UNDERSTANDING THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN ADJUDICATION ANN Y. VONDE, CHRISTOPHER M. BROMLEY, MEGHAN M. CARTER, ANDREA L. COURTNEY, SUSAN E. HAMLIN NYGARD, HARRIET A. HENSLEY, SHASTA J. KILMINSTER- HADLEY, MICHAEL C. ORR, DAVID I. STANISH, AND CLIVE J. STRONG FULL CITATION: Ann Y. Vonde et al., Understanding the Snake River Basin Adjudication, 52 IDAHO L. REV. 53 (2016). This article Copyright © 2016 Idaho Law Review. Except as otherwise expressly provided, permission is hereby granted to photocopy this article for classroom use, provided that: (1) Copies are distributed at or below cost; (2) The author of the article and the Idaho Law Review are properly identified; (3) Proper notice of the copyright is affixed to each copy; and (4) Notice of the use is given to the Idaho Law Review. UNDERSTANDING THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN ADJUDICATION ANN Y. VONDE, CHRISTOPHER M. BROMLEY, MEGHAN M. CARTER, ANDREA L. COURTNEY,SUSAN E. HAMLIN NYGARD, HARRIET A. HENSLEY, SHASTA J. KILMINSTER-HADLEY, MICHAEL C. ORR, DAVID I. STANISH, AND CLIVE J. STRONG* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 55 II. SRBA COMMENCEMENT .......................................................................... 59 A. Authorizing the Adjudication Through Legislation ............................. 59 B. Commencing the Adjudication with the District Court ........................ 60 C. Commencing the Adjudication Under the McCarran Amendment ...... 61 1. Inclusion of Tributaries to the Snake River .................................... 62 2. Inclusion of Domestic and Stockwater Rights. ............................... 62 III. GATHERING THE MAJOR PLAYERS ..................................................... 63 A. The SRBA Court .................................................................................. 63 B. The United States ................................................................................. 63 C. IDWR ................................................................................................... 64 D. The State of Idaho, State Agencies, and the Office of the Attorney General ................................................................................. 64 E. Conservation Groups ............................................................................ 64 F. Private Water Users/Claimants ............................................................. 65 G. The Steering Committee ...................................................................... 65 IV. SRBA PROCEDURES ................................................................................ 66 A. Dividing the SRBA into Bite Sized Pieces .......................................... 67 B. IDWR’s Claims Taking Procedures ..................................................... 68 C. IDWR Claims Investigation Procedures .............................................. 69 D. SRBA Court Procedures ...................................................................... 71 E. What is a Partial Decree? ..................................................................... 72 1. Ownership ....................................................................................... 73 2. Source ............................................................................................. 74 3. Quantity .......................................................................................... 75 4. Priority Date .................................................................................... 76 5. Point of Diversion ........................................................................... 77 6. Purpose of Use ................................................................................ 78 7. Period of Use .................................................................................. 78 8. Place of Use .................................................................................... 78 9. Other Provisions Necessary ............................................................ 79 10. Explanatory Remarks .................................................................... 80 F. Error Correction .................................................................................... 80 G. Basin-Wide Issues ................................................................................ 81 H. General Provisions ............................................................................... 81 V. THE 1994 LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS ............................................... 82 * The authors are current or former Idaho Deputy Attorneys General that represented the State of Idaho or the Idaho Department of Water Resources during the course of the SRBA. The article is based upon their first-hand knowledge of the events discussed. Collectively, the authors have over 100 years of work experience on the Snake River Basin Adjudication. 54 IDAHO LAW REVIEW VOL. 52 A. The Conflicts that Precipitated the Need for the 1994 Amendments ....................................................................................... 83 B. The 1994 Amendments ........................................................................ 85 C. Conflicts Over the Legislative Changes ............................................... 86 1. SRBA Court Decision on Constitutionality .................................... 86 2. Idaho Supreme Court Ruling on Constitutionality .......................... 89 VI. SIGNIFICANT WATER LAW DECISIONS .............................................. 91 A. Forfeiture & the SRBA ........................................................................ 91 1. Forfeiture Generally ........................................................................ 91 2. Tolling of Forfeiture ....................................................................... 92 3. Partial Forfeiture ............................................................................. 93 4. Defenses to Forfeiture ..................................................................... 93 B. Addressing Source Connections ........................................................... 97 1. Basin Wide Issue 5 .......................................................................... 97 2. Separate Source Administration Between the Upper and Lower Snake River ............................................................... 101 C. Memorializing Historic Water Use Practices ..................................... 103 1. Recognizing Historic Changes in Water Use ................................ 104 2. Incorporating Historic General Adjudication Decrees .................. 107 D. Public Trust Doctrine ......................................................................... 112 E. United States’ State Law-Based Water Rights ................................... 114 1. Federal Reservoir Projects. ........................................................... 114 a. Ownership Of Irrigation Storage Water Rights ....................... 116 b. Hydropower Subordination ..................................................... 120 c. Flood Control .......................................................................... 130 2. Bureau of Land Management Water Rights .................................. 146 3. Minidoka Wildlife Refuge ............................................................ 148 VII. FEDERAL RESERVED WATER RIGHTS ............................................ 150 A. Tribal Reserved Water Rights ............................................................ 151 1. Shoshone-Bannock Federal Reserved Water Right Claims .......................................................................................... 153 a. 1990 Fort Hall Indian Water Rights Agreement ..................... 154 b. Fort Hall Agreement Litigation ............................................... 163 c. Shoshone-Bannock Instream Flow Water Right Claims ......... 167 2. The Nez-Perce Indian Water Right Settlement ............................. 168 a. Terms of the 2004 Snake River Water Rights Agreement ...... 170 3. The Shoshone-Paiute Consent Decree .......................................... 173 B. Non-Tribal Federal Reserved Water Rights ....................................... 176 1. Intent to Reserve ........................................................................... 177 a. Wilderness Act ........................................................................ 177 b. Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Act .......................... 182 c. Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act ........................................... 183 d. Wild and Scenic Rivers Act .................................................... 184 e. Sawtooth National Recreation Area Act ................................. 185 f. Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge ......................................... 187 2. Quantification of Implied Federal Reserved Water Rights .......................................................................................... 188 a. Negotiations ............................................................................ 188 b. Other Federal Reserved Water Rights Cases .......................... 201 VIII. BASIN-WIDE ISSUE 16 AND THE FINAL UNIFIED DECREE ........ 204 2016 UNDERSTANDING THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN 55 ADJUDICATION A. Basin-Wide Issue 16 .......................................................................... 204 B. Basin Closure Orders ......................................................................... 205 C. Proposed Final Unified Decree .......................................................... 205 D. Memorandum