73-19-7 - Text of compact.
73-19-7. Text of compact.
The text of said compact is as follows:
The purposes of this compact with respect to the land and water resources of theColumbia River Basin are:
A. To facilitate and promote their orderly, integrated and comprehensive development,use, conservation and control for various purposes.
B. To further intergovernmental co-operation and comity with respect to these resourcesand the programs for their use and development by, among other things,
(1) Providing for the relationship between certain beneficial uses of water as practicablemeans of effecting an equitable apportionment thereof, and for means of facilitating and effectingadditional interstate agreements with respect thereto, and
(2) Providing an interstate body to consider the various common problems with respect tothe use and development of these resources and to plan for, review and recommend plans for theirdevelopment.
As used in this compact:
A. "Columbia River System" means the Columbia River and its tributaries within theUnited States.
B. "Columbia River Basin" means all the drainage area of the Columbia River Systemwithin the United States.
C. "State" or "member state" means a state which has ratified and is a party to thiscompact.
D. "Upstream state" means any of the states of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah orWyoming.
E. "Downstream state" means either of the states of Oregon or Washington.
F. "Upstream area" means all the area of the states of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah andWyoming situated within the Columbia River Basin, and all those portions of the states of Oregonand Washington situated within the Columbia River Basin, lying east of the summit of theCascade mountains.
G. "Beneficial consumptive use" means any use of waters, recognized as a beneficial useunder the law of the member state involved, resulting in a substantial amount of the waterdiverted being consumed or so used as not to return to the Columbia River System. Such usesinclude those for domestic, livestock and municipal purposes, irrigation of land and suchindustrial and other beneficial uses as involve consumptive use of the water diverted.
H. "Nonconsumptive use" means any control or use of water in which, exclusive ofseepage and evaporation of water incidental to its control or use, the water remains in or returnsto the Columbia River System substantially undiminished in volume. Such uses include use fornavigation, flood control, production of hydroelectric power, the maintenance of stream flows forpollution control, fish and wildlife and recreational purposes and such industrial and otherbeneficial uses as result in nonconsumptive use of the water involved.
I. "Government" means, severally, the member states and the United States.
J. "Commission" means the Columbia Compact Commission as authorized by thiscompact.
A. There is hereby created an agency of the member states, and of each of them, to beknown as the Columbia Compact Commission. The commission shall be composed of threecommissioners from each of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, and, if theyratify the compact, two commissioners from Wyoming and one each from Nevada and Utah. Thecommissioners of the respective states shall be designated or appointed in accordance with thelaws of the state which they represent and shall serve and be subject to removal in accordancewith those laws. A commissioner shall be named to represent the United States, to be designatedand to serve as provided by the laws of the United States.
B. Each commissioner of a state shall be entitled to one vote in the commission. Thecommissioner of the United States shall serve as chairman of the Commission but shall have novote. In the absence of any commissioner, his vote may be cast by another commissioner of hisstate or by another representative designated or appointed in accordance with the laws of thatstate if such other commissioner or representative shall have a written proxy in such form as maybe established by rule of the commission.
C. The requirements as to a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of thecommission shall be as follows:
(1) Commencing with the date the compact becomes effective as to all seven statesnamed in subdivision A of this article, the presence in person of twelve or more commissionersshall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business; such a quorum shall include at least twocommissioners, in person, from such of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington ashave appointed or designated commissioners. For the duration of any called meeting of thecommission the presence of a quorum shall be determined at the commencement of such meeting.
(2) If any duly called meeting is recessed because of a lack of a quorum initially, areconvened meeting may be set by written notice, given in accordance with the bylaws, to allcommissioners not less than ten days in advance of such reconvened meeting. At such reconvenedmeeting, the requirements for personal attendance by two commissioners from each of the statesof Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington shall not apply, and the presence of twelve or morecommissioners in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum.
(3) Commencing with the date the compact becomes effective, but before all seven stateshave ratified, the requirements as to a quorum shall be modified as follows:
(a) If only four or five states have ratified, the phrase "nine or more" shall be substitutedfor the phrase "twelve or more" in subsections (1) and (2) of this section C.
(b) If only six states have ratified, the phrase "ten or more" shall be substituted for thephrase "twelve or more" in subsections (1) and (2) of this section C.
D. The requirements as to votes required to carry an action at any meeting of thecommission shall be as follows:
(1) Commencing with the date the compact becomes effective as to all seven statesnamed in section A of this article, any action by the commission shall be effective only if it becarried by a vote of twelve or more of the voting membership of the commission.
