The bill also charges the Department of Environmental Protection <or appropriate agency> with reporting annually on the water use reporting requirement to the Joint Standing Committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resource matters. That Department’s reports must summarize usage on a regional basis and in a manner that does not disclose the identity of any individual user. In preparing its annual report, the Department is required to encourage and assist in establishing regional task forces with cooperating agencies to assess regional water use issues and options for addressing those issues and to solicit input on all aspects of the water use reporting programs from the Commissioner of Agriculture, the Commissioner of Conservation, and the Commissioner of Human Services <or appropriate state officials>. The report must also include all comments and recommendations received from those Commissions on the requirements.

The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Protection <or appropriate state agency> to encourage and cooperate with state, regional, or municipal agencies, boards, or organizations in the development and adoption of regional or local water use policies that protect the environment from excessive drawdown of water sources during low-flow periods. The Department shall encourage those entities, in developing those policies, to review previously adopted low-flow policies.

The Water Withdrawal Reporting Act

AN ACT TO REQUIRE MAJOR WATER USERS TO PROVIDE PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR ANNUAL WATER WITHDRAWALS FROM PUBLIC WATER RESOURCES.

Section 1. Definitions.

As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings:

(A) “Aquifer” means any water bearing bed or stratum of earth or rock capable of yielding groundwater to a water well in sufficient quantities that can be withdrawn.

(B) “Artesian aquifer” means an aquifer overlain by a layer of material of less permeability than the aquifer and where the aquifer is under sufficient pressure so that, when it is penetrated by a well, the groundwater will rise naturally above the top of the aquifer.

(C) “Department” means <insert appropriate state agency of environmental or water oversight>.

(D) “Nonconsumptive use” means any use of water that results in the water being discharged back into the same water source within 1/4 mile upstream or downstream from the point of withdrawal, as defined in Section 2, such that the difference between the volume withdrawn and the volume returned is no more than the threshold amount per day. This also includes withdrawals from groundwater that are discharged to a subsurface system or to a hydraulically connected surface water body such that no more than the threshold amount, as determined in Section 2, is consumed.

(E) “Water source” means any river, stream, or brook as defined in <appropriate statute>, any lake or pond, and any aquifer or artesian aquifer.

(F) “Water withdrawal” or “withdrawal of water” means the removal, diversion, or taking of water from a water source. All withdrawals of water from a particular water source that are made or controlled by a single person or entity are considered to be a single withdrawal of water.

Section 2. Reporting Thresholds.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a person making a water withdrawal in excess of the threshold volumes established in this section shall file a water withdrawal report in accordance with Section 3 covering the twelve months ending on the previous September 30. The reporting thresholds are as follows:

(A) Withdrawals from a river, stream, or brook. The threshold volume for reporting on withdrawals from a river, stream, or brook or groundwater within 500 feet of the river, stream, or brook, is the greater of 20,000 gallons on any day, or, if the watershed area at the point of withdrawal exceeds 75 square miles, a volume in gallons per day for any day that is:

(1) One percent of the estimated low-flow volume of water to occur for 7 days once in ten years (7Q10) based on historical flows for rivers, streams, or brooks with an adequate record of gauge data; or

(2) One percent of the estimated low-flow volume of water to occur for 7 days once in ten years (7Q10) based on an estimated low-flow value for a river, stream, or brook below a dam where flow is limited by gate settings or leakage; or

(3) If A and B are not applicable, then a threshold volume calculated using the formula V=168.031 times A1.1, where V is the volume in gallons per day and A is the watershed area in square miles.

(B) Withdrawals from a lake or pond or certain groundwater sources. The threshold volume for reporting on withdrawals from a lake or pond or groundwater within 500 feet of the lake or pond is determined from the following table:

(C) Withdrawals from other groundwater sources. The threshold volume for reporting on withdrawals from groundwater greater than 500 feet from a river, stream, brook, lake, or pond is 50,000 gallons on any day, unless the person or entity making the water withdrawal demonstrates to the Department’s satisfaction that the withdrawal will not impact any adjacent surface water body.

Section 3. Exemptions.

