Columbia River bill moves to Ore. House

By MITCH LIES
Capital Press Staff Writer

5/27/03

SALEM, Ore. — A bill that could boost economic development in Eastern Oregon took one step closer to becoming law last week when the House Water Committee forwarded Senate Bill 820 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation.

SB 820 would reserve for economic development in Oregon 250,000 acre feet of water from the mainstem of the Columbia River above Bonneville Dam and streamline the state’s water permit application process.

It passed the Senate floor 19-9 on May 9.

The reservation, although considered minimal, is deemed critical for jump starting a depressed farm economy in Eastern Oregon and providing a starting point for future reservations.

“The sky is unlimited,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Dave Nelson, R-Pendleton. “That is desert land out there and if you can get water to it, it’s tremendously productive.”

The reservation, which is dedicated to municipal, industrial and agricultural uses, could put as many as 80,000 acres into production if the entire reservation was tapped for irrigation uses, Nelson said.

Oregon growers have obtained just two new irrigation water rights on the mainstem of the Columbia River since 1994 when the state adopted policies that irrigators say put a moratorium on new water withdrawals.

The policies were designed to meet target flows for fish survival brought forward by the Northwest Power Planning Council.

Washington growers, meanwhile, began last year to secure new water withdrawal permits from the Columbia River after a Washington judge set in motion actions that led to Washington lifting its nearly decade-long moratorium on new Columbia River water rights.

“The number of acres under irrigation in Washington is vastly larger than the number of irrigated acres in Oregon,” Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, said. “Those acres are a huge contributor to economic improvements in Washington and it could be the same here.”

According to figures released by bill supporters, Oregon diverts 0.3 percent of the average annual flow of the Columbia River while Washington diverts 2.7 percent. Idaho diverts 4 percent from the Columbia River system, with most of that coming from the Snake River.

The House Water Committee forwarded SB 820 5-1 despite objections from the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla and an environmental group.

“WaterWatch is opposed to the bill because it does nothing to put water in the river,” said Doug Myers, a lobbyist for the Portland environmental group. “It is all about taking water out of the river.”

The bill’s chief supporter, the Eastern Oregon Irrigation Association, meanwhile, believes that the amount of water reserved under the bill is inadequate to meet the needs of agricultural, municipal and industrial users.

“We don’t think (250,000 acre feet) is adequate for the long term,” said Martha Pagel, a water-law expert who is representing the irrigation association. “But we think this bill is an important policy statement for the Legislature to say we want to be on similar footing as the state of Washington.”

The irrigation association originally wanted to reserve 1.42 million acre feet, or 1 percent of the river’s annual flow.

Adam Sussman, a senior policy coordinator for the Oregon Water Resources Department, said that in addition to providing a boost for economic development, the bill would dramatically speed the water permit application process by requiring state and federal agencies to work together in processing applications.

“It provides a good situation for us and other agencies to streamline the process,” he said, “and the reservation signals the state is committed to allocating water in the future with proper safeguards.”

OWRD Director Paul Cleary pointed out that the bill does not guarantee a water right. It simply reserves 250,000 acre feet for water rights. And, he said, the bill does not reduce protections for natural resources.