(2) Commencing with the date the compact becomes effective but before all seven stateshave ratified, the requirements as to votes necessary for commission action shall be modified asfollows:
(a) If only four or five states have ratified the phrase "nine or more" shall be substitutedfor the phrase "twelve or more" in subsection (1) of this section D.
(b) If only six states have ratified, the phrase "ten or more" shall be substituted for the
phrase "twelve or more" in subsection (1) of this section D.
E. The commission shall meet to establish its formal organization within ninety (90) daysof the effective date of this compact, such meeting to be at the call of the chairman or by amajority of the commissioners then appointed or designated. The commission shall then adopt itsinitial set of bylaws providing for, among other things: the adoption of a seal, the management ofits internal affairs and the authority and duties of its officers. The commission shall also then electfrom among its members a vice-chairman and treasurer to serve for the first full or part annualterm, these offices to be filled thereafter from among commission members by annual elections.The commission shall appoint an executive director, who shall also act as secretary, to serve atthe pleasure of the commission and, at such compensation and under such terms and conditions asit may fix. The executive director shall be the custodian of the records of the commission withauthority to affix the commission's official seal and to attest to and certify such records or copiesthereof.
F. The executive director, subject to the approval of the commission in such cases as itsbylaws may provide, shall, without regard to the provisions of the civil service laws of anymember state or of the United States, appoint and remove or discharge such engineering, legal,expert, clerical and other personnel as may be necessary for the performance of the commission'sfunctions, fix their compensation and define their duties, and require bonds of such of them as thecommission may designate.
G. The commission may:
(1) Borrow, accept, or contract for the services of personnel from any government,agency thereof or any intergovernmental agency.
(2) Acquire by purchase or otherwise, hold and dispose of such real and personalproperty as may be necessary or convenient in the performance of its functions.
(3) Establish and maintain one or more offices for the transaction of its business.
H. The commission and its executive director shall make available to the member statesor the United States any information in its possession at any time and shall provide free access toits records during established office hours to duly authorized representatives of member states orthe United States or to any interested person.
I. The commission shall make and transmit annually to the legislative bodies andexecutive head of each government, a report covering the activities of the commission for thepreceding year and embodying such plans, recommendations and findings as may have beenadopted by the commission. The commission may issue such additional reports as it may deemdesirable.
J. All meetings of the commission shall be open to the public.
A. The compensation and expenses of each commissioner shall be fixed and paid by thegovernment which he represents. All other expenses incurred by the commission in the course ofexercising the powers conferred upon it by this compact shall be paid by the commission out ofits own funds.
B. The commission shall submit to the executive head or designated officer of eachmember state for presentation to its legislature a budget of its estimated expenditures. This budgetshall contain specific recommendations of the amount to be appropriated by each of the memberstates. The time of submission and the fiscal period of the commission's budget shall conform asnearly as possible to the requirements of the laws of the member states.
C. The commission shall, at the initial organizational meeting after this compact becomeseffective, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, establish the initial fiscal period and shallestablish the budget of expenditures for this initial period. The budget for the initial period, if it bea full biennium, shall be not less than $65,000. If the initial fiscal period is only a portion of abiennium, the minimum budget therefor shall be the proportion of $65,000 derived by applyingthereto the ratio that the initial period bears to a full biennium. The respective shares of the budgetfor the initial fiscal period shall be as follows:
Member State Percent of Budget
Idaho 23.5
Montana 23.5
Nevada 2.0
Oregon 23.5
Utah 2.0
Washington 23.5
Wyoming 2.0
If any of the states of Nevada, Utah or Wyoming fail to ratify during the initial period, thetotal budget for that period shall be reduced by the amount of the share of the state failing so toratify, but the amounts to be paid by the other states shall remain unchanged.
D. Subsequent budgets shall be recommended by the commission and the amounts shallbe allocated among the member states. The shares of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washingtonshall be equal and in no event shall the share of Wyoming exceed 3%, the share of Nevadaexceed 2% and the share of Utah exceed 1% of the total budget for any fiscal period.
E. The commission shall not pledge the credit of any government except by and with theauthority of the legislative body thereof given pursuant to and in keeping with the constitution ofsaid government. The commission shall not incur any obligations prior to the availability of fundsadequate to meet the same.
F. The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. Thereceipts and disbursements of the commission shall be open for examination or audit by anymember state but the commission shall not be required to adopt the auditing or accountingprocedures of any particular state. All receipts and disbursements of funds handled by thecommission shall be audited yearly by an independent certified public accountant and the reportof the audit shall be included in and become a part of the annual report of the commission.
