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House committee advances temporary water-use bill after negotiators add protection for irrigators
Summary
The House moved forward with Senate File 43, a bill to update temporary water-use agreement rules, adding a provision that requires a period of resumed local use after a temporary irrigation transfer expires.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The House advanced Senate File 43, a measure to amend Wyoming's temporary water-use agreement law, after negotiators narrowed the bill and added protections raised by irrigators.
Representative Eklund, who described the bill as the result of three years of interim work, said it extends some temporary-transfer timeframes (for example, an application window and maximum length) and seeks to streamline the request and review process administered by the State Engineer.
Members debated a floor amendment that had two parts. The House rejected the first division, which would have inserted additional text regarding in-stream flows; members said the subject was already covered elsewhere in statute and including it here could create unintended consequences. The second division, which the House adopted, requires that after the expiration of a temporary transfer of an irrigation water right, the water right be used for its adjudicated or permitted purpose on the land for a period equal to at least 50% of the duration of the most recent temporary transfer before the water right becomes eligible for another temporary transfer. Supporters said the change prevents a pattern of repeated transfers that could leave land dry and protects junior water-right holders from long-term dewatering.
Representative Strauch, who carried the floor amendment, said irrigators had pressed for the language to avoid the risk that temporary transfers would effectively become permanent changes in how water is used across a drainage. Opponents argued the bill as written already addressed priority concerns and that adding the language risked imposing unnecessary restrictions.
After adopting the second division and rejecting the first, the Committee of the Whole reported the bill with a recommendation that it do pass. Members said the bill had broad support among agricultural stakeholders after the adopted changes.
Ending: Sponsors urged follow-up coordination with the State Engineer's Office to ensure the statutory change is workable; stakeholders asked for clear administrative procedures for temporary transfers and for monitoring use to avoid unintended forfeiture or abandonment issues.
