(a) Instead of initiating an adjudication under Alaska Stat. § 46.15.165, the commissioner may, with the concurrence of the attorney general, if a federal reserved water right has been or might be asserted by an agency of the United States on its own behalf or on behalf of a person described in Alaska Stat. § 46.15.165(c)(3) – (6), file on behalf of the state a complaint in superior court to initiate a judicial adjudication consistent with 43 U.S.C. § 666 to quantify and determine the priority of all water rights in a drainage basin, river system, ground water aquifer system, or other identifiable and distinct hydrologic regime, including any hydrologically interrelated surface and ground water systems.
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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 46.15.166

  • action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • commissioner: means the commissioner of natural resources. See Alaska Statutes 46.15.260
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • person: includes an individual, partnership, association, public or private corporation, state agency, political subdivision of the state, and the United States. See Alaska Statutes 46.15.260
  • state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • water: means all water of the state, surface and subsurface, occurring in a natural state, except mineral and medicinal water. See Alaska Statutes 46.15.260
(b) The venue for an action filed under (a) of this section shall be established by rule of the supreme court under Alaska Stat. § 22.10.030.
(c) In a complaint brought under (a) of this section, the court may appoint an impartial, qualified person as a master to hold hearings, take testimony, collect evidence, and make recommendations to the court regarding the scope and content of a proposed judicial decree that would finally adjudicate the validity of water rights, quantify them, and determine priorities among the water right appropriations in the adjudication area. Employment by a federal, state, or local government agency does not disqualify an individual from appointment as master under this subsection if the court determines that the individual is otherwise impartial and qualified to act as master. The master may, with the court’s permission, take action that the commissioner would be authorized to take in an administrative adjudication under Alaska Stat. § 46.15.165.
(d) In an adjudication under this section, the court may incorporate in an order or judgment final orders of the commissioner previously issued under Alaska Stat. § 46.15.165.
(e) Proceedings under this section shall be conducted without a jury.
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