 73-2-14 and
73-3-31 regarding water claims under Public Water Reserve No. 107. In 1926,
President Calvin Coolidge created Public Water Reserve Number 107 through an
executive order. Public Water Reserve No. 107 reserved land containing water
for the federal government for it to manage livestock watering on these lands.
The rationale behind Public Water Reserve No. 107 was to promote western
settlement and prevent monopolization of scarce water resources on federally
managed lands. Public Water Reserve Number 107 created federal reserved water
rights that are leased by the federal government to private individuals for
grazing. Currently, Utah Code sections 73-2-14 and 73-3-31 do not recognize
Public Water Reserve No. 107 separately and instead combine Public Water
Reserve No. 107 uses with livestock water use certificates held by public
agencies. HB 47 recognizes that Public Water Reserve No. 107 uses are unique
and establishes a procedure and guidelines for federal agencies to file
information with the Division of Water Rights so that the State Engineer may
determine beneficial use for water claims under Public Water Reserve No. 107.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 81 – Fluoride Amendments
Rep. Stephanie Gricius
House Bill 81 seeks to prohibit public water suppliers from
adding fluoride into a public water system.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 89 – Water Transfer Amendments
Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion
House Bill 89 seeks to modify Utah Code section 75-3-1201
regarding “small estate affidavits.” A small estate affidavit is used when a
person has passed away and has personal property (such as furniture, jewelry,
money in bank accounts, shares of stock, etc.) that are still in the deceased
person’s name. The family of the deceased person can fill out the affidavit and
then use the affidavit to have the personal property transferred out of the
name of the deceased person and into the name of the successors/heirs. The
affidavit cannot be used to transfer title to real property and the affidavit
can only be used if the total value of the assets is less than $100,000. In the
past, the small estate affidavit has been used in circumstances where a
deceased person owned shares of stock in an irrigation company and the
successors/heirs are seeking to have the irrigation company re-issue the shares
into the name of the successors/heirs. HB 89 would disallow this practice. The
bill states that “Shares of stock in a water company . . . are not eligible for
transfer” using the small estate affidavit. This means that successors/heirs
will be forced to go through the probate process in court in order to get water
shares transferred out of the name of a deceased person.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 174 – Water Rights Restricted Account
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht
House Bill 174 seeks to modify Utah Code section 73-2-1.6
regarding how the Division of Water Rights can utilize funds in the Water
Rights Restricted Account. Previously, the law allowed the Division to use
funds for legal support related to water right adjudications. HB 174 would
allow the Division to use funds for general legal support (i.e., “not limited
to geographic areas of adjudication”).
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 243 – Agriculture Water Optimization Amendments
Rep. Casey Snider
House Bill 243 seeks to amend two code sections in the
Agricultural Water Optimization Act. The current law requires a 25% match for
“a drip or automated surge irrigation project.” This language is amended to
clarify that the match is for “(A) a subsurface drip irrigation project; (B) an
automated surge irrigation project; or (C) a measurement, telemetry, or
reporting project.” The bill would also add a provision that money in the
Agricultural Water Optimization Account can be used for research that
“establishes methods for measuring saved water or the effectiveness of the
agricultural water optimization funding.”
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HCR 1 – Regarding the Grand County Water Conservancy
District
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht
Resolutions do not have the power of law but show the
position and will of the legislature and governor (if not vetoed) on the topic
addressed. HCR 1 supports the transfer of water infrastructure from the United States
Department of Energy to the Grand County Water Conservancy District. The
infrastructure and water rights are currently used in the Moab Uranium Mill
Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project to remove radioactive uranium mill
tailings from a 130-acre tailings pile adjacent to the Colorado River, just
north of Moab. The tailings are transported by rail to a remote off-river site
near Crescent Junction. These tailings posed a serious threat to the Colorado
River. If not removed, a major flood event would wash the tailings into the
river and create a catastrophe for the millions of people who rely on the
Colorado River below Moab. This federally funded Project, which is nearing
completion, began in 2008 and has already removed 14.4 million tons of
tailings. Once the Project is complete, the water infrastructure will
no longer be needed by the Department of Energy and could be used for the
benefit of Grand County.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
SB 33 – Water Right Recording Amendments
Sen. Evan J. Vickers
Senate Bill 33 seeks to revise Utah Code section 57-3-109
regarding water right deed addenda. The law currently requires that the
grantor’s signature on the addendum must be an original signature, whereas the
grantee’s signature can be “by facsimile or electronic means.” SB 33 would
allow for both the grantor’s and grantee’s signatures to be “by facsimile or
electronic means.”
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
SB 36 – Water Quality Board Amendments
Sen. Todd D. Weiler
Senate Bill 36 seeks to revise Utah Code section 19-5-104 to
establish a process for the Utah Quality Board to review settlement
negotiations between the director and a party in alleged violation of the Water
Quality Act and to issue a final order establishing a reasonable penalty in
ongoing settlement negotiations.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
SB 80 – Drinking Water Amendments
Sen. Scott D. Sandall
Senate Bill 80 seeks to enact Utah Code section 19-4-116,
which would require the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a fee
schedule for the regulation of public water systems in the state. The code
section would outline the requirements related to the fee schedule, allow DEQ
to establish a financial incentive for compliance, provide for the collection
and monitoring of fees, and create an exemption for wholesale water suppliers.
DEQ would also be required to evaluate other sources of funding to support the
regulation of public water systems. Versions of this bill have appeared in
every legislative session for the past several years as the Division of
Drinking Water works to identify reliable funding mechanisms for its programs.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
SB 92 – Golf Course Amendments
Sen. Daniel McCay
Senate Bill 92 seeks to authorize the Utah State University
Institute of Land, Air, and Water to study the use of water on golf courses in
the state. The Institute would identify best practices for water use in Utah
relative to golf courses, and then work with golf course owners to “identify
strategic water saving opportunities.” The bill also sets up an advisory
committee of golf professionals to consult with the Institute. Additionally,
the bill would require the Division of State Parks to develop a master plan for
state-owned golf courses, which would address water use and conservation.
Finally, the bill would classify water data records provided to the Institute
as “protected records” under GRAMA.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
SB 131 – Water Commitment Amendments
Sen. Nate Blouin
Senate Bill 131 seeks to amend Utah Code section 73-10-32
regarding water conservation plans. SB 131 would add a provision that a water
conservation plan may include information regarding “the commitment of
available water to uses on sovereign lands.” In this context, sovereign lands
refers to “those lands lying below the ordinary high water mark of navigable
bodies of water at the date of statehood and owned by the state by virtue of
its sovereignty.”
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
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