Senior water-rights group backs bills to limit DNRC claims on state‑leased land and preserve water court adjudication

Jocelyn Galt Cahill of Metropolis Narison Associates, speaking for the Senior Ag Water Rights Alliance (SARRA), outlined two bills SARRA will support this session to protect irrigators and senior water rights holders.

The first bill would require the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to obtain authorization from the state land board before asserting ownership of water associated with state‑leased land. Cahill said the measure responds to situations in which a landowner diverts water onto a piece of state‑leased land and the agency might otherwise assert ownership without land‑board approval: "we are ensuring that DNRC does not have the ability to just take the the right of that water without getting the approval of the state land board," she said.

The second bill would preserve the water court's role to complete adjudication of final decrees and keep subsequent disputes in district court, rather than altering the water court's mandate; she said SARRA supports keeping the water court intact to finish adjudication work.

Cahill noted these items are likely to be handled in other committees as water‑court and land‑board topics arise, and invited committee members to follow the bills. Committee members asked clarifying questions, including whether the bills would affect housing developments tied to remediation projects; Cahill said those scenarios likely involve different water‑rights questions and that the SARRA measures address the narrower issue of DNRC assertions on state leases.

The testimony focused on procedural protections for senior water-rights holders rather than immediate changes to adjudicated rights.