ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. 0127
ENROLLED ACT NO.
40, SENATE
FIFTY-SIXTH
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2001
GENERAL SESSION
AN ACT relating to water
development; reserving water
development
program funds for water storage projects in the
Green and Wind
Rivers and their tributaries; authorizing
construction of
storage projects pending approval of
project specific
legislation; specifying terms and
conditions of
funding for the storage projects; and
providing for an
effective date.
Be It Enacted by the
Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 99-3-601
through 99-3-604 are created
to read:
ARTICLE
6
GREEN
RIVER/WIND RIVER PROJECTS
99-3-601. Definitions.
(a) As used in
this article:
(i) "Commission"
means the Wyoming water
development
commission;
(ii) "Projects"
means dam and storage projects,
spillways, outlet
works and appurtenances as described in
the Level III
construction projects new development in W.S.
99-3-604;
(iii) "Water
development account" means the
account created by
W.S. 41-2-124.
99-3-602. Project components.
(a) The Green
River/Wind River projects consist of
the following
components:
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(i) Dams;
(ii) Emergency
spillways;
(iii) Outlet
works consisting of principal
spillways and
operating spillways;
(iv) Dam access
roads;
(v) Embankment
instrumentation;
(vi) Remote
sensing and control features;
(vii) Gauging
stations;
(viii) Power
supply facilities;
(ix) Utility and
road relocations as necessary
to construct and
implement the projects;
(x) Boat ramps,
parking areas for the boat ramp
areas and access roads
to the boat ramps;
(xi) Conveyance
facilities;
(xii) Appurtenances
necessary to make the
project complete and
function in the manner intended.
99-3-603. Authorization.
(a) The
commission may expend funds appropriated in
project specific
legislation that is approved by the
legislature, to
perform the following:
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(i) Prepare
environmental impact statements or
assessments, as
required;
(ii) Perform
final designs;
(iii) Prepare
plans and specifications;
(iv) Obtain
options, land exchange or purchase
agreements for the
necessary projects' lands and easements;
(v) Procure the
404 permits from the United
States Army Corps of
Engineers, the 401 permits from the
Wyoming department of
environmental quality and the permit
to construct from the
Wyoming state engineer's office;
(vi) Perform
other incidental work required to
prepare the projects
for construction.
(b) Upon
enactment of project specific legislation
that is approved by
the legislature, the commission may
negotiate project
sponsorship and water sales contracts
with entities formed
pursuant to Wyoming law that
demonstrate a need for
water and desire to participate in
the projects.
(c) Upon
enactment of project specific legislation
that is approved by
the legislature, the commission may
either purchase
necessary project lands and easements and
construct and operate
the projects in a manner consistent
with this article or
develop a project agreement with a
sponsor in a manner
consistent with the terms and
conditions outlined in
the agreements established under
Level III construction
projects new development in W.S.
99-3-604.
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99-3-604. Level III construction
projects new
development.
(a) The
provisions of W.S. 99-3-103(a)(i) through
(xi) and (xiv) shall
apply to this article.
(b) Green
River/Wind River projects:
(i) Projects
sponsors: The specific projects
referred to throughout
the article may be sponsored by an
irrigation district,
watershed improvement district, city
or town, the state, or
any political subdivision formed
pursuant to Wyoming
law, or a sponsor with whom the state
may contract. All
sponsors shall be approved by the
attorney general;
(ii) Projects
purposes: To reserve water
development program
funds for construction of dams and
reservoirs which may
serve new irrigation and multi-purpose
projects and provide
supplemental water supplies for
agricultural and
municipal purposes within the Green River
and Wind River
drainage basins and their tributaries, which
may provide new water
supplies for the development of new
hydropower facilities
within the basins, and which may
provide cooling water
needed for the construction of new
thermal electric
generation facilities in the basins;
(iii) Projects
description: To reserve water
development program
funds which will eventually be used to
fund the construction
of dams and reservoirs in the Green
River and Wind River
basins and their tributaries, to fund
the enlargement of
existing dams and reservoirs within the
Green River and Wind
River basins and their tributaries,
and to fund
appurtenances necessary to make the projects
complete and function
in the manner intended;
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(iv) Total
projects budget: Fifty-five million
dollars
($55,000,000.00);
(v) Special
conditions:
(A) Expenditures
shall not occur until the
legislature has
approved project specific legislation that
conforms to the
purposes described in paragraph (ii) of
this subsection;
(B) Expenditures
for the Green River/Wind
River projects may
only occur once the legislature has
approved project
specific legislation for projects that can
demonstrate noninjury
to existing water appropriators;
(C) Only those
projects within the Wind
River basin that are
consistent with the courts' decisions
in the Big Horn River
general adjudication, as interpreted
by the attorney
general, or with an amendment to those
decisions by
stipulation of the parties and entry of court
order adopting such stipulations
and Green River basin
projects are eligible
for construction under this article;
and
(D) Funds
appropriated may only be used to
finance the
construction costs for components that secure
benefits that accrue
to the state or to public entities
formed pursuant to
Wyoming law.
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Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2001.
(END)
Speaker of
the House President of
the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the
Senate.
Chief Clerk
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