Idaho § 42-5201 - Short title - Title of districts - Definitions

§ 42-5201. Short title - Title of districts - Definitions

This chapter is known as the "Ground Water District Act"; the districts created hereunder may be termed "ground water districts." When used in this chapter, and unless otherwise specified, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

(1) "Board" means the board of directors of a ground water district organized pursuant to this chapter.

(2) "Corporation" means a corporation or limited liability company.

(3) "County commission" means the board of county commissioners or any other governing board or authority for a county, as provided by law.

(4) "Department" means the Idaho department of water resources.

(5) "Director" means the director of the department of water resources.

(6) "District" means a ground water district established, or to be established, pursuant to this chapter.

(7) "Ground water" when used in this chapter means water under the surface of the ground whatever may be the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving, as provided in section 42-230 (a), Idaho Code.

(8) "Ground water user" means the legal or beneficial owner of a ground water right, or the user of a ground water right pursuant to lease or contract of a ground water right to divert ground water of the state for a beneficial use or purpose, except for those diverting under rights used solely for domestic or stock use as defined by sections 42-111 and 42-1401A , Idaho Code, and provided, that for purposes of this chapter, the term ground water user shall not include any ground water right held by or on behalf of an Indian tribe or by tribal members for diversion and use within an Indian reservation, ground water rights held by the United States or ground water rights held by the state of Idaho. A ground water user is within the boundary of a ground water district if the well or other point of diversion used by that ground water user is within the boundary. A husband and wife together diverting ground water pursuant to right shall constitute one (1) ground water user. Ground water user includes both a ground water irrigator and a nonirrigator as defined in this chapter.

(9) "Ground water irrigator" means a ground water user holding a ground water right for irrigation purposes within a ground water district.

(10) "Land" or "lands," when used in the context of the property of a ground water user subject to district assessment under this chapter, means the real property where ground water is diverted or placed to beneficial use, including the facilities in or through which a ground water user makes beneficial use of ground waters.

(11) "Nonirrigator" means a ground water user holding a ground water right for commercial, municipal, or industrial purposes within a ground water district. A ground water user will be deemed a nonirrigator for purposes of this chapter even though: (a) some component of the user’s ground water use is for irrigation; or (b) the user holds a ground water right for irrigation that is incidental to, or normally associated with, the user’s commercial, municipal or industrial purpose.

(12) "Member" means a ground water user whose lands, facilities and/or water rights are included in and subject to a ground water district and its policies.

(13) "Mitigation plan" means a plan to prevent or compensate for material injury to holders of senior water rights caused by the diversion and use of water by the holders of junior priority ground water rights who are participants in the mitigation plan.

(14) "Person" means an individual, partnership, trust, estate, association, corporation, municipal corporation, the state of Idaho and any of its agencies, the United States, an Indian tribe, a public corporation, or any other public or private entity.

(15) "Public corporation" means counties, city and counties, cities, school districts, municipal water districts, irrigation districts, recharge districts, water districts, park districts, subdistricts, and all other governmental agencies of this state, having the power of levying or providing for the levy of general or special taxes or special assessments, and any political subdivision of another state of the United States.

(16) "Water right" means the legal right to divert and beneficially use the public waters of the state of Idaho where such right is evidenced by a decree, a permit or a license issued by the department, a beneficial or constitutional use right evidenced by an adjudication claim or claim based on section 42-243 , Idaho Code, or a right based on federal law.

[42-5201, added 1995, ch. 290, sec. 1, p. 983; am. 1997, ch. 374, sec. 7, p. 1203; am. 2005, ch. 367, sec. 1, p. 1155.]