"change" process. An Environmental Assessment is written for each lease and distributed for 

 public review and comment. 



FWP can only lease water from a willing party. If FWP and the water rights holder cannot agree 

 to the terms of a lease, the lease will not occur. Leases cannot result in the confiscation 

 of water rights and a lease may not be approved until any objections to the lease are resolved 

 through the change process. 



The maximum amount of water that may be leased is the amount historically diverted by the 

 lessor at his point of diversion. However, only the amoimt historically consumed, or a lesser 

 amoimt as determined by DNRC, may be protected for instream flows below the point of 

 diversion (85-2-436 (2) (d), MCA). 



A lease may be issued for a maximum period of 10 years but may be renewed one time for an 

 additioiud 10 years. Leases that are the result of a water conservation or storage project, such as 

 converting from flood to sprinkler irrigation, can be issued the first time for not more than 20 

 years (85-2-436 (2) (e), MCA). There is no provision for renewing a 20-year lease. All leases 

 entered into prior to June 30, 1999 remain valid until the expiration of the leases 

 (85-2-438, MCA). 



STATUTORY REPORTING REOT JTREMENTS FOR COMPLETED LEASES 



Section 85-2-436 (3)(a) requires an annual leasing progress report that contains the following 

 specific information listed under 85-2-436(1 )(a) and (b) on each pilot lease entered into during 

 the report period: 



(a) provide the following data for each designated stream reach and each pilot lease 

 entered into imder subsection (2): 



(i) the length of the stream reach and how it is determined; 



(ii) technical methods and data used to determine critical stream flow or volume 



needed to preserve fisheries; 

 (iii) legal standards and technical data used to determine and substantiate the amount 



of water available for instream flows through leasing of existing rights; 

 (iv) contractual parameters, conditions, and other steps taken to ensure that each lease 



in no way harms other appropriators, particularly if the stream is one that 



experiences natural dewatering; and 

 (v) methods and technical means used to monitor use of water under each lease; 



(b) based on the data provided under subsection (l)(a), develops a complete model of 

 a water lease and lease authorization that includes a step-by-step explanation of 

 the process from initiation to completion. 



A^ 



