Effective 7/1/2023
79-2-408. Utah Water Ways.
| (1) |
As used in this section:
Terms Used In Utah Code 79-2-408- Bequest: Property gifted by will.
- Department: means the Department of Natural Resources created in Section 79-2-201. See Utah Code 79-1-102
- Devise: To gift property by will.
- Executive director: means the executive director of the department who is appointed under Section 79-2-202. See Utah Code 79-1-102
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
| (a) |
“Partnership” means the nonprofit, statewide partnership described in Subsections (2) and (3). |
| (b) |
“Water supply entity” means an entity supplying either culinary or irrigation water to a water user. |
|
| (2) |
The department shall oversee:
| (a) |
the creation of a nonprofit, statewide partnership in accordance with this section; and |
| (b) |
the state‘s participation in the partnership. |
|
| (3) |
The partnership shall:
| (a) |
be known as “Utah Water Ways”; |
| (b) |
have as core purposes to:
| (i) |
facilitate coordination of efforts to optimize the use of water by:
| (A) |
sponsoring policy discussions about the state’s water supply; |
| (B) |
engaging the private sector to help support efforts to optimize the use of water and related activities; |
| (C) |
coordinating with the Department of Agriculture and Food and the Department of Environmental Quality on water related issues; |
| (D) |
maintaining communication among partners in the partnership; |
| (E) |
providing a line of communication from partners to state leaders; and |
| (F) |
promoting coordination of grants, rebate programs, or sponsorships that support the optimal use of water; and |
|
| (ii) |
encourage residents of the state to make changes to optimize the use of water and care for the state’s water supply by:
| (A) |
providing public education and public awareness campaigns and helping consolidate campaigns about the state’s water supply, water quality, and water use; and |
| (B) |
providing residents of the state with tools to understand what can be done to optimize the use of water; and |
|
|
| (c) |
seek grants, gifts, donations, devises, and bequests. |
|
| (4) |
The board of directors for the partnership shall:
| (a) |
consist of 13 individuals as follows:
| (i) |
the executive director of the department, or the executive director’s designee; |
| (ii) |
the director of the Division of Water Resources, or the director’s designee; |
| (iii) |
the executive director of the Department of Environmental Quality, or the executive director’s designee; |
| (iv) |
the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Food, or the commissioner’s designee; |
| (v) |
a representative of rural Utah selected jointly by the governor, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the president of the Senate; |
| (vi) |
the general managers for four water conservancy districts selected jointly by the governor, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the president of the Senate; and |
| (vii) |
four members of the business community selected jointly by the governor, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the president of the Senate; |
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| (b) |
hire an executive director by August 1, 2023, who shall serve for an initial term of four years; and |
| (c) |
adopt policies concerning the board of directors’ internal organization and procedures. |
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| (5) |
The partnership may, consistent with this section, receive a grant, gift, donation, devise, or bequest. |
| (6) |
The partnership shall annually report to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee. |
| (7) |
Notwithstanding the creation of the partnership, a water supply entity may maintain an important role with water supply users to encourage the optimized use of water such as through localized messaging, rebate programs, or other activities. |
Enacted by Chapter 163, 2023 General Session
Technically renumbered to avoid duplication of newly enacted Chapter also in HB 34, Chapter 221.
