A new Montana law aims to create more certainty for developers tapping into groundwater outside the regular permitting process.
Staff with the state's water management agency briefed lawmakers November 20 on new rules for exempt wells. House Bill 681 ensures developers know the intended water use qualifies for an exemption before using the water instead of finding out afterward, as currently happens.
Anna Packenham Stevenson with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation told legislators the law streamlines the exemption approval process across county governments and state agencies.
"And it provides that certainty to individuals planning on using the exceptions to permitting process prior to investing resources into a project," she said.
The state originally passed permit exemptions in the 1970s for wells with minimal impact, such as water for a single home or stock water for around a dozen animals.
Today, developers can skip a lengthy permitting process as long as the water system falls under 10 acre-feet per year and 35 gallons per minute.
Opponents to exemptions say they encroach on existing water rights, especially in areas with a lot of growth. Brian Heaston with the city of Bozeman said that is the case in the Gallatin Valley.
"Cumulative impact of all the exempt well use is absolutely reducing stream flow in our rivers and streams," Heaston said. "That has problems for existing senior water rights and the reliability component of how long those waters are going to be available to use for beneficial purpose."
Last year, a lawsuit specified that the maximum exemption limit must apply to all phases of a subdivision, not each phase individually. Packenham Stevenson said the lawsuit threw an estimated eight subdivisions and 300 lots into a state of limbo, which is what the law seeks to address in the future.
The new law is slated to go into effect Jan. 1.
