FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 30, 2002
OLYMPIA - From January through March 2002, the Department of Ecology (Ecology) processed 158 requests for water-right changes, 133 more than in the same period last year.
"We continue to build on last year's remarkable progress," said Ecology Deputy Director Linda Hoffman. "Our performance for this quarter demonstrates how much progress we've made to simplify the task of processing water-right changes and transfers."
Of the 158 water-right changes processed in the first quarter of 2002, 63 were approved, 46 denied or cancelled and 49 withdrawn by the applicants.
Ecology also made decisions on 81 applications for new water rights, with approximately 32 percent being approved.
From 1995 through 2000, the department processed about 120 change requests a year - not enough to keep up with new requests let alone reduce a backlog of approximately 2,000 applications for water-right changes.
Before receiving increased funding and flexibility from the legislature in July 2001, Ecology was legally obligated to treat all water-right requests the same way, regardless of whether someone was seeking a first-time right to withdraw water or requesting to change or transfer an existing right.
In 2001, lawmakers created a new "two-line" system that puts requests for water-right changes and transfers in one line and requests for new rights, which typically take longer to process, in another. The legislature also gave the agency greater authority to move past applications at the head of the line that are not ready to proceed.
The water-reform package increased the agency's funding by about $5.6 million for the 2001-03 biennium. Ecology has expanded the number of staff processing water-right applications from about 20 to nearly 50 - 39 of whom work solely on water-right changes.
Last year, besides responding to the state's second-worst recorded drought, the department took action on 262 water-right change requests. The bulk occurred after the reform measures took effect in July 2001.
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