Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-134A - Quincy groundwater subarea management policy › Section 173-134A-080 - Regulation of waters of the shallow management unit - Permit requirements

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Waters of the shallow management unit shall be subject to the
				following:
(1) Applications for
			 withdrawal of public groundwaters shall be processed in accordance with the
			 provisions of
			 chapters
			 90.44 and
			 90.03 RCW.
The total quantity of withdrawals of public waters, whether
				authorized by permits and certificates issued under
				RCW
				90.44.050,
				90.44.060 or otherwise, shall not
				exceed 58,000 acre-feet per year. It appears there may be relatively small
				amounts of public waters (in the range of not more than 4,000 acre-feet
				annually) available for appropriation in the shallow management unit. Such
				small amounts are reserved for withdrawal for domestic and group domestic
				uses.
(2) No withdrawal of,
			 or construction of any works for the withdrawal of artificially stored
			 groundwaters shall be commenced by any person without obtaining permission of
			 the department of ecology. Permission shall be obtained through the issuance of
			 a permit as provided in chapter 173-136 WAC. Application for a permit shall be
			 on a form furnished by the department. In relation to ruling upon any such
			 application, the following shall apply:
(a)
			 Each permit shall be conditioned to ensure that no withdrawal will interfere
			 with the furnishing of adequate supplies of water to the Potholes Reservoir
			 facility of the bureau to satisfy existing and future project needs of the
			 bureau.
(b) Each permit shall be
			 conditioned to ensure that no interference with rights established under state
			 law, previously or in the future, to withdraw public waters or artificially
			 stored groundwaters shall be allowed. Rights described herein shall include
			 rights to the (1) maintenance of certain groundwater levels to ensure
			 availability and (2) protection of the use ability of certain withdrawal
			 facilities.
(c) To the maximum
			 extent possible, consistent with rights and interest in the groundwaters of the
			 Quincy subarea; wildlife, recreation, and other values associated with the
			 general public interest in the groundwater in the subarea shall be protected
			 and permits issued hereunder shall be so conditioned.
(d) Permits shall be conditioned such that
			 the well depth shall be no greater than 200 feet into the basalt (the shallow
			 management unit). However, when the total production from the authorized
			 well(s), completed within the shallow management unit does not produce the
			 quantity of water authorized under the permit in gallons per minute, the
			 permittee may apply to the department of ecology for an exemption to the well
			 depth limitation imposed by these regulations. Such an exemption will be
			 granted if reasonable efforts have been made to develop water in the shallow
			 management unit and the proposed deepening will not adversely affect existing
			 rights in the deep management unit. The depth of the well(s) in any event shall
			 not penetrate the top of the Grand Ronde Basalt unit. When an exemption is
			 granted, the department will advise the permittee of the depth to the top of
			 the Grand Ronde Basalt unit at the specific well site(s). The authorized wells
			 must be of adequate diameter and casing wall thickness to accommodate a pump of
			 sufficient capacity to produce the permitted quantity in gallons per minute.
			 Notwithstanding the definitions in WAC
			 173-134A-040, withdrawals of
			 water subject to exemptions shall be considered as artificially stored
			 groundwater.
(e) Each permit shall
			 be conditioned to provide that failure of the permittee to comply with the
			 terms of an executed agreement as described in WAC
			 173-134A-130 shall constitute
			 grounds for the department to terminate a permit issued under this
			 subsection.
(f) Applications for
			 permits shall be processed in order of their priority, based on the date of
			 receipt of an application by the department of ecology.
(g) Permits granted herein shall pertain to a
			 specific point(s) of withdrawal, and purpose, and place of use. No assignment
			 of such permits can be made without written approval of the department.
The department may approve amendments to permits granted herein
				regarding changes in point of withdrawal, purpose, and place of use, if it
				believes, after investigation, that the amendment will comply with WAC
				173-134A-070(1) through
				(4). Application for amendments provided
				herein shall be made on forms provided by the department.
Permits for the use of artificially stored groundwaters may be
				amended as to places of use and purpose only to the extent that waters actually
				have been placed to beneficial use pursuant to the terms of said
				permits.
(h) No permit
			 shall authorize the withdrawal of waters for agricultural irrigation use for
			 more acres than authorized by federal reclamation law.
(i) Permits issued hereunder shall have no
			 expressed termination date provided, however, the permit shall be modifiable
			 and terminable by the department at any time for good cause in order to
			 accomplish the water management and regulation program of this chapter.
			 Modifications and terminations as provided herein shall be effectuated through
			 the issuance of regulatory orders as described in WAC
			 173-134A-090.
All permits provided for in chapter 173-136 WAC shall contain
				development schedules requiring that water be put to beneficial use within a
				three-year period from the date of issuance. Any permit under which development
				has not been completed may be perfected to the extent of beneficial use, and
				cancellation proceedings will be initiated on the remaining undeveloped
				portion.
(j) By applying
			 for and obtaining a permit hereunder, an applicant expressly waives all other
			 claims of rights to withdraw groundwaters of the Quincy subarea for irrigation
			 uses, except as such rights are (1) embodied in a permit or certificate
			 pertaining to public groundwaters issued previously by the department of
			 ecology or one of its predecessors or (2) based upon rights established prior
			 to the enactment of
			 chapter
			 90.44 RCW and are the
			 subject of a claim filed with the department of ecology pursuant to
			 RCW
			 90.14.041.
(k) There shall be no fee for filing an
			 application for a permit authorized for withdrawal of artificially stored
			 groundwaters under this subsection. Said application shall include the names
			 and signatures of all legal owners of the lands proposed for
			 irrigation.
(l) Withdrawals of
			 artificially stored waters authorized by permit under this section shall be
			 limited to a maximum cumulative total of no more than 177,000 acre-feet for
			 each calendar year.
Withdrawals from wells presently drilled into both the shallow
				and deep management units, covered by an application filed with the department
				or a license to withdraw water issued by the bureau between May 12, 1967, and
				February 14, 1974, and which are also subject of a permit issued under this
				subsection (2), shall be considered as withdrawals from the shallow management
				unit.
(m) The duty of water
			 for agricultural irrigation uses shall be not more than 3.5 acre-feet for each
			 acre for each calendar year.
(n) No
			 applications for permits submitted pursuant to WAC
			 173-134A-080(2)
			 shall be approved for withdrawals of artificially stored groundwaters from
			 wells located on lands adjacent to bureau waterways and on lands underlain by
			 groundwater that hydraulically responds to changes in the water level of the
			 Potholes Reservoir, which specifically are those lands described in amended
			 department of ecology Order No. 75-54, second amendment, entered on February 3,
			 1986.