US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

                                  TITLE  42
                       IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE -- WATER
                            RIGHTS AND RECLAMATION
                                  CHAPTER 14
                         ADJUDICATION OF WATER RIGHTS
    42-1406B.  NORTHERN IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS -- COMMENCEMENT. (1)
Effective management of the waters of northern Idaho requires that a
comprehensive determination of the nature, extent and priority of the rights
of all users of surface and ground water be determined. Therefore, the
director of the department of water resources shall petition the district
court to commence adjudications within the terms of the McCarran amendment, 43
U.S.C. section 666, of the water rights from surface water and ground water
sources in northern Idaho through initiation of three (3) proceedings.
Separate petitions shall be filed for water rights adjudications for each of
the following river basins, and related ground water sources whether or not
hydraulically connected to a surface water source, within Idaho: the Coeur
d'Alene-Spokane river basin, the Palouse river basin, and the Kootenai and
Clark Fork-Pend Oreille river basins. The filing of each petition shall be
contingent on legislative funding approval. Each petition shall describe the
boundaries of the water source or water sources to be adjudicated.
    (2)  The adjudication shall be brought in any district court in which any
part of the water source is located or before a court of special jurisdiction
for water right adjudications. Unless otherwise ordered by the supreme court,
special jurisdiction for the water rights general adjudications authorized by
this section shall reside in the Snake River Basin Adjudication district court
of the fifth judicial district of the state of Idaho, in and for the county of
Twin Falls. The clerk of the district court in which the petition is filed
shall send to the supreme court a true and certified copy of the petition. The
supreme court, by order, shall assign the judge to preside over the general
adjudication. Venue of the general adjudication shall be determined by order
or rule of the supreme court and venue of hearings under the general
adjudication shall be determined by order of the presiding judge.
    (3)  Upon issuance of an order by the district court which authorizes the
director to commence an investigation and determination of the various water
rights to be adjudicated from the water source or water sources, and which
defines the boundaries of the source or sources within the state to be
adjudicated, the director of the department of water resources shall proceed
in the manner provided under the provisions of chapter 14, title 42, Idaho
Code, to the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this section.