The following uses are exempt from the reporting requirements of this Act:

(A) Nonconsumptive uses. Dams are explicitly exempt as nonconsumptive uses, including Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensed hydropower dams and storage dams, and dams subject to a water level setting order;

(B) Household uses. Water withdrawal for ordinary household use;

(C) Public water systems. A public water system that is regulated by the Department of Health and Human Services <or appropriate agency>;

(D) Subject to existing reporting requirements. Water withdrawals subject to water withdrawal reporting requirements established in any state permitting or licensing program prior to the effective date of this Act including, but not limited to, <list specific relevant statutes such as: site location law, land use regulations law, waste discharge law>, provided that the water user files a notice of intent to be covered by this exemption on a form to be provided by the Department;

(E) Public emergencies. A water withdrawal from surface or ground water for fire suppression or other public emergency purpose;

(F) Commercial or industrial storage ponds. A water withdrawal from a storage pond or water supply system in existence as of the effective date of this Act, provided that the withdrawal is for a commercial or industrial use, the water user has filed a water use plan as part of a state license application, and the water user files a notice of intent to be covered by this exemption on a form to be provided by the Department;

(G) Off-stream storage ponds. A water withdrawal from a man-made storage pond that does not have a river, stream, or brook as an inlet or outlet, constructed for the purpose of storing water for crop irrigation or other uses;

(H) In-stream storage ponds. A water withdrawal from a man-made pond constructed in a stream channel, provided that it is subject to a minimum flow release requirement in an existing permit and the water user files a notice of intent to be covered by this exemption on a form to be provided by the Department; and

(I) Duplication of reporting. A water withdrawal that is reported to any other state agency under any program requiring substantially similar data, provided that the other agency has entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Department for the collection and sharing of that data.

Section 4. Filing of Reports by Users; Aggregation of Data.

(A) Unless exempted under Section 3, a person or entity withdrawing more than the threshold volume of water established in this Act must file an annual water withdrawal report on December 1, <enter year> and on every December 1st thereafter, as provided in this section, for the 12 month period ending the previous September 30th.

(B) Water withdrawal reports must be submitted to either the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of Conservation, the Commissioner of Human Services, or the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Resources in a form or manner prescribed by that Commissioner <or appropriate state officials>. No later than January 1, <enter subsequent year>, those Commissioners shall jointly publish a list indicating which classes of users are to report to which Department. The form and manner of reporting shall be determined by each Commissioner, provided that the required information is collected from each user above the threshold and in a manner that allows that data to be combined with data collected by the other Commissioner.

(C) The reports must include the following information:

(1) Information on actual and anticipated water use;

(2) The identification of the water source;

(3) The location of the withdrawal including the distance of each groundwater withdrawal from the nearest surface water source; and

(4) The volume of the withdrawals which might be reasonably anticipated under maximum high demand conditions, the number of days those withdrawals may occur each month, and the location and volume of each point of discharge.

(D) The reporting may allow volumes to be reported in ranges established by the Commissioners and reported volumes may be calculated estimates of volumes.

(E) The Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Resources, the Department of Conservation, and the Department of Human Services <or appropriate agencies> may adopt routine technical rules as necessary to implement the reporting provisions of this section.

Section 5. Local Water Use Policies Encouraged.

The Department shall encourage and cooperate with state, regional, or municipal agencies, or boards or organizations in the development and adoption of regional or local water use policies that protect the environment from excessive drawdown of water sources during low-flow periods. The Department shall encourage those entities, in developing those policies, to review previously adopted low-flow policies.

Section 6. Report to the Legislature.

The Commissioners shall report to the Joint Standing Committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resource matters on January 15, <insert subsequent year>, and annually thereafter, on all aspects of water use reporting, data aggregation, and the development of water use standards required by this Act. That report shall summarize water use reporting data on a regional basis and in a manner that does not allow for the identification of any individual user. The report shall compare cumulative water use and availability of water in watersheds and assess water use issues and priorities on a watershed basis. The report must also identify any impediments to implementing any of the requirements of this Act and shall include recommendations for addressing those impediments and may include recommendations on any other aspect of the reporting or water use standards provisions of this Act. In preparing these reports, the Commissioners shall encourage and assist in establishing regional task forces with cooperating agencies to assess regional water use issues and options for addressing those issues. The Commissioners shall also solicit input from the Commissioner of Agriculture, the Commissioner of Conservation, and the Commissioner of Human Services <or appropriate state agencies> on all aspects of the requirements of this Act and shall include in the report all comments and recommendations received from those Departments on these requirements.

Section 7. Compliance.

Any violation of any provision of this Act, or of any rule adopted under this Act, shall be subject to a civil forfeiture to the State of no less than $2,000 for each violation, and for each day of a continuing violation.

Section 8. Effective Date.

This Act shall be effective immediately upon its passage.

Section 9. Severability.

If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Act which can be given effect without regard to the invalid provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this Act are severable.