There were nearly 21 years of experience with Idaho water sitting on a four-judge panel at the Sun Valley Inn where a standing-room only crowd was gathered to learn about major water issues facing the state on Monday afternoon.
Judges Daniel Hurlbutt Jr., Barry Wood, Roger Burdick and John Melanson represent the literal embodiment of the judicial journey Idaho has traveled since 1987 to sort out one of the largest water disputes in the nation.
They convened in Sun Valley for a panel discussion that was part of the Idaho Water Users Association's two-day summer water law seminar. The event brought together irrigators, state officials, canal companies, tribal representatives and lawyers to review issues facing the state. Around 200 attended the event, which was expected to draw 180, and issues discussed ranged from the Clean Water Act and endangered species to the Idaho Legislature and aquifer management.
Called the Snake River Basin Adjudication, the 20-year, $80 million judicial process on which the four judges have presided and spoke, has worked to reset the baseline for water distribution throughout the Snake River Basin, including the Big Wood River basin. The intent of the process has been to resolve a 1982 court finding that water throughout the Snake River Basin is over-appropriated.
"The end really is in sight here," said Melanson, who is the judge presiding over the adjudication at present. "It's taken a long time, but it's a lot of work. There are a lot of claims."
Melanson said 133,000 claims have been resolved, leaving roughly 16,600 unresolved. In all, 19 sub-basins have been completed. The Big Wood River basin, however, is among those to be wrapped up.
The Idaho Department of Water Resources last fall completed a review of water rights for distributing water in the Wood River Valley and set a Nov. 14 deadline for objections to be filed.
Of the 2,199 water rights adjudicated in the upper Big Wood River valley, the department received 2,999 "objections," which were consolidated into 614 sub-cases. Water Resources Adjudication Bureau Chief Don Shaff said many of the rights are uncontested while others have received multiple objections.
An original schedule to begin resolving contested water rights in the upper Big Wood basin this past spring was postponed to autumn.
"The volume of the work in the adjudication has not allowed the department to process as quickly as anticipated," said Idaho Department of Water Resources Director David Tuthill. "The court has worked hand-in-hand with the department in scheduling these initial hearings. In my view the court has done an excellent job of orchestrating this process."
The director explained that there has been a great deal of legal activity in the Big Wood basin through the decades. Also, some water rights have changed locations.
Even with several of Idaho's sub-basins unresolved, Hurlbutt said during the four-judge panel that Idaho's adjudication process has worked much more efficiently than many thought possible.
"Idaho really is a model for a lot of these states, and they're just scratching their heads about how this bunch of hicks up here was able to accomplish something that seemed impossible," he said.
Tuthill said Idaho has become a model for adjudication processes because of a unique combination of legislative support, judicial leadership and executive branch vision that "hasn't been enjoyed in all the Western states."
"Idaho was able to work through the initial painstaking process and then review its progress in 1994 when progress slowed," Tuthill said.
Hurlbutt, who presided over the adjudication in its early years, said Melanson is well equipped to handle the remaining workload. He's attended seminars and has received schooling on climate change and global warming issues.
"I hope the process will ultimately serve you well," Hurlbutt told the water users.
The work that remains, Melanson said, is to resolve the remaining sub-basins like the Big Wood and to formulate a final decree, which will describe how to deal with things like late claims, if at all.
"The sense I got from the judges is they have a solid feeling in their involvement in the Snake River Basin Adjudication," Tuthill said, "and that feeling is shared by the Legislature, the Department of Water Resources and by the participants. Idaho has been able to combine the necessary elements of the three branches of government in a successful way in this case."
Fifth District Judge Barry Wood speaks to a group of Idaho water users at the Sun Valley Inn on Monday. Wood is one of four judges who have presided over the 20-year Snake River Basin Adjudication, a judicial procedure attempting to reset the baseline of water rights allocation throughout the Snake River basin. Pictured with Wood are, left to right, judges Roger Burdick, presiding Judge John Melanson and Daniel Hurlbutt, Jr. Photo by Willy Cook
