NOTICE OF MITIGATION PLAN SUBMITTED BY JERRY D. BINGHAM AND VALERIE H. BINGHAM IN RESPONSE TO THE SURFACE WATER COALITION WATER DELIVERY CALL
Notice is hereby given that on August 19, 2025, Jerry D. Bingham and Valerie H. Bingham (the "Binghams"), through their counsel, Reed W. Larsen, of Cooper & Larsen, Chartered, PO Box 4229, Pocatello, ID 83205-4229, submitted a Mitigation and Curtailment Plan ("Bingham Plan") to the Idaho Department of Water Resources ("Department").
The Bingham Plan is intended to satisfy the Binghams' mitigation obligation for the Surface Water Coalition ("SWC") Water Delivery Call "as long as the Director's [Curtailment] Order of July 25, 2025 is in place." The SWC delivery call is administered by the Department and the watermasters of state water districts who administer ground water rights within the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer ("ESPA"). The SWC consists of irrigation entities with senior surface water rights diverted from the Snake River above Milner Dam. The SWC members include A&B Irrigation District, American Falls Reservoir District #2, Burley Irrigation District, Milner Irrigation District, Minidoka Irrigation District, North Side Canal Company, and Twin Falls Canal Company.
The Binghams hold ground water rights within the ESPA that are used for agricultural irrigation. The Binghams' water rights are junior to the SWC's water rights. The Bingham Plan proposes to mitigate the effects of ground water pumping by fully curtailing their 1987 priority date water right – No. 35-12226 – and voluntarily reducing their water usage under Water Right Nos. 35-2202B, 35-2205E, 35-2266, 35-2269G, and 35-2183D by 14.2%, through a weekly Sunday shutdown of all irrigation pumping throughout the irrigation season. The Binghams assert that their mitigation plan is appropriate given the priority dates of their water rights. The Binghams assert that the plan is consistent with Idaho law and prior appropriation doctrine, and that it provides benefits to the aquifer by leaving water in place that could otherwise be legally diverted.
The Department will process the Bingham Plan under the Department's Conjunctive Management Rules (IDAPA 37.03.11). A complete copy of the Bingham Plan is available for review at the following website: https://idwr.idaho.gov/legal-actions/mitigation-plan-actions/SWC/bingham/.
This notice does not represent analysis or approval of the proposed plan by the Department. Protests against approval of the Bingham Plan must be filed with the Department, together with a protest fee of $25, on or before September 22, 2025. Rule 53 of the Department's Rules of Procedure (IDAPA 37.01.01.053) outlines how documents may be filed with the Department and when they are considered filed. A copy of the Rules of Procedure may be obtained at the following link:
https://adminrules.idaho.gov/rules/current/37/370101.pdf. The protest must include a certificate of service showing that a copy of the protest has been mailed or delivered personally to counsel for the Binghams.
Mathew Weaver, Director
Published in the Idaho Statesman, Mountain Home News, Idaho Mountain Express, Post Register & Idaho State Journal on September 3rd & 10th, 2025; Times News & Lewiston Tribune on September 4th & 11th, 2025; and Rexburg Standard Journal on September 5th & 12th, 2025.
IPL0268201
Sep 3,10 2025