Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1) Applications for
withdrawal of public groundwaters shall be processed in accordance with the
provisions of
chapters
90.44 and
90.03 RCW.
The total quantity of withdrawals of public waters, whether
authorized by permits and certificates issued under
RCW
90.44.050,
90.44.060 or otherwise, shall not
exceed 58,000 acre-feet per year. It appears there may be relatively small
amounts of public waters (in the range of not more than 4,000 acre-feet
annually) available for appropriation in the shallow management unit. Such
small amounts are reserved for withdrawal for domestic and group domestic
uses.
(2) No withdrawal of,
or construction of any works for the withdrawal of artificially stored
groundwaters shall be commenced by any person without obtaining permission of
the department of ecology. Permission shall be obtained through the issuance of
a permit as provided in chapter 173-136 WAC. Application for a permit shall be
on a form furnished by the department. In relation to ruling upon any such
application, the following shall apply:
(a)
Each permit shall be conditioned to ensure that no withdrawal will interfere
with the furnishing of adequate supplies of water to the Potholes Reservoir
facility of the bureau to satisfy existing and future project needs of the
bureau.
(b) Each permit shall be
conditioned to ensure that no interference with rights established under state
law, previously or in the future, to withdraw public waters or artificially
stored groundwaters shall be allowed. Rights described herein shall include
rights to the (1) maintenance of certain groundwater levels to ensure
availability and (2) protection of the use ability of certain withdrawal
facilities.
(c) To the maximum
extent possible, consistent with rights and interest in the groundwaters of the
Quincy subarea; wildlife, recreation, and other values associated with the
general public interest in the groundwater in the subarea shall be protected
and permits issued hereunder shall be so conditioned.
(d) Permits shall be conditioned such that
the well depth shall be no greater than 200 feet into the basalt (the shallow
management unit). However, when the total production from the authorized
well(s), completed within the shallow management unit does not produce the
quantity of water authorized under the permit in gallons per minute, the
permittee may apply to the department of ecology for an exemption to the well
depth limitation imposed by these regulations. Such an exemption will be
granted if reasonable efforts have been made to develop water in the shallow
management unit and the proposed deepening will not adversely affect existing
rights in the deep management unit. The depth of the well(s) in any event shall
not penetrate the top of the Grand Ronde Basalt unit. When an exemption is
granted, the department will advise the permittee of the depth to the top of
the Grand Ronde Basalt unit at the specific well site(s). The authorized wells
must be of adequate diameter and casing wall thickness to accommodate a pump of
sufficient capacity to produce the permitted quantity in gallons per minute.
Notwithstanding the definitions in WAC
173-134A-040, withdrawals of
water subject to exemptions shall be considered as artificially stored
groundwater.
(e) Each permit shall
be conditioned to provide that failure of the permittee to comply with the
terms of an executed agreement as described in WAC
173-134A-130 shall constitute
grounds for the department to terminate a permit issued under this
subsection.
(f) Applications for
permits shall be processed in order of their priority, based on the date of
receipt of an application by the department of ecology.
(g) Permits granted herein shall pertain to a
specific point(s) of withdrawal, and purpose, and place of use. No assignment
of such permits can be made without written approval of the department.
The department may approve amendments to permits granted herein
regarding changes in point of withdrawal, purpose, and place of use, if it
believes, after investigation, that the amendment will comply with WAC
173-134A-070(1) through
(4). Application for amendments provided
herein shall be made on forms provided by the department.
Permits for the use of artificially stored groundwaters may be
amended as to places of use and purpose only to the extent that waters actually
have been placed to beneficial use pursuant to the terms of said
permits.
(h) No permit
shall authorize the withdrawal of waters for agricultural irrigation use for
more acres than authorized by federal reclamation law.
(i) Permits issued hereunder shall have no
expressed termination date provided, however, the permit shall be modifiable
and terminable by the department at any time for good cause in order to
accomplish the water management and regulation program of this chapter.
Modifications and terminations as provided herein shall be effectuated through
the issuance of regulatory orders as described in WAC
173-134A-090.
All permits provided for in chapter 173-136 WAC shall contain
development schedules requiring that water be put to beneficial use within a
three-year period from the date of issuance. Any permit under which development
has not been completed may be perfected to the extent of beneficial use, and
cancellation proceedings will be initiated on the remaining undeveloped
portion.
(j) By applying
for and obtaining a permit hereunder, an applicant expressly waives all other
claims of rights to withdraw groundwaters of the Quincy subarea for irrigation
uses, except as such rights are (1) embodied in a permit or certificate
pertaining to public groundwaters issued previously by the department of
ecology or one of its predecessors or (2) based upon rights established prior
to the enactment of
chapter
90.44 RCW and are the
subject of a claim filed with the department of ecology pursuant to
RCW
90.14.041.
(k) There shall be no fee for filing an
application for a permit authorized for withdrawal of artificially stored
groundwaters under this subsection. Said application shall include the names
and signatures of all legal owners of the lands proposed for
irrigation.
(l) Withdrawals of
artificially stored waters authorized by permit under this section shall be
limited to a maximum cumulative total of no more than 177,000 acre-feet for
each calendar year.
Withdrawals from wells presently drilled into both the shallow
and deep management units, covered by an application filed with the department
or a license to withdraw water issued by the bureau between May 12, 1967, and
February 14, 1974, and which are also subject of a permit issued under this
subsection (2), shall be considered as withdrawals from the shallow management
unit.
(m) The duty of water
for agricultural irrigation uses shall be not more than 3.5 acre-feet for each
acre for each calendar year.
(n) No
applications for permits submitted pursuant to WAC
173-134A-080(2)
shall be approved for withdrawals of artificially stored groundwaters from
wells located on lands adjacent to bureau waterways and on lands underlain by
groundwater that hydraulically responds to changes in the water level of the
Potholes Reservoir, which specifically are those lands described in amended
department of ecology Order No. 75-54, second amendment, entered on February 3,
1986.
Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21A.060. 86-04-057 (Order DE
86-01), § 173-134A-080, filed 2/4/86. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21A.060,
43.21A.080,
43.27A.090,
90.44.130,
90.54.040(2) and
chapter
90.03 RCW. 83-12-060
(Order DE 83-10), § 173-134A-080, filed 6/1/83. Formerly WAC
173-134-060.