HB 392: "An Act relating to the use and appropriation of water."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 392 01 "An Act relating to the use and appropriation of water." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 46.15.020(b), as amended by sec. 4, ch. 100, SLA 2001, is amended to 04 read: 05 (b) The commissioner shall 06 (1) adopt procedural and substantive regulations to carry out the 07 provisions of this chapter, taking into consideration the responsibilities of the 08 Department of Environmental Conservation under AS 46.03 and the Department of 09 Fish and Game under AS 16; 10 (2) keep a public record of all applications for permits and certificates 11 and other documents filed in the commissioner's office; and shall record all permits 12 and certificates and amendments and orders affecting them and shall index them in 13 accordance with the source of the water and the name of the applicant or appropriator; 14 (3) cooperate with, assist, advise, and coordinate plans with the 15 federal, state, and local agencies, including local soil and water conservation districts,
01 in matters relating to the appropriation, use, conservation, quality, disposal, or control 02 of waters and activities related thereto; 03 (4) prescribe fees or service charges for any public service rendered 04 consistent with AS 37.10.050 - 37.10.058, except that the department may charge 05 under regulations adopted by the department [AN ANNUAL $50 06 ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE FEE TO MAINTAIN THE WATER 07 MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND] a water conservation fee under AS 46.15.035; 08 under this paragraph, the commissioner may not charge an annual fee for 09 maintaining an application, permit, or certificate without change; 10 (5) before February 1 of each year, prepare a report describing the 11 activities of the commissioner under AS 46.15.035 and 46.15.037; the commissioner 12 shall notify the legislature that the report is available; the report must include 13 (A) information on the number of applications and 14 appropriations for the removal of water from one hydrological unit to another 15 that were requested and that were granted and on the amounts of water 16 involved; 17 (B) information on the number and location of sales of water 18 conducted by the commissioner and on the volume of water sold; 19 (C) recommendations of the commissioner for changes in state 20 water law; and 21 (D) a description of state revenue and expenses related to 22 activities under AS 46.15.035 and 46.15.037. 23 * Sec. 2. AS 46.15.090 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 46.15.090. Preference in granting permits. When there are competing 25 applications for water from the same source, and the source is insufficient to supply all 26 applicants, the commissioner shall give preference first to public water supply 27 including domestic water uses, second to agriculture and irrigation, and third 28 [THEN] to the use that alone or in combination with other foreseeable uses will 29 constitute the most beneficial use. 30 * Sec. 3. AS 46.15.155(a) is amended to read: 31 (a) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this chapter, the commissioner
01 may authorize the temporary use of a significant amount of water, as determined by 02 the department by regulation, for a period of time not to exceed five consecutive years 03 [,] if the water applied for has not been appropriated in accordance with this chapter. 04 An authorization may be renewed once for the term equal to that of the original 05 authorization if the commissioner determines that the factors considered in the 06 original authorization are still relevant and the water to be used is still available. 07 * Sec. 4. AS 46.15.155 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 08 (j) If the commissioner does not act to authorize the temporary use of water or 09 deny authority to temporarily use water under this section within 30 days after receipt 10 of an application, the temporary use of water is authorized, and the person may use the 11 water. 12 * Sec. 5. AS 46.15.260 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 13 (10) "significant amount of water" means the use of one million or 14 more gallons of water a day for 100 consecutive days in a calendar year.