PUB00146 ‎(2)‎

• Year: 2005
• Title: Western States Water Council - San Antonio, TX., October 18-21, 2005
• CWCB Section: Administration
• Description: Western States Water Council - San Antonio, TX., October 18-21, 2005
• Publications - Doc Type: Water Policy

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Western States Water Council
Full Council Minutes

Seattle, Washington
July 15, 2005

Josh Baldi, Washington Department of Ecology, Lacey, WA
Jolynne Anderson, Washington Department of Ecology, Lacey, W A

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS/APPROV AL OF MINUTES

Hal Simpson welcomed members and guests.

MANAGING WATER IN W ASIllNGTON

Jay Manning, Director of the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) explained his agency
has responsibility for both water quality and water quantity. "I don't know if that's good or not." He
has 4.5 months on the job, and was previously a DOE lawyer for 15 years. He was DOE's lawyer on
the Elkhorn case (Public Utility District (PUD) No.1), regarding the state's authority to require
minimum streamflows below hydropower projects under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CW A).
DOE's mission is similar to that of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but with the
additional responsibility of administering state water quantity laws. He explained that they had argued
the Elkhorn case and won 9-0 in the Washington State Supreme Court. It was a high prof1l.e case for
environmental groups and states versus the utility district and hydropower groups.

The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and 46 states joined Washington with
amicus support. "We practiced for 7 days, 12 hours a day for oral argument." Justice Scalia started
out by declaring, "This is about the "Clean Water Act," not the "voluminous water act." However,
Justice Souter stepped in and saved [Washington State Attorney] "General" Christine Gregoire with a
statement of his own. Eventually, the state won the case 7-2. It defmed federal hydropower licensing
authority and the water quantity-quality relationship under state and federal law .

Washington's westside is wet, but eastern Washington looks more like Montana. The East
depends on irrigation. The Columbia Basin Project has been a wild success story as far as production
is concerned. However, Washington is also famous for salmon. The recurrent drought, which is
continuing this year [makes balancing competing interest difficult]. We are working with a ISO-year
old water management system. "I don't think the Prior Appropriation Doctrine is the system I'd chose,
if it wasn't already there." In 1917, surface water permitting began in Washington, followed in 1975
with ground water permitting. There are also pre-code right claims and fIling has been opened. There
are some 166,000 claims, but many are not valid. They still have to be adjudicated. Washington also
has 26 treaty tribes with reserved water rights on reservations and also rights to some instreamflow
components that are unquantifIed. We are "slogging" our way through the adjudication process. After
30 years, an adjudication of the Yakima Basin will fmally defme senior and reserved rights. "How can
we do it in a more efficient way?"

DOE has regular senior management meetings, and water is one of our top three priorities (out
of 10 agency offices). Water related issues take up 60 percent of my time.

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