Budget cuts slow North Idaho water adjudication

BOISE - Budget cuts at the Idaho Department of Water Resources won’t stop the long-planned North Idaho water rights adjudication, but they’ll slow it down, state Water Resources Director David Tuthill told state lawmakers today. Among the department’s budget cuts are five of the 11 employees working on the adjudication, Tuthill said. The adjudication is a sorting-out of all the water rights in the region, many of which have never been recorded, are outdated or conflict with one another. It’s been scaled back, however, to make it voluntary for holders of small domestic water rights. Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, said he has no problem with the delay, which will push the process out to 2018 before it’s fully competed. “It’s probably OK, because there was so much apprehension,” Hammond said. “As more people get their rights adjudicated, other people will see that it’s not as invasive as expected, that it’s really good protection for a low cost.” Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, who co-sponsored legislation last year to scale back the adjudication, said, “It’s not going to be a noticeable delay to most of the folks. … Even if it’s a slowed-down pace, they don’t feel they’re going to lose anything in the long run.” Tuthill told lawmakers, “So far we’ve received over 100 claims.” About a third of those were filed online, a new capability the department now has, he said, that’s allowed for efficiencies in the process. “This process is working very nicely,” he said. “We’re at a point now where we can reduce the effort and still be OK. We can slow down in our claims-taking. … It is launched.” The newly “elongated” time frame for the adjudication now shows the process ending in 2018, with the first North Idaho basin completed by 2015. Judge John Melanson, who presides over Idaho’s water rights adjudication court, said he thought the new timing would work out well, because court proceedings for the North Idaho adjudication would really gear up in about 2012, at the same time that the current Snake River Basin Adjudication in southern Idaho will wrap up. In response to questions from North Idaho lawmakers, Tuthill said there may be some added cost with the longer time frame, but the process appears to be moving along adequately. Hammond said his major concern is that Idaho act in time to show the state of Washington that it’s protecting its water rights claims. “My concern was that the Washington (interests) were complaining and asserting it’s their water we’re using,” he said. “I think it’s imperative that we stay ahead of them.” Tuthill said, “We’re really leading the way with Washington. … I think this level of effort will maintain that.” The department’s other budget cuts include eliminating two water resource agents, one engineer, one economist, one stream channel protection specialist and one information technology position, while shifting assignments for various other workers. “While reducing, we still have our full complement of our capabilities,” Tuthill said. “Our services to citizens will be reduced, but we do recognize that these are tight budget times. … We’ve done our best.”