Upon written request from any ground water user who is not a member of a district, a district board of directors may enter a contract with such nonmember pursuant to which the nonmember shall be allowed to participate fully in, and obtain all benefits of, any mitigation plan, purpose or activity the district currently has in force or is developing, pursuant to terms and conditions acceptable to both parties, provided that:
(1)  The board finds that the plan is likely to be effective in mitigating the effects of such nonmember’s ground water use, and that including the nonmember within the mitigation plan’s coverage will not impair the plan’s effectiveness as to district members;
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Terms Used In Idaho Code 42-5259

  • Board: means the board of directors of a ground water district organized pursuant to this chapter. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Director: means the director of the department of water resources. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • District: means a ground water district established, or to be established, pursuant to this chapter. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Ground water: when used in this chapter means water under the surface of the ground whatever may be the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving, as provided in section 42-230(a), Idaho Code. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Ground water user: means the legal or beneficial owner of a ground water right, or the user of a ground water right pursuant to lease or contract of a ground water right to divert ground water of the state for a beneficial use or purpose, except for those diverting under rights used solely for domestic or stock use as defined by sections 42-111 and 42-1401A, Idaho Code, and provided, that for purposes of this chapter, the term ground water user shall not include any ground water right held by or on behalf of an Indian tribe or by tribal members for diversion and use within an Indian reservation, ground water rights held by the United States or ground water rights held by the state of Idaho. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Member: means a ground water user whose lands, facilities and/or water rights are included in and subject to a ground water district and its policies. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Mitigation plan: means a plan to prevent or compensate for material injury to holders of senior water rights caused by the diversion and use of water by the holders of junior priority ground water rights who are participants in the mitigation plan. See Idaho Code 42-5201
(2)  If the district’s mitigation plan has been approved by the director, the board shall evaluate the contract request in accordance with any conditions of the district’s mitigation plan which address equitable participation by ground water users who do not initially participate in such mitigation plan;
(3)  Before the contract may be effective, the board may collect from the nonmember a payment adequate to compensate the district for the nonmember’s proportional share of the costs the district already has incurred in developing and implementing the mitigation plan;
(4)  The board may include in the contract a provision requiring the nonmember to pay a reasonable surcharge, either annually or on some other basis, to reimburse the district for such nonmember’s proportional share of those past or future costs of operating the district attributable to formulating or implementing the mitigation plan or plans in which the nonmember is participating;
(5)  The board may require the nonmember to provide security to assure the payment of all assessments and charges related to the contract.