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Stock Water Working Group

Over the past several months, there have been legislative hearings, several media stories, and a lawsuit filed concerning the stock water exemption under the groundwater code. In 2009, the Legislature adopted ESHB 1244, which requires Ecology to convene a Stock Water Work Group (Work Group). The Work Group must review issues surrounding the use of permit-exempt wells for stock-watering purposes and report its activities and recommendations to the Governor and the appropriate legislative committees by December 1, 2009.

The Work Group includes eight Legislators, four members representing agricultural interests, three members representing environmental interests, someone from the Attorney General's Office, someone from Ecology, and someone from the Department of Agriculture. Additionally, Ecology invited affected federally recognized tribes to send participants. Ecology contacted the agricultural and environmental communities and asked that they determine who from their organizations would act as members on the Work Group. Additionally, Ecology contacted the Majority and Minority Leaders in the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the Minority Leader in the House to request designation of Legislators to participate on the Work Group. Finally, Ecology contacted both the Department of Agriculture and the Attorney General's Office and asked for their participation on the Work Group.

ESHB 1244 Chapter 564, Laws of 2009

Legislative directive (operating budget, page 107, ESHB 1244):

(17) (a) The department shall convene a stock water working group that includes: Legislators, four members representing agricultural interests, three members representing environmental interests, the attorney general or designee, the director of the department of ecology or designee, the director of the department of agriculture or designee, and affected federally recognized tribes shall be invited to send participants.

(b) The group shall review issues surrounding the use of permit-exempt wells for stock-watering purposes and may develop recommendations for legislative action.

(c) The working group shall meet periodically and report its activities and recommendations to the governor and the appropriate legislative committees by December 1, 2009

Stock Water Working Group Member List

2009 Meetings

December 2, 2009 - 9:30 am to 12:30 pm - Washington State Legislature Capital Campus, John A. Cherberg Building - Conference Rooms A-B-C

• Agenda – to be posted soon
• Meeting Notes – to be posted soon
• Meeting Material – to be posted soon

Stakeholder Meeting - November 24, 2009 - 10:00 am to 2:30 pm - Washington State Legislature Capital Campus, John A. Cherberg Building - Conference Rooms A-B-C

After receiving input from the work group, stakeholders will continue discussing concepts and proposals presented at the October 2nd Stockwater Working Group meeting in more detail.

• Meeting Notes - to be posted soon

Stakeholder Meeting - October 22, 2009

After receiving input from the work group, stakeholders discussed concepts and proposals presented at the October 2nd Stockwater Working Group meeting in more detail.

• Meeting Notes

October 2, 2009

• Agenda
• Meeting Notes
• Meeting Material
  • From Jack Field,  Washington Cattlemen's Association: Forage-based operations (cow-calf, stocker operators, and sheep operations) should remain on exempt wells.
  • From Ed Field,  Washington Cattle Feeders Association: The CAFOs need assurances that their established operations will be protected, and that they will be able to expand and develop as economic circumstances dictate.
  • From Chris Cheney,  Washington Dairy Federation:
    • The current exemption is vital to our survival. There is no other feasible way to accommodate the herd/fluctuations and incremental growth. Any changes proposed must allow for the orderly growth of our industry.
    • We believe the definition should be agreed to and codified with no "sharp shooting" of minutiae.
    • We acknowledge there may be now and will be sometime in the future problems in some watersheds but we don't have a ready solution to propose as to what is an appropriate amount that is less than unlimited.
  • From Mo McBroom,  Washington Environmental Council: There needs to be policies that take into account the needs of the existing industry, and also gets at the following issues:
    • A prospective quantity limit (with protections for existing facilities);
    • A prospective definition of stock watering use that allows for drinking, cleaning of animals, misting, but does not include dust control, irrigation or other uses not directly related;
    • Recording and reporting of water use for existing and prospective operations; and
    • Safeguards to ensure limits can be effectively put in place where there is impairment of senior water rights, including streamflows.
  • From Senator Rockefeller:  - A "package" of ideas intended to provide a fair and balanced resolution of this very complex and controversial topic, though many could be enacted independently and may stand individually upon their own merits. The proposals address the following topics:
    • A definition of "stock-watering purposes"
    • Not affecting existing stock water permit exempt well users
    • Adopting a sustainability policy for ground water
    • Ground water data and management
    • Establishing a volumetric cap for the stock water exemption
    • Requiring water users that need additional ground water above the volumetric cap in the exemption to obtain a water right permit
    • Regulation among water rights based upon priority dates
    • General stream adjudications
    • Assisting new livestock operations to find water
  • From Representative Chandler:  I’m not sure if now is the best time for the work group to be taking up this issue. Just recently the attorney general came out with a formal opinion affirming DOE’s authority to close basins and rejecting their ability to limit the four uses of exempt wells (of which stock-watering is one). In addition, there is the pending litigation (just recently moved to Franklin County) wherein the stock-water use of an exempt well of Easterday Ranches is being challenged by CELP. With this litigation in the courts, I think it makes much more sense for this workgroup to meet after the courts have weighed in on this issue.
  • From Senator Honeyford:  Having this taskforce evaluate legislative proposals to amend the stockwatering exemption from various parties currently engaged in a lawsuit feels like we are being put in the position of acting as mediators.
  • From Senator Morton:  I’m of the same opinion with Senator Honeyford, we wait….
  • From Representative Warnick: We should take a look at Department of Ecology’s z-draft from last session.

