Official Government Website
IDAPA 37.03.05 – Mine Tailings Impoundment Structures & IDAPA 37.03.06 – Safety of Dams Rules
Rulemaking
- IDAPA 37.01.01 – Rules of Procedure
- IDAPA 37.02.01 – Comprehensive State Water Plan Rules
- IDAPA 37.02.03 – Water Supply Bank Rules
- IDAPA 37.02.04 – Tribal Water Supply Bank Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.01 – Adjudication Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.02 – Beneficial Use Exam Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.03 – Underground Injection Well Construction Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.04 – Drilling for Geothermal Resources Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.05 – Mine Tailings Impoundment Structures & IDAPA 37.03.06 – Safety of Dams Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.06 – Safety of Dams Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.07 – SCA Rules; Rule 61: Minimum Standards for Suction Dredges and Non-Powered Sluice Equipment
- IDAPA 37.03.07 – Stream Channel Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.08 – Water Appropriation Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.09 – Well Construction Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.10 – Well Driller Licensing Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.11 – Conjunctive Management Rules
- IDAPA 37.03.12 – Water District 34 Rules
Notice
Water right changes made under the provisions of a drought declaration expire at the end of the current year unless extended or terminated by the IDWR Director.
IDAPA 37.03.05 – Mine Tailings Impoundment Structures & IDAPA 37.03.06 – Safety of Dams
The IWRB is negotiating these rules as part of its requirement to review each rule every 5 years consistent with the Governor’s Zero-Based Regulation Executive Order 2020-01.
Documents
- IDAPA 37.03.06 Safety of Dams Existing Rule vs. Pending Rule with track changes – January 17, 2023
- IDAPA 37.03.05 (Mine Tailings Rules)—Notice of Legislative Subcommittees’ Nonobjection, Letter—November 18, 2022
- IDAPA 37.03.06 (Dam Safety Rules)—Notice of Legislative Subcommittees’ Nonobjection, Letter—November 18, 2022
- IDAPA 37.03.05 (Mine Tailings Rules)— Notice of Rulemaking – Pending Rule (See Admin. Bulletin Vol. 22-12)—November, 2022
- IDAPA 37.03.06 (Dam Safety Rules) — Notice of Rulemaking – Pending Rule (See Admin. Bulletin Vol. 22-12)—November, 2022
- Resolution to Publish Five IDAPA 37 Chapters as Pending Rules in the December 7, 2022, Idaho Administrative Bulletin Vol. 22-12 – November 4, 2022
- Public Meeting Audio Recording—October 28, 2022
- Public Meeting Transcript (Unofficial)—October 28, 2022
- Public Meeting Sign-in Sheet—October 28, 2022
- Summary Comment & Response Memo #2—October 27, 2022
- Notated Preliminary Draft Rules (Unofficial Working Drafts), May 24 to Sep 2—October 27, 2022
- Agenda for October 28, 2022 Public Meeting—October 27, 2022
- IDAPA 37.03.06 Safety of Dams Existing Rule vs. Proposed Rule Track Changes Document—October 24, 2022
- Notice of October 28, 2022 Public Meeting—October 20, 2022
- IDAPA 37.03.05 (Mine Tailings Rules)—Notice of Rulemaking – Proposed Rule (Admin. Bulletin Vol. 22-10)—October 5, 2022
- IDAPA 37.03.06 (Dam Safety Rules)—Notice of Rulemaking – Proposed Rule (Admin. Bulletin Vol. 22-10)—October 5, 2022
- Resolution to Publish Five IDAPA 37 Chapters as Proposed Rules in the October 5, 2022, Idaho Administrative Bulletin Vol. 22-10 – September 6, 2022
- Public Meeting Audio Recording—August 19, 2022
- Public Meeting Transcript (Unofficial)—August 19, 2022
- Public Meeting Sign-in Sheet—August 19, 2022
- Agenda for August 19, 2022 Public Meeting—August 11, 2022
- Notice of August 19, 2022 Public Meeting—August 10, 2022
- Draft Dam Safety Rules (Strawman v2.0 Clean)—August 9, 2022
- Draft Dam Safety Rules (Strawman v2.0 Marked-Up)—August 9, 2022
- Draft Dam Safety Rules (Strawman v2.0 Rule-by-Rule Comparison and Justification for Revision)—August 2022
- Draft Mine Tailings Impoundment Structures Rules (Strawman v1.0 Marked-Up)—August 9, 2022
- Summary Comment & Response Memo—August 1, 2022
- EO 2020-01 Recommendation Memo—August 1, 2022
- Notice of July 28, 2022 Public Meeting (CANCELLED)—July 9, 2022
- Matrix of IDWR Regulated Dams and Reservoirs—March 2018
- Matrix of IDWR Regulated Dams and Reservoirs—January 2014
- Public Meeting Audio Recording—July 7, 2022
- Public Meeting Transcript (Unofficial)—July 7, 2022
