HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 1993

BYHouse Committee on Agriculture & Rural Development (originally sponsored by Representatives Rayburn and Lewis)

Providing for drought relief.

House Committe on Agriculture & Rural Development

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (12)

      Signed by Representatives Rayburn, Chair; Baugher, Bristow, Brooks, Chandler, Doty, Holm, R. King, McLean, Moyer, Nealey and Rasmussen.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 10, 1988

BACKGROUND:

Twice in ten years the Legislature has enacted temporary, emergency legislation in anticipation of serious water supply shortages. Both drought bills provided funds for emergency water supply projects.  The legislation enacted in 1977 authorized the issuance of $18 million in bonds for water supply facilities required to respond to a drought.  The monies from the sale of the bonds were deposited in the Emergency Water Projects Revolving Account and appropriated to the Department of Ecology for agricultural water supply and distribution projects.  The legislation enacted in 1987 authorized up to four million dollars of the monies reappropriated to the Department from the Account to be used to deliver water to previously irrigated lands.

The grant portion of any grant and loan of funds from the Account for a single project must not exceed 15% of the total project cost.

SUMMARY:

A restriction which applies to the use of funds from the Emergency Water Projects Revolving Account is altered.  In general, the grant portion of any grant and loan of such funds for a single project may not exceed 20% (rather than, under current law, 15%) of the total project cost.  However, the grant may constitute as much as 40% of a project or activity for supplying water to an entity if the entity is forecast to receive 50% or less of its normal irrigation water supply. No entity may receive more than 10% of the total funds appropriated to the Department of Ecology from the Account during a single biennium.

In addition to providing monies for agricultural water supply facilities and providing water for previously irrigated lands, funds from the Account may be used for administering related drought relief activities and for the development of a drought contingency plan. The plan must provide a means of evaluating and responding to the need for emergency water supply facilities.

The sum of $170,000 of the monies from the Account currently appropriated to the Department of Ecology is dedicated to the development of the plan and to the administration of drought activities concerning emergency agricultural water supply facilities.  The Department is authorized to employ up to two full-time equivalent staff positions until April 30, 1989, for these purposes.  The remaining portion of the monies appropriated to the Department from the Account for the biennium are expressly dedicated for use for agricultural water supply facilities and certain other measures to alleviate emergency drought conditions.

Appropriation:    The sum of $170,000 of the monies currently appropriated to the Department of Ecology from the Emergency Water Projects Revolving Account is dedicated to the preparation of a drought contingency plan and certain drought relief activities; the use of the remaining monies currently appropriated to the Department from the Account is also dedicated.

Fiscal Note:      Requested February 5, 1988.

Effective Date:The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Dan Coyne, Washington State Dairymen's Federation.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Hedia Adelsman, Department of Ecology.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The changes in the matching program provided by the bill will be of assistance during the drought.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      (1) The drought will be statewide, not just in agricultural areas; the use of the Account should be expanded to include nonagricultural uses.  (2) The Department needs more staff than the level provided by the bill to investigate the effects of the water transfers that will be requested this year.