G. The accounts of the commission shall be open for public inspection during establishedoffice hours.
The commission shall have power when authorized by such majority vote as provided byarticle III hereof:
A. To collect, correlate and report on data relating to present and potential uses of waterand other related resources of the Columbia River Basin and relating to available sources of waterfor use in the Columbia River Basin; conduct investigations and surveys to determine the extentof those resources and the nature of the problems involved in their present and future developmentand management; and recommend plans and programs for their development.
B. To undertake itself, or in co-operation with governments or agencies thereof or otherentities, with respect to the Columbia River Basin the review of all plans for the construction of
works authorized or reauthorized to be undertaken after the effective date of this compact forflood control navigation, power development, irrigation, or other water use or management whichinvolve facilities having capacity for the diversion or use of flows of more than 200 cubic feet persecond or the capacity to store at any time more than 25,000 acre-feet of water and which areproposed to be undertaken pursuant to laws of the United States, whether under permissiongranted by the United States, by means of financing in whole or in part by the United States, orotherwise.
C. To appear and make recommendations before appropriate governmental orintergovernmental agencies or other entities in public hearings or otherwise, in connection withany plans, projects or programs.
D. To collect, correlate and publish water facts necessary for the purpose of this compactdirectly or in co-operation with any governmental or intergovernmental agencies or other entities.
E. To co-operate with the International Joint Commission-United States and Canada, theappropriate agencies of Canada and the Province of British Columbia, as well as with agencies ofthe member states and the United States and with other entities, in studies, plans andrecommendations with respect to any project which may have a substantial effect on the uses ofwater of the Columbia River and its tributaries that are of international concern.
The best interests of the region will be served by the co-operation of the member states insecuring the development and construction of power projects in sufficient number and withsufficient capacity to meet the present and future energy requirements of the region, but norecommendation shall be made by the commission with respect to power allocations except byunanimous affirmative vote of all member states, anything in article III notwithstanding; provided,however, that any member state shall have the right acting independently through its officers oragencies to secure in connection with any project located wholly or partly within such state, suchprotections and reservations of power as such state may consider necessary to safeguard itspresent or future interests or power requirements.
A. So far as the states are concerned, all waters of the Columbia River System shall beavailable for appropriation for beneficial purposes under and to the extent permitted by the lawsof the states involved, but, except for the provisions in this subdivision A relating to certainrelationships between consumptive and nonconsumptive uses, no apportionment of waters ordetermination of rights to the use thereof is made by this compact.
So far as the states are concerned, rights to beneficial consumptive uses of water withinthe upstream area, whether established heretofore or hereafter under the laws of the statesinvolved, shall be recognized up to the average annual depletions shown in Plate 7 of the Reportof the North Pacific Division, U.S. Army Engineers dated 1 June 1958, as against, and shall notbe limited by, any rights, existing or future, to the quantity of such waters for nonconsumptiveuses.
In the case of a stream situated wholly within a downstream state and tributary to theSnake River or to the Columbia River, however, the relationship as between nonconsumptive userights appurtenant to a development located thereon and consumptive use rights as to the watersof such a tributary upstream from that development shall be governed by the laws of that statewithout regard to the foregoing limitations of this subdivision.
B. No waters of the Columbia River System shall be diverted out of the Columbia River
Basin for use for any purpose except with the approval of all of the member states, but thisprovision shall not affect rights so to divert which are existing on the effective date of thiscompact.
C. The member states hereby designate, appoint and empower their commissioners todraft, negotiate and propose any and all compacts apportioning waters of any tributary streamforming part of the Columbia River System among or between the states through which saidtributary stream flows, or amendments to this compact. Any such supplementary compacts oramendments to this compact negotiated as herein provided shall become effective upon approvalby the commission, ratification by the legislatures of the member states party thereto, and consentthereto by the Congress.
D. All interstate compacts affecting the waters of the Columbia River System which arein effect as of the date this compact becomes operative shall remain unaffected hereby.
E. In the event this compact is terminated, any right to the beneficial consumptive use ofwater which, prior to the date of termination, is required to be recognized under the provisions ofthis compact shall continue to be recognized after such termination to the extent herein provided.Unless otherwise expressly provided in a supplemental compact, made pursuant to the provisionsof subdivision C of this article, no such right required to be recognized as of the effective date ofsuch supplement shall be impaired by such supplemental compact.
A. The states and the United States recognize that the rapid increase of the population ofthe Columbia River Basin and the growth of industrial, mining, and related activities within thatarea can lead to such pollution of the waters of the Columbia River System as might constitute amenace to the health and welfare of the people. The states and the United States further recognizethat maintenance and improvement of the quality of the waters of the Columbia River Systemrequire co-operative action and that pollution abatement and control are essential to the properrealization of the objectives of this compact and to the safe, profitable, and efficient multi-purposeuse of the waters of said Columbia River System.