- Public Meeting Sign-in Sheet—July 7, 2022
- Public Meeting Agenda—July 7, 2022
- Public Meeting Presentation—May 27, 2022
- Public Meeting Audio Recording—May 27, 2022
- Public Meeting Transcript (Unofficial)—May 27, 2022
- Public Meeting Sign-in Sheet—May 27, 2022
- Public Meeting Agenda—May 27, 2022
- Preliminary Draft Rule (Strawman v1.0)—May 23, 2022
- Notated Preliminary Draft Rule (Unofficial Working Drafts)—May 23, 2022
- IDAPA 37.03.05 and 37.03.06 Rule Comparison Matrix—May 23, 2022
- Comparison of Existing IDAPA 37.03.05 and Existing IDAPA 37.03.06 Rules—May 3, 2022
- Draft Letter to Dam Owners Regarding Rulemaking Public Meeting
- IDAPA 37.03.05—Notice of Intent to Promulgate Rules – Zero-Based Regulation Negotiated Rulemaking (Admin. Bulletin Vol. 22-5)—April 11, 2022
- IDAPA 37.03.06—Notice of Intent to Promulgate Rules – Zero-Based Regulation Negotiated Rulemaking (Admin. Bulletin Vol. 22-5)—April 11, 2022
- Zero-Based Regulation Prospective Analysis
Public Hearing Requests
- Request to Hold a Public Hearing, Letter—Idaho Conservation League—October 13, 2022
Written Public Comments
Deadline to submit public comments to the Department was November 2, 2022.
- Public Comment by the Idaho Conservation League, Letter—November 2, 2022
- Public Comment by Tami Thatcher, Letter—November 2, 2022
- Public Comment by Tami Thatcher, PowerPoint—November 2, 2022
- Public Comment by the Idaho Mining Association, Letter—November 2, 2022
- Public Comment by the Idaho Mining Association, Letter—October 26, 2022
- Public Comment by Tami Thatcher, Letter—October 13, 2022
- Public Comment by the Idaho Mining Association, Letter—August 26, 2022
- Public Comment by the Idaho Conservation League and Save the South Fork Salmon River, Letter—August 26, 2022
- Public Comment by Tami Thatcher, Letter—August 19, 2022
- Public Comment by the Idaho Conservation League, Letter—June 17, 2022
- Public Comment by the Idaho Mining Association, Letter—June 17, 2022
- Public Comment by Alan L. Prouty, J.R. Simplot Co., Letter—June 16, 2022
- Public Comment by Lorna K. Jorgensen, Ada County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Letter—June 16, 2022
- Public Comment by Tami Thatcher, Letter—June 10, 2022
Statutes & Rules
Listed below are legal considerations regarding mine tailings impoundment structures and safety of dams.
Idaho Constitution
Idaho Statute
- Title 42: Irrigation and Drainage — Water Rights and Reclamation (Idaho Code §§ 42-1709–1721)
- Title 46, Chapter 10: State Disaster Preparedness Act
Idaho Administrative Code
National Dam Safety Organizations
Listed below are organizations that provide information and guidance to states in the interest of promoting the safety and regulation of dams. The information and guidance provided by these organizations is not binding upon Idaho.
(The links below will take you to third-party websites, which are not owned or operated by the State of Idaho.)
- Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO)
- FEMA—Dam Safety (Interagency Committee on Dams Safety (ICODS), National Dam Safety Review Board, National Dam Safety Program (NDSP), and National Inventory of Dams (NID))
Terminology
“Dam” means any artificial barrier or embankment, together with appurtenant works, constructed for the purpose of storing water or that stores water, which is ten (10) feet or more in height from the natural bed of the stream or watercourse at the downstream toe of the barrier, as determined by the department, or from the lowest elevation of the outside limit of the barrier, if it is not across a stream channel or watercourse, to the maximum water storage elevation, and has or will have an impounding capacity at maximum water storage elevation of fifty (50) acre-feet or more.
“Mine tailings impoundment structure” means any artificial embankment which is or will be more than thirty (30) feet in height measured from the lowest elevation of the toe to the maximum crest elevation constructed for the purpose of storing mine tailings slurry.
See IDAPA 37.03.11 for more detail.
“Hazard” means the potential consequences to downstream life and property resulting from a dam failure and uncontrolled release of water, exclusive of the size or the physical condition of the dam or mine tailings impoundment structure. Hazard classifications shall be assigned to new and existing dams or mine tailings impoundment structures based on the severity of failure consequences to life and property.