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HB22 Simplified
The purpose of House Bill 22 is:
1. to increase the pace of the adjudication of Montana 's old water rights so that the process can be complete by 2020 for the 57,000 existing water right claims remaining to be examined and decreed;
2. the funding of the HB 22 changes was changed from adjudication fees to legislative general funds in 2007;
3. to set a deadline of June 30, 2015 for DNRC to complete this examination;
4. to set a deadline of June 30, 2020 for the Water Court to issue the initial water right decree for all existing water rights in Montana; and
5. to set periodic performance deadlines for DNRC, called benchmarks, to ensure that the examination of claims is completed in a timely manner. If these benchmarks are not met, the DNRC cannot continue to assess the water rights adjudication fees under HB 22. The cumulative benchmarks are as follows:
All water rights on record with the department, including statements of claims, provisional permits, groundwater certificates, filed exempt rights, Powder River Declaration rights, stock water permits, temporary provisional permits and 1962-1973 groundwater filings were subject to the water rights adjudication fee billed in 2005. The adjudication fee was REPEALED in 2007. However, the state has directed that all 2005 bills be collected. Federal rights and tribal reserved rights were not charged this fee. The first listed party on a billed water right received an adjudication fee bill in 2005, and that person or entity was responsible for collecting fees from any co-owners on the water right. The fee matrix is listed below.
