September 29, 2016

Obtainingawaterrighthasgottendifficultduetoenvironmentalawareness,courtcasesandfederallaws.

ByCHRISPITRECohoWaterResources

Ifyouhaveaphysicalproject,youmostlikelyneedwater.Ifyouareintheserviceareaofawaterpurveyor,thisisasimpleprocessofgettingawateravailabilitycertificate,payingaconnectionfeeandpayingaregularwaterbill.Ifyouareoutsideofsuchserviceareas,youmaygetawaterright.This article briefly describes theoutcomeof recentwater lawsuits, options for gettingwater, and finally, thewater right

permittingprocess.

Recent lawsuits

Obtaining awater right has gotten very difficult due to environmental awareness, court cases and federal laws like theEndangered Species Act. Two court cases in 2013 and 2015 have severely limited the discretion of the WashingtonDepartmentofEcologytofindsolutionsandtheavailabilityofwaterforout‐of‐streamuses.Inbothcases,Ecologytriedtouseregulatoryallowancesthatalloweddiscretionifthedecisionsweredeterminedtobein

the “over‐riding consideration of the public interest” OCPI . In both cases, the Supreme Court determined that Ecologyoversteppeditsauthority,madetheOCPIstandardunattainable,andendeddiscretionEcologymayhavehadinapplyingthelaw.Theimplicationsofthesetwodecisionsarediscussedinthefollowingsections.

• Loss of exemption for small wells. The 2013 Supreme Court decision eliminated an exemption from the water rightpermittingprocessforsmallgroundwaterwellsinmostofSkagitCountybecauseofpotentialimpactsonstreamflows.Ruralhousingdevelopmentdependsongettingwaterthroughexemptwellsandthecourtdecisionhasmadeitverydifficulttogetawateravailabilitycertificate,causinganeffectivebuildingmoratorium.TheexemptionhasalsobeeneliminatedinportionsofKittitas,Clallam,Nooksackandothercounties.Moreinformationis

here:http://tinyurl.com/Ecology‐exemption.

•Noalternativemitigationallowedfornewwaterrights.Gettinganewwaterrighttypicallyrequiresmitigationofimpactssuchasreducedstreamflows.Thishashistoricallybeeninterpretedasbeingdrop‐for‐droporin‐kind/place/time,meaningifgroundwaterpumpingcausesareductionofstreamflow,thatstreamflowmustbereplacedintheplaceandtimethereductionoccurs.Statepolicyhasrecentlyconsideredotherformsofmitigationcalledout‐of‐kind/time/placethatcouldprovidemorestream

benefits,suchasconservationeasements.AwaterrightwasissuedtothecityofYelmin2011usingacomplexmitigationpackagewithout‐of‐kindtypemitigations.

However, the2015SupremeCourtdecisionallowedonly in‐kind typemitigationandcanceledYelm’swaterright.Thishasrevertedallmitigationoptionstobeofthein‐kindtype.These restrictions have made obtaining a new water right ever more difficult. More information is here:

http://tinyurl.com/Ecology‐water.

How to get water now

Waterbanks.Waterbanksownedandoperatedbypublic,privateornot‐for‐profitentitieshavedevelopedinsomepartsofthestatetoserveruraldevelopmentneeds.Waterbanksacquirewaterrightsandtakecareoftheadministrativeprocessesoftransferringportionstonewowners.

Awater bank usually only serves awell‐defined geographic area that can be very limited. Therefore, banks are not thesolutionforallneeds.Afterobtainingawaterrightthroughabank,theapplicantmuststilldevelopasourcebyinstallingtheirowngroundwaterwell.Moreinformationishere:http://tinyurl.com/Ecology‐waterbank

Acquiringanexistingright.Ifthereisnowaterbankoryouwishtoavoidthecostsofawaterbill,youcouldacquireawaterright— if one is available.A rightmight be foundby searching the state‐widedatabase, purchasing a property‐associatedwaterright,orhiringawell‐connectedagenttofindoneforyou.Waterrightsareusuallyattachedtotheland,sogettingthe landalsogetsyouthewaterright.However,anapplication is

neededtochangetheplace,purposeand/orperiodofuseofthewaterright—orifyouwishtoacquirethewaterrightfromtheownerwithoutbuyingtheland.Changesarebestprocessedthroughcountywaterconservancyboards,ofwhichtherearenow17,orthroughEcology’scost

reimbursementprogram.Beforemakinganycommitmenttoacquiringawaterright,acompleteauditshouldbeconductedtoensureyouarebuyinga

validwaterrightandthatyoucanuseitinthewayyouwish.

Obtaininganewwaterright.Gettinganewwaterrighthasbeenincreasinglydifficult,andrecentcourtdecisionshavemadeit evermore difficult. It is generally a long shot, but there are special circumstances inwhich a newwater rightmight beobtainable. One example is where a groundwaterwithdrawalaffectsonlymarinewaters,notstreams.

Processing applications

Applications submitted to Ecology for routineprocessing are unlikely to be processed in a timelymanner,withsometakingmorethanadecade.However,exceptions and alternativepathways have been created,which are discussed below. Ecology encouragesapplicantstoconductapre‐applicationmeetingtoensuretheapplicantunderstandstheprocessesinvolvedbeforetheyincursignificantcosts.

Priorityprocessing.Applicationsmeetingthecriteriaforpriority processing by Ecology include: a public healthemergency or providing significant environmentalbenefit; and having no adverse impacts on other waterusers or the environment. The bar for meeting thesecriteriaisveryhigh,andunlikelytobemetfortypicalprojects.

Waterconservancyboards.Boardshavebeensetupbycounties toprocesschangeapplications notapplications fornewrights .Itisstronglyadvisedthatapplicantsretainaconsultanttoassisttheboardinprocessingtheapplicationsbypreparinganalysis,draftingdecisionsfortheirconsideration,andmovingtheapplicationthroughtheprocess.

Costreimbursementagreement.ACRA is theonly reasonableoption if there isnoboard inyourprojectarea tochangearight,orifyouareapplyingforanewright.InaCRA,Ecologyhiresaconsultanttoprocesstheapplication,andtheapplicantreimburses Ecology. The applicant typically also retains their own consultant for advice and guidance, thereby ending uppayingfortwoconsultants.

StreamlinedCRAprocess.ThestreamlinedCRAprocessallowsanapplicanttohireaconsultantdirectly,insteadofEcology.Thisreducescostsbypayingoneconsultantinsteadoftwo.TheapplicantmustfirstobtainEcology’sapprovalofaqualifiedconsultant.

Safeguarding your rights

The ever‐increasing constraints on water rights highlight their value. Holders of existing water rights should fullyunderstandandprotecttheirwaterrightassetsbygettinganinternalauditdone.Forexample,anyportionofawaterrightcanbe lost if it isnotusedfor fiveyears,andprovisionsarewritten intomanywaterrightsthatmustbemettomaintaintheirrightsingoodstanding.The information presented in this article is greatly simplified and the direction for each project is dependent upon the

specifics.Waterrightprocessesarebecomingsocomplexthatobtainingprofessionalhelpisadvisedinallcases.

ChrisPitreisfounderandprincipalofSeattle‐basedCohoWaterResources,whichspecializesinwaterrights,groundwaterdevelopmentandintegratedwaterresourcemanagement.Heisalicensedgeologistandhydrogeologist,andaCertifiedWaterRightsExaminerinWashington.

Coho changed water rights for Sundale Orchards in Eastern Washington, allowing it to expand its irrigated acreage by 40 percent.