There was a long list of water-related bills that were passed during the 2024 session of the Utah Legislature. Below are bills summaries (drafted by the water attorneys at Smith Hartvigsen) about these bills that passed. HB 11 (2nd Substitute) – Water Efficient Landscaping RequirementsRep. Doug Owens House Bill 11 (2nd Substitute) mandates that certain government entities in the Great Salt Lake Basin will not use overhead spray irrigation of a new construction or reconstruction’s landscaped area after May 1, 2024. Despite this restriction, this bill does not restrict overhead spray irrigation ..read more

There were a number of water-related bills that were considered during the 2024 legislative session that were ultimately not passed. Below are bill summaries (drafted by the water attorneys at Smith Hartvigsen) about these bills that did not pass. HB 230 - State Agency Application Review RequirementsRep. Thomas W. Peterson House Bill 230 sought to put time limitations on decisions made by agencies within the Utah Department of Natural Resources, including the Utah Division of Water Rights. For example, the bill would have required the Division of Water Rights to issue an Order on a Change Appl ..read more

I was a guest on the Ripple Effect podcast to talk about some of the water-related bills passed (and did not pass) during the 2024 session of the Utah Legislature. To listen to the podcast, click here ..read more

I was a guest on the Ripple Effect podcast to talk about some of the water-related bills that will be considered at the 2024 session of the Utah Legislature. To listen to the podcast, click here ..read more

The 2024 general session of the Utah Legislature begins next week. Here is a summary of the water-related bills that have been released so far. As the session goes along, additional water bills will certainly be added. HB 11 - Water Efficient Landscaping RequirementsRep. Doug Owens House Bill 11 mandates that after May 1, 2024 certain government entities in the Great Salt Lake Basin will not use grass or turf in more than 20% the landscaped area of a new construction or reconstruction of a building or facility. Despite this restriction, this bill does not consider the following type of grass o ..read more

The Utah Court of Appeals recently issued its decision in the case of Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy v. Sorf. The primary issue in the case was enforcement of an easement for a water pipeline. This case has been ongoing for many years. (Click here to read about a 2019 decision by the Utah Supreme Court in the same case.) The District operates the Salt Lake Aqueduct, which is a large pipeline that runs for 42 miles through Utah County and Salt Lake County -- including through the backyard of Zdenek Sorf. The District owns a 125-foot easement for the pipeline, which the Di ..read more

The Utah Division of Water Rights recently published the Proposed Determination for the Big Cottonwood Creek area (Book 57-18). The Division has set a public meeting to discuss the Proposed Determination. The following information is from the public meeting notice: What: Public Meeting Who: Water Users within the Big Cottonwood Creek area When: January 10, 2024, 4:00 to 5:00 pm Where: Cottonwood Heights City Hall, 2277 East Bengal Blvd. Purpose: In accordance with Chapter 73-4, Utah Code Annotated, and the Third Judicial District Court (Civil No. 365729835), the State Engineer has completed a ..read more

The Utah Court of Appeals recently issued its decision in Park City Premier Properties LLC v. Silver Summit Estates. The central issue in this case was whether a developer was required to install a secondary water system for a residential subdivision. In 2013, Park City Premier Properties ("Premier") acquired property in Weber County, along with 94 shares in Co-op Farm Irrigation Company. The irrigation company water had historically been used for agricultural irrigation on the property. Premier then filed a subdivision application with Weber County, which noted the irrigation company shares ..read more

The Utah Division of Water Rights has announced a public meeting on September 5, 2023 to discuss a proposed increase to the fees associated with Reports of Conveyance. The current fee is $40 per Report of Conveyance, and a separate Report of Conveyance is required for each water right. There is no mention about how much the proposed fee increase will be. The following information comes from the notice of the public meeting: PUBLIC MEETING CONCERNING THE INCREASE OF TITLE FEES FOR THE SUBMITTAL OF A REPORT OF CONVEYANCE WITH THE DIVISION OF WATER RIGHTS Who:     Holders of w ..read more

The Utah Supreme Court recently issued its decision in Utah Stream Access Coalition v. VR Acquisitions LLC. This case focused on one question: “whether there was a 19th-century basis for an easement providing the public with the right to touch privately owned streambeds underlying state waters.” In the 2008 decision in Conatser v. Johnson, the Utah Supreme Court established a broad public easement to utilize the beds of Utah's waterways for recreational purposes. In response to this decision, the Utah legislature adopted the Public Water Access Act in 2010. The Act placed restrictions on ..read more