B. In addition to the powers enumerated in article V, it shall be the duty of thecommission and the commission shall have power:
(1) To engage in such investigations, analyses or other appropriate means as are deemednecessary to obtain, co-ordinate, tabulate and summarize technical and other data on the pollutionof the waters of the Columbia River System or any portion thereof and on the character andcondition of such waters and the needs of the Columbia River Basin for improved water quality;and to prepare reports thereon at such times as may be deemed advisable by the commission.
(2) To co-operate with governments or agencies thereof or other entities for the purposeof promoting uniform laws, rules or regulations for the abatement and control of pollution of thewaters of the Columbia River System or any portion thereof, and to make, revise and recommendto the governments water quality objectives necessary to protect the public health, public watersupplies, propagation of fish and aquatic life and wildlife, recreational purposes, and agricultural,industrial and other uses.
(3) To disseminate to the public, by any and all appropriate means, informationrespecting pollution abatement and control in the waters of the Columbia River System or anyportion thereof and on the harmful and uneconomic results of such pollution.
C. Each state shall have the primary obligation and responsibility to take appropriateaction under its own laws to abate and control interstate pollution, which is defined as the
deterioration of the quality of the waters of the Columbia River Basin within the boundaries ofsuch state which materially and adversely affects beneficial uses of waters of the Columbia RiverBasin in other states. Upon complaint to the commission by the state water pollution controlagency of one state that interstate pollution originating in another state or states is not beingprevented or abated, the procedure shall be as follows:
(1) The commission shall call a hearing, giving not less than 30 days notice in writingthereof to the water pollution control agencies of the states involved and to each person or entitywhich the commission finds is charged with causing such interstate pollution.
(2) Such hearing shall be held in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by thecommission.
(3) At the conclusion of such hearing, the commission shall make a finding as to whetherinterstate pollution exists, and if so, shall recommend to the appropriate agency that action betaken under state or federal law to abate or correct such interstate pollution.
D. The water pollution control agencies of the member states shall from time to time,make available to the commission all data relating to the quality of the waters of the ColumbiaRiver Basin which they possess as the result of studies, surveys and investigations thereof whichthey may have made.
A. In the exercise of the powers and functions conferred on the commission, it shall bethe policy of the commission to prepare and review plans for development and application ofmeasures for preventing damage to and enhancing the fish and wildlife and recreational resourcesof the Columbia River Basin and to co-operate with all agencies charged with the responsibilityfor protecting and fostering these resources.
B. In the furtherance of this policy the commission shall:
(1) Submit pertinent information to, and receive recommendations from official agenciesof the governments having jurisdiction or otherwise affected, with respect to projects andprograms in which the commission may be concerned.
(2) Taking into consideration recommendations of governmental agencies responsible forfish and wildlife administration, recommend appropriate steps to assure that, in all projects whichare within the purview of the commission, effective fish and wildlife protective facilities orcompensatory measures as required by the laws of the member states, shall be incorporated intowater use developments; that the costs thereof including operation and maintenance be includedas a part of the cost of said projects; and that the responsibility for the provision of such effectivefish and wildlife protective facilities or compensatory measures as are recommended as a part ofthe project plan shall continue beyond completion of construction of the individual projects. Thefish and wildlife facilities and compensatory measures referred to in this article may includephysical installations located elsewhere than at the actual site of the project.
(3) In connection with projects coming within the purview of the commission, giveproper recognition to recreational and fish and wildlife values by recommending such steps asmay be necessary and practicable - to protect or develop recreational resources; to assure themaintenance of necessary minimum stream flows, reliable and adequate pool levels, andallocation of water for fish and wildlife protective or compensatory facilities, and for theregulation of such stream flows and pool levels so as to conform to sound fish and wildlifemanagement practices.
The commission shall have the power to adopt and issue bylaws, rules and regulations toeffectuate the purposes of this compact, as in its judgment may be appropriate. The commissionshall publish its bylaws, rules and regulations in convenient form, but shall not be subject to theprocedural requirements of any particular state.
Nothing in this compact shall be deemed:
(1) To impair or affect any rights, powers or jurisdiction of the United States, or thoseacting by or under its authority, in, over and to the waters of the Columbia River Basin, except asotherwise provided by the federal legislation required for the implementation of this compact.
(2) To affect the obligation of the United States to the Indians and Indian tribes, or anyright owned or held by or for Indians or Indian tribes which is subject to the jurisdiction of theUnited States.
(3) To impair or affect the capacity of the United States, or those acting by or under itsauthority, to acquire in accordance with the laws of the state involved rights in and to use ofwaters of the Columbia River Basin.