September 3, 2009

• Agenda
• Meeting Notes
• Meeting Material
  • Ground Rules & Discussion of Process - prepared by Karen Epps, Senate Committee Services
  • History of the Groundwater Code - prepared by Karen Epps, Senate Committee Services
  • Case Law - prepared by Karen Epps, Senate Committee Services
    • Digest of Water Resources Decisions, Pollution Control Hearings Board, And Appellate Courts, 2005 Edition, Cases Through October 1, 2005
  • Stockwater Consolidated Issues - Based on Survey Responses from Work Group Members - prepared by Karen Epps, Senate Committee Services
  • Groundwater Availability and Use in Washington  - presentation by Dave Nazy, Ecology
  • Farms, Water & Dreams - presentation by Jay Gordon, Washington State Dairy Federation
  • Washington Livestock Water-Use - presentation by Chris Cheney, Washington State Dairy Federation
  • Grown in Washington Chicken - presentation by Chris Cheney, Washington State Dairy Federation
  • Cattle 101 in Washington State - presentation by Jack Field, Washington Cattlemen's Association
  • Video Presentation on Stock Watering Operations - presentation by Representative Judy Warnick, Ed Field, Washington Cattle Feeders Association, Sarah Lamb, House Republican Caucus Communications Staff
    • Stockwatering Operations: AgriBeef Co. - You Tube Video
    • Stockwatering Operations: Sieverkropp Farms and Avila Farms Dairy - You Tube Video
  • History of Washington’s Livestock Industry - presentation by Bob Lee, Senate Committee Services
  • Rettkowski Case Summary - discussion by Maia Bellon, Office of the Attorney General
    • Rettkowski v. Ecology (Sinking Creek), 122 Wn.2d 219, 858 P.2d 232 (1993)
  • Environmental Caucus Presentation - presentation by Rachael Paschal Osborn, Center for Environmental Law and Policy
    • Before the well runs dry: Water solutions for Washington - distributed by Mo McBroom, Washington Environmental Council
  • Letter to Stock Water Work Group from the Tulalip Tribes

August 4, 2009

• Agenda
• Meeting Notes - updated 08/25/2009
• Meeting Material
  • AGO 2005 No. 17 Water - Water Rights - Department of Ecology - Rules and Regulations - Interpretation of statutory language exempting withdrawals of groundwater for stock-watering from permitting requirements.
  • Responses to the Top Five Issues Survey
    • Table of response data
  • February 17, 2009 Letter from Jay Manning "Over the past several months there has been some controversy, several media stories and now legislative hearings on the so-called "stockwater exemption" under the groundwater code. This exemption, enacted in 1945, exempts from water right permitting certain small uses of water. One of those is stockwatering."....
  • December 4, 2008 Letter of response from Jay Manning - Reliance on the groundwater exemption for large stock operations
  • 1945-2008 Comparison of livestock numbers table for WA, ID, CA, and OR - prepared by Bob Lee, Coordinator/Analyst, Agriculture & Rural Economic Development Committee, Senate Committee Services
  • August 4, 2009 Memo from Senator Jim Honeyford
  • August 3, 2009 Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
  • Rural Domestic Water Supply - Means to minimize the financial commitments of rural settlers in obtaining domestic water, Sub-problem 6, Problem No. 9b, May 1942 (Tentative Draft of Final Report)
    • Farm Improvement: Columbia Basin Joint Investigations - Problem 9, United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, D.C., 1945 (Final Report)

Background

Stockwater Exemption Issues

Easterday Ranches Inc., Stockwater Exemption issues under the Groundwater Code The Department of Ecology has approved the April 9, 2009, decision of the Franklin County Water Conservancy Board to transfer the former Pepiot water right to the Easterday Ranches Inc., feedlot northeast of Eltopia in Franklin County. 

State Water Use Laws: The Ground Water Permit Exemption RCW 90.44.050

The groundwater permit exemption allows the users of small quantities of ground water to construct wells and develop their water supplies without first obtaining a water right permit from Ecology.

• The Ground Water Permit Exemption RCW 90.44.050 The groundwater permit exemption allows the users of small quantities of ground water to construct wells and develop their water supplies without first obtaining a water right permit from Ecology.
• Focus on: The Ground Water Permit Exemption