85-2-336. Basin closure -- exception. (1) As provided in 85-2-319 and subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the department may not process or grant an application for a permit to appropriate water within the Upper Clark Fork River basin.
     (2) The provisions of subsection (1) do not apply to:
     (a) an application for a permit to appropriate ground water;
     (b) an application filed prior to January 1, 2000, for a permit to appropriate water to conduct response actions or remedial actions pursuant to the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, or Title 75, chapter 10, part 7, at sites designated as of January 1, 1994. The total flow rates for all permits issued under this subsection (2)(b) may not exceed 10 cubic feet per second. A permit issued to conduct response actions or remedial actions may not be used for dilution and must be limited to a term not to exceed the necessary time to complete the response or remedial action, and the permit may not be transferred to any person for any purpose other than the designated response or remedial action.
     (c) an application for a permit to appropriate water for stock use;
     (d) an application to store water; or
     (e) an application for power generation at existing hydroelectric dams. The department may not approve a permit for power generation if approval results in additional consumption of water.
     (3) Applications for state water reservations in the Upper Clark Fork River basin filed pursuant to 85-2-316 and pending as of May 1, 1991, have a priority date of May 1, 1991. The filing of a state water reservation application does not provide standing to object under 85-2-402.
     (4) The department may not process or approve applications for state water reservations in the Upper Clark Fork River basin filed pursuant to 85-2-316.

     History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 741, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 453, Ch. 418, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 487, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 13, Ch. 497, L. 1997.