(4) To subject any property of the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, totaxation by any member state or subdivision thereof.
(5) To subject any property of the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, to thelaws of any member state to any extent other than the extent those laws would apply withoutregard to this compact, except as otherwise provided by the federal legislation required for theimplementation of this compact.
(6) To affect the applicability of the laws of any member state with respect to water rightsproperly claimed thereunder, except to the extent that the applicability in a given case would beinconsistent with the provisions of this compact.
(7) To affect adversely the areas of Mount Rainier, Glacier, Yellowstone, or Grand TetonNational Parks or Craters of the Moon, Fort Vancouver or Whitman National Monuments or tolimit the operation of laws relating to the preservation thereof.
(8) To impair or affect marketing provisions for federally generated power as the samemay be now or hereafter established.
This compact shall remain in full force and effect unless and until terminated by action ofthe legislatures of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington which action isconsented to and approved by the Congress of the United States; provided, that in the event of anytermination all rights theretofore established hereunder or recognized hereby shall continue to berecognized as valid notwithstanding such termination.
The provisions of this compact shall be severable. If any phrase, clause, sentence, orprovision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any government or theapplicability thereof to any government or agency thereof or other entity or to any circumstance isheld invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof to anygovernment or agency thereof or other entity or to any other circumstance shall not be affectedthereby, unless it is authoritatively and finally determined judicially that the remaining provisionscannot operate for the purposes, or substantially in the manner, intended by the member statesindependently of the portions declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.
A. This compact shall become effective and binding when it has been ratified by thelegislatures of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, and when consented to byan Act of the Congress of the United States, which will, in substance, provide that the UnitedStates, or any agency thereof, or any non-federal entity acting under any future license or otherauthority granted under the laws of the United States, in connection with water control or useprojects located wholly or partly in a downstream state shall be governed by the followinglimitation:
Rights to beneficial consumptive uses within the upstream area, whether establishedheretofore or hereafter under applicable laws, shall be recognized as against any rights, existingor future, to such waters for nonconsumptive uses by projects located wholly or partly within adownstream state, to the extent that average annual depletions resulting from such upstreamconsumptive uses above any property or authorized structure of the United States, located whollyor partly in downstream state, were assumed in Plate 10 of "Report of the Division Engineer"Volume I of House Document No. 531, 81st Congress, 2nd Session, and to the extent anyadditional depletions subsequently are recognized by the Congress as the basis of operation ofexisting projects, or as the basis for authorization of additional or revised projects.
B. If this compact becomes effective in accordance with the above provision, it shall alsobecome effective and binding as to any of the states of Nevada, Utah or Wyoming if ratified bythe legislature of any such state.
In Witness Whereof the commissioners have signed ten counterparts hereof each of whichshall be and constitute an original, one of which shall be deposited with the administrator ofgeneral services of the United States of America, one of which shall be forwarded to the governorof each of the signatory states, and two of which shall be made a part of the permanent records ofthe Columbia Interstate Compact Commission.
Done at the City of Portland, Oregon, this 8th day of October, 1962.
For the State of Idaho:
(s) R. P. Parry (s) Geo. N. Carter by
(s) G. L. Crookham, Jr. Carl E. Tappin, Ass't.
(s) Alex O. Coleman
For the State of Montana:
(s) Fred E. Buck (s) Glenn H. Larson
(s) S. H. Raymond (s) W. A. Groff
(s) Robert L. Neils (s) Donovan Worden
(s) James E. Murphy (s) John J. MacDonald
(s) Lester A. Colby
For the State of Nevada:
(s) Elmo J. DeRicco (s) Eyer H. Boies
(s) George B. Moseley
For the State of Oregon:
(s) Freeman Holmer (s) Harry D. Boivin
(s) George Layman (s) Al Flegel
(s) Anthony Yturri (s) Warne Nunn
(s) Vern L. Hill (s) Edward J. Whelan
(s) John D. Hare (s) Sidney Leiken
For the State of Utah:
(s) Jay R. Bingham
For the State of Washington:
(s) D. Elwood Caples (s) John L. Cooney
(s) William D. Shannon (s) W. L. McCormick
(s) H. Maurice Ahlquist
For the State of Wyoming:
(s) E. J. Van Camp (s) Ciril D. Cranney
(s) Earl Lloyd (s) H. T. Person
(s) Clifford P. Hansen (s) Norman B. Gray
I have participated in the negotiation of this compact. I intend to report favorably thereonto the Congress of the United States on the condition that the provisions of federal legislationgiving the consent of Congress will meet the requirements of article XIV.
Enacted by Chapter 177, 1963 General Session