73-33 - Great Salt Lake Distribution Management
Title 73 > 73-33
Sections (5)
General Provisions
73-33-101 - Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Distribution management plan” means a plan adopted by the state engineer in accordance with Section 73-33-201.
(2) “Great Salt Lake Comprehensive Management Plan” means the plan adopted by a record of decision by the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands for the management of the Great Salt Lake.
(3) “Great Salt Lake meander line” means the same as that term is defined in Section 65A-17-101.
(4) “Great Salt Lake water right” means a water right that allows for the diversion of surface water or groundwater from a point below the Great Salt Lake meander line and that contemplates the recovery of salts or another mineral or element, as defined in Section 65A-17-101, from the water resource by precipitation or otherwise.
(5) “Great Salt Lake watershed” means the drainage area for the Great Salt Lake, the Bear River watershed, the Jordan River watershed, the Utah Lake watershed, the Weber River watershed, and the West Desert watershed.
Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session
73-33-102 - Scope of chapter.
(1) A person may not interpret this chapter as requiring the development, implementation, or consideration of a distribution management plan as a prerequisite or condition to the exercise of the state engineer’s enforcement powers under other law, including powers granted under Section 73-2-25.
(2) This chapter applies to Great Salt Lake water rights that were approved or perfected on or before May 1, 2024, and Great Salt Lake water rights approved or perfected after May 1, 2024, including use under a Great Salt Lake water right of water for the mineral or element extraction process.
Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session
Distribution Management Plan
73-33-201 - Great Salt Lake distribution management plan.
(1) The state engineer shall regulate the measurement, appropriation, apportionment, and distribution of water within the Great Salt Lake meander line by adopting a distribution management plan by no later than October 1, 2025, that establishes:consistent with Section 73-33-203, requirements for the measurement, quantification, and reporting of diversions, depletions, and return flows associated with Great Salt Lake water rights; andprocedures for the apportionment and distribution of Great Salt Lake water rights.
(2) In developing a distribution management plan under this section, the state engineer may consider:the hydrology of the Great Salt Lake watershed as it affects Great Salt Lake water rights;the physical characteristics of the Great Salt Lake;the Great Salt Lake elevation;the Great Salt Lake salinity;the strategic plan prepared by the Great Salt Lake commissioner and approved by the governor under Section 73-32-204;the measurement, appropriation, apportionment, and distribution of Great Salt Lake water rights;the quantity of water approved for beneficial use within the Great Salt Lake meander line by a division as defined in Section 73-3-30;the quantity of water within the Great Salt Lake;the Great Salt Lake Comprehensive Management Plan;the different types of beneficial uses of Great Salt Lake water rights; andother relevant factors such as the economic viability impacts.The state engineer shall base the distribution management plan on the principles of prior appropriation and multiple use sustained yield, with multiple use defined in Section 65A-1-1, as the principles relate to the reasonable preservation or enhancement of the Great Salt Lake’s natural aquatic environment.The state engineer shall use the best available information to administer Great Salt Lake water rights to achieve the objectives of the distribution management plan.As hydrologic conditions change or additional information becomes available, the state engineer may revise the distribution management plan by following the procedures of Subsection (3).
(3) To adopt or amend a distribution management plan for the Great Salt Lake, the state engineer shall:give notice pursuant to Subsection (3)(b) at least 30 days before the first public meeting held in accordance with Subsection (3)(a)(ii):that the state engineer proposes to adopt or amend a distribution management plan; andstating the location, date, and time of each public meeting to be held in accordance with Subsection (3)(a)(ii);hold one or more public meetings to:present data, studies, or reports that the state engineer intends to consider in preparing the distribution management plan;address items that may be included in the distribution management plan; andreceive public comments and other information presented at the public meeting;receive and consider written comments concerning the proposed distribution management plan from any person for a period determined by the state engineer of not less than 60 days after the day on which the notice required by Subsection (3)(a)(i) is given;at least 60 days before final adoption of the distribution management plan, publish notice:that a draft of the distribution management plan has been proposed; andspecifying where a copy of the draft distribution management plan may be reviewed;promptly provide a copy of the draft distribution management plan in printed or electronic form to each person listed in Subsection (3)(b)(iii) that requests a copy in writing; andprovide notice of the adoption of the distribution management plan.The state engineer shall ensure that a notice required by this section:is published:once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in each county that includes any land below the Great Salt Lake meander line; andfor two weeks in accordance with Section 45-1-101;is published conspicuously on the state engineer’s website; andis mailed to water right owners of record in the state engineer’s office of Great Salt Lake water rights.A notice required by this section is effective upon substantial compliance with Subsection (3)(b).A distribution management plan takes effect on the date notice of adoption is completed under Subsection (3)(b) or on a later date when specified in the distribution management plan.
