By Ray Petersen
There is no more critically important natural resource in Emery County than water. The areas where our communities are located receive less than eight inches of rainfall annually. Groundwater in these areas is very limited and of low quality. The communities in the western part of the county are dependent on snow and rainfall on the watershed in the Manti LaSal Forest to our West which is captured, stored and released through a system of water retention and delivery facilities. Water which is not retained as groundwater or lost to evaporation passes through the County in the Price River, San Rafael River and Muddy Creek, to eventually enter and Green and Colorado Rivers. Green River Valley is dependent on snow and rainfall in Wyoming, Colorado and Northern Utah which flows in the Green River.
All water in Utah, and its use, is managed by Utah State Water Law.
The Emery County General Plan (2016) states, in part:
Adequate water quality and availability is the lifeblood of Emery County and is necessary for current and future residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, and recreational development. Emery County will protect this valuable resource by promoting watershed protection measures and supporting the efficient management and use of water resources……….. The County supports protection of private water rights from federal and state encroachment and/or coerced acquisition. Emery County asserts that efficacious access is crucial for the management of the area’s water resources, and the county expects the managing state and federal agencies to facilitate such access.
When the three evaluation criteria (current management, current use, what makes sense?) are applied to water resources in the areas relevant to the Emery County Public Lands Bill, the importance of maintaining current use cannot be over-emphasized! There is no room for altering current state, federal or local laws and ordinances with regard to this most vital natural resource in Emery County.
One major concern for Emery County with regard to special land designation is the possibility of a water right being also conveyed with the designation. Local and state water management officials crafted the text included in HR 5727:
(k) Water Rights.—
(1) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act—
(A) constitutes an express or implied reservation by the United States of any water or water rights with respect to the wilderness areas;
(B) affects any water rights in the State (including any water rights held by the United States) in existence on the date of enactment of this Act;
(C) establishes a precedent with regard to any future wilderness designations;
(D) affects the interpretation of, or any designation made under, any other Act; or
(E) limits, alters, modifies, or amends any interstate compact or equitable apportionment decree that apportions water among and between the State and other States.
(2) STATE WATER LAW.—The Secretary shall follow the procedural and substantive requirements of State law in order to obtain and hold any water rights not in existence on the date of enactment of this Act with respect to the wilderness areas.
(3) LIMITATION ON NEW WATER RESOURCE FACILITIES.—
(A) DEFINITION OF WATER RESOURCE FACILITY.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph, the term “water resource facility” means an irrigation and pumping facility, reservoir, water conservation works, aqueduct, canal, ditch, pipeline, well, hydropower project, transmission or other ancillary facility, and any other water diversion, storage, or carriage structure.
(ii) EXCLUSION.—In this paragraph, the term “water resource facility” does not include a wildlife guzzler or a management activity described in section 203.
(B) LIMITATION.—Except as otherwise provided in this Act, on or after the date of enactment of this Act, the President or any other officer, employee, or agent of the United States may not fund, assist, authorize, or issue a license or permit for the development of any new water resource facility inside a wilderness area.