Water-rights holders, check your mail for invoices

State Department of Revenue sent second round of bills Wednesday

If you didn't get a bill from the state to pay for water-rights adjudication in December, you may be getting one in the next week or two.

Acting on behalf of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the state Revenue Department on Wednesday mailed about 17,500 invoices to water-rights holders across the state.

According to Mary Sexton, director of the department, the second mailing affects specific groups of residents - mainly those who didn't respond to the first round of bills that were sent out in December.

"Folks who were previously invoiced for the water rights adjudication fee and didn't file an appeal on that invoice and didn't pay the invoice will be receiving another bill. Those individuals that filed an appeal with the first invoice will not be receiving an additional bill," Sexton said.

Also, Montanans who have wells and filed water rights but did not receive invoices during the first round of mailings may receive bills early this month.

"It's likely that the water right for that property was in a previous owner's name and that has since been corrected in the state water-rights database, " Sexton explained.

Under House Bill 22, approved by the Legislature last year, Montana's water-rights adjudication is being funded by fees generated from the invoices. Adjudication means legally identifying and prioritizing water rights.

Every Montana water-right holder is being assessed a $20 biannual fee until 2015 to generate the funds necessary to examine and decree the remaining 57,000 water rights in Montana. The state's general fund also is helping to pay for the process.

Sexton cautions against not paying the invoice.

"According to House Bill 22 language, the Department of Revenue has authority to file a lien against anyone who fails to pay the assessment," Sexton said. "We're encouraging all Montanans assessed the fee to pay it. This legislation truly is to the benefit of every Montanan and the state as a whole. Your water right is a valuable asset, and Montana's right to use Montana's water needs protection from claims by downstream states."

Water-rightS holders who think they have been assessed incorrect fees have a remedy available, Sexton said. They can file appeals with the department, either through the department's Regional Water offices or its Web site, www.dnrc.mt.gov.

Property owners who transferred or sold water rights should check with the regional offices to be sure an ownership-update form was filed. If the form was not filed, people may have been billed for water rights they no longer own.

A person who purchased land or property that included water rights should check with the local Regional Water Office or the Web site to be certain the water-right ownership is accurate. It is important that the current owner of the water right receive notice of the adjudication fees to avoid liens or penalties on their water rights.

Montanans who didn't receive a bill but know they have a filed water right are urged to contact a local Regional Water Office.

"If they contact one of our local offices, our staff will help to verify their right and clarify our database," Sexton said.

The bill also affects Montanans who have drilled wells for their residences and have not filed their water rights, which is required by the Montana Constitution.

"Those folks need to go through the appropriate steps to get that water right filed with the DNRC either by utilizing the DNRC Web site or by visiting their local DNRC Regional Water Office," Sexton said.

The bipartisan Environmental Quality Council, a legislative interim committee, wrote HB22 in 2004. It was sponsored in the 2005 session by Rep. Walter L. McNutt, R-Sidney.

The bill had widespread support from committee members and passed the House 96-2 and the Senate 44-6.

Organizations supporting the bill included the Montana Stockgrowers, the Montana Grain Growers, the Farm Bureau, the Farmers' Union, Trout Unlimited, conservation districts, the Montana Association of Counties, the Montana Chamber, and utility companies.

Regional Water Office phone lines have been inundated since the first billing went out.

To respond to questions from the public, the agency has set up a water rights hot line that is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The hot line number is 406-444-9050.