(4) In accordance with the distribution management plan, the state engineer shall establish a priority schedule that apportions Great Salt Lake water rights based on relative priority among Great Salt Lake water rights and:develop an apportionment schedule and distribution accounting tool that accounts for:Great Salt Lake elevations;Great Salt Lake salinity;Great Salt Lake water rights;the quantity of water in the Great Salt Lake; andthe quantity of water delivered to or in the Great Salt Lake under water rights approved for beneficial use by a division as defined in Section 73-3-30;prohibit Great Salt Lake water rights from diverting the quantity of water accounted for under Subsection (4)(a)(i)(E); andrequire physical measurement and annual reporting of diversion, depletion, and return flow quantities of Great Salt Lake water rights.Under a distribution management plan the state engineer may reduce the quantity of water that an owner of a Great Salt Lake water right may divert from the Great Salt Lake in accordance with the principles of prior appropriation.
(5) When adopting a distribution management plan, the state engineer may allow water users to participate in a voluntary arrangement that compensates or otherwise mitigates for the use of Great Salt Lake water rights.The participants in a voluntary arrangement under this Subsection (5) shall implement the voluntary arrangement consistent with other law.The adoption of a voluntary arrangement under this Subsection (5) by less than all of the owners of Great Salt Lake water rights does not affect the rights of those owners of Great Salt Lake water rights who do not agree to the voluntary arrangement.
(6) The existence of a distribution management plan does not preclude an otherwise eligible person from filing an application or challenging a decision made by the state engineer within the Great Salt Lake meander line, except that a person may challenge the components of a distribution management plan only in a manner provided in Section 73-33-202.
(7) A distribution management plan adopted or amended in accordance with this section is exempt from Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session
73-33-202 - Challenges to a distribution management plan.
(1) A person aggrieved by a distribution management plan may challenge any aspect of the distribution management plan by filing a complaint within 60 days after the distribution management plan takes effect in a court with jurisdiction:under Title 78A, Judiciary and Judicial Administration; andnotwithstanding Title 78B, Chapter 3a, Venue for Civil Actions, over a geographic area bordering the Great Salt Lake.
(2) In an action filed under this section, a court shall review de novo the distribution management plan.
(3) A person challenging a distribution management plan under this section shall join the state engineer as a defendant in that action.
(4) No later than 30 days after the day on which a person files an action challenging any aspect of a distribution management plan, the person filing the action shall publish notice of the action:once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the court is located; andfor two weeks in accordance with Section 45-1-101.The notice required by Subsection (4)(a) shall:identify the distribution management plan that the person is challenging;identify the case number assigned by the court;state that a person affected by the distribution management plan may petition the court to intervene in the action challenging the distribution management plan; andlist the address of the clerk of the court in which the action is filed.A person affected by a distribution management plan that is being challenged under this section may petition to intervene in the action in accordance with Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 24.
Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session
73-33-203 - Measuring volume and quality of water.
(1) A person diverting water under a Great Salt Lake water right shall:measure through the use of a physical measurement and not estimate or calculate the water or brine diverted from the Great Salt Lake as part of the mineral or element extraction process;keep a record of the measurements described in Subsection (1)(a)(i); andreport the measurements described in Subsection (1)(a)(i) to the Division of Water Rights in accordance with rules made by the Division of Water Rights under Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.A duty described in Subsection (1)(a) does not replace or modify any other duty to measure water under this title or rules made under this title.
(2) A person diverting water under a Great Salt Lake water right shall:measure the salinity of any discharge of water or brine from the person’s operations into the Great Salt Lake in accordance with rules made by the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act;keep a record of the measurements described in Subsection (2)(a); andreport the measurements described in Subsection (2)(a) to the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands in accordance with rules made by the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands under Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(3) On or before June 1, 2025, the Division of Water Quality, in consultation with the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, and in cooperation with the Great Salt Lake commissioner pursuant to Section 73-32-203, shall make a rule, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, setting a limit for the salinity of water or brine that a person may discharge into the Great Salt Lake as part of the mineral or element extraction process.If a person discharges water or brine that exceeds the limit imposed under Subsection (3)(a), the Division of Water Quality may modify, revoke and reissue, or terminate any permit issued by the Division of Water Quality related to the discharge.
(4) A person shall keep a record required under this section for a period of at least five years from the day on which the record is made.
Enacted by Chapter 25, 2024 General Session