Water Leasing Amendments
What changed between versions
Added the Great Salt Lake Preservation Program to the list of nonlapsing appropriations in Section 63J-1-602.2, ensuring funds remain available even if the legislature fails to appropriate them in future years.
Created a new Great Salt Lake Preservation Board to administer the leasing program, set rates, and enforce lease compliance through repayment orders and potential court action.
Established a new streamlined leasing process (Section 73-3-30.5) that prioritizes applications for water leased for irrigation, industrial, or municipal purposes from surface sources within established distribution systems.
Granted the state engineer authority to protect leased water from diversion or impoundment by intervening users and prohibited other persons from regulating that water.
Required the state engineer to limit water right approvals to the specific lease period and condition them on annual reporting of water measurements.
Defined new terms including 'Agricultural water,' 'Agricultural water user,' 'Board,' 'Program,' and 'Shareholder' specifically for the Great Salt Lake leasing context.
Added repeal dates for various existing water-related statutes, including the Great Salt Lake Preservation Program chapter, with most repeals scheduled for 2027 to 2034.
