OLYMPIA— “Adjudication doesn’t need to be a daunting process if people are equipped with the right information,” said Rep. Joe Timmons (D-Bellingham) as HB 1792 passed off the House floor in late February. Today, it passed the Senate with a unanimous vote of 46-0, and now heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
“This bill provides clarity on timelines—such as when to file water rights claims and respond to court summons—to all who go through the adjudication process in the Nooksack Watershed,” explained Timmons.
Adjudication is one tool in the state’s water management toolbox. Adjudication brings all water users in a watershed into a legal process to determine full and fair water management by confirming the rights to use water. The process provides certainty to water users for future use, and this bill will help people in Whatcom County navigate the legal process by ensuring clarity and transparency for claimants when filing their water rights claims.
A few years ago, the Washington State Department of Ecology was directed by the Legislature to assess watersheds in the state that would benefit most from a water rights adjudication process. The resulting report showed two locations—the Nooksack watershed, known as Water Resource Inventory Area 1, within the borders of the 42nd Legislative District, as well as an area around Lake Roosevelt in eastern Washington.
HB 1792 concerns the water rights adjudication process in the Nooksack watershed only.