Schedule of fees for claimants of water power — Statement of claim — Penalties — Excessive claim — Abandonment.
RCW 90.16.060
in effectThe license fee herein required shall be paid in advance to the state department of ecology and shall be accompanied by written statement, showing the extent of the claim. Said statement shall set forth the name and address of the claimant, the name of the stream from which the water is appropriated or claimed for power development, a description of the forty acres or smallest legal subdivision in which the point of diversion and point of return are located, the date of the right as claimed, the maximum amount of water claimed, expressed in cubic feet per second of time, the total average fall utilized under such claim, the manner of developing power and the use to which the power is applied. If the regular flow is supplemented by water stored in a reservoir, the location of such reservoir, its capacity in acre feet, and the stream from which it is filled and fed, should be given, also the date of the right as claimed for storage purposes. Should any claimant fail or neglect to file such statement within the time specified, or fail or neglect to pay such fees within the time specified, the fees due and payable shall be at the schedule rates set out in RCW 90.16.050 , increased twenty-five percent, and the state shall have preference lien therefor, with interest at the rate of ten percent per annum from the date of delinquency, upon the property of claimant used or necessary for use in the development of the right or claim, together with any improvements erected thereon for such development, and upon request from the director of ecology the attorney general shall proceed to foreclose the lien, and collect the amount due, as herein provided, in the same manner as other liens for general state and county taxes on real property are foreclosed. The filing of a claim to water in excess of the amount to which the claimant is legally entitled shall not operate to vest in such claimant any right to the use of such excess water, nor shall the payment of the annual license fees, provided for herein, operate to vest in any claimant any right to the use of such water beyond the amount to which claimant is legally entitled. The filing of such claim, or claims to water shall be conclusive evidence of abandonment by the claimant of all right to water for power purposes not covered by the claim, or claims, as filed; and the failure to file statement and pay the fees, as herein required, for any power site or claim of power rights on account of riparian ownership within two years after June 12, 1929, shall be conclusive evidence of abandonment. The amount of the theoretical horsepower upon which fees shall be paid shall be computed by multiplying the maximum amount of water claimed, expressed in cubic feet per second of time, by the average fall utilized, expressed in feet, and dividing the product by 8.8.
The license fee herein required shall be paid in advance to the state department of ecology and shall be accompanied by written statement, showing the extent of the claim. Said statement shall set forth the name and address of the claimant, the name of the stream from which the water is appropriated or claimed for power development, a description of the forty acres or smallest legal subdivision in which the point of diversion and point of return are located, the date of the right as claimed, the maximum amount of water claimed, expressed in cubic feet per second of time, the total average fall utilized under such claim, the manner of developing power and the use to which the power is applied. If the regular flow is supplemented by water stored in a reservoir, the location of such reservoir, its capacity in acre feet, and the stream from which it is filled and fed, should be given, also the date of the right as claimed for storage purposes.
Should any claimant fail or neglect to file such statement within the time specified, or fail or neglect to pay such fees within the time specified, the fees due and payable shall be at the schedule rates set out in RCW 90.16.050 , increased twenty-five percent, and the state shall have preference lien therefor, with interest at the rate of ten percent per annum from the date of delinquency, upon the property of claimant used or necessary for use in the development of the right or claim, together with any improvements erected thereon for such development, and upon request from the director of ecology the attorney general shall proceed to foreclose the lien, and collect the amount due, as herein provided, in the same manner as other liens for general state and county taxes on real property are foreclosed.
The filing of a claim to water in excess of the amount to which the claimant is legally entitled shall not operate to vest in such claimant any right to the use of such excess water, nor shall the payment of the annual license fees, provided for herein, operate to vest in any claimant any right to the use of such water beyond the amount to which claimant is legally entitled. The filing of such claim, or claims to water shall be conclusive evidence of abandonment by the claimant of all right to water for power purposes not covered by the claim, or claims, as filed; and the failure to file statement and pay the fees, as herein required, for any power site or claim of power rights on account of riparian ownership within two years after June 12, 1929, shall be conclusive evidence of abandonment. The amount of the theoretical horsepower upon which fees shall be paid shall be computed by multiplying the maximum amount of water claimed, expressed in cubic feet per second of time, by the average fall utilized, expressed in feet, and dividing the product by 8.8.
Source: WA Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=90.16&full=trueFetched: 6/29/2026