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Idaho water officials report on adjudications, ESPA settlement, recharge and major projects
Summary
Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Matt Weaver and Idaho Water Resource Board Chairman Jeff Raybould briefed the committee on court actions, a recently approved Eastern Snake Plain settlement, funding requests, recharge and large water projects including the Anderson Ranch dam raise and Mountain Home pipeline.
Matt Weaver, director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, and Jeff Raybould, chairman of the Idaho Water Resource Board, told the Senate Resources & Environment Committee about a range of legal, administrative and project developments affecting statewide water management.
Weaver said the department petitioned the courts to commence adjudication of the Kootenai River Basin and expects a commencement order by midyear. He described a recent federal court decision on the forfeiture of federally held stock water rights as mixed — “found some issues in favor of the state some issues in favor of the feds” — and said the federal government appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit.
Weaver reviewed administrative setbacks and recoveries, including a loss and subsequent rebuild of the department’s electronic document management system that had affected access to more than a million water-right records; he said the system is restored and a small gap period is expected to be searchable by midyear.
On budget matters, Weaver said the governor has…
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