2874-S AMS EEW S4568.2

2874-S AMS EEW S4568.2

SHB 2874 - S COMM AMD

By Committee on Environment, Energy & Water

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that delivery of Columbia basin project water through canals and its application to land through irrigation over approximately the past fifty years has dramatically affected ground water in the Pasco basin, located in western Franklin county, along the Columbia river and north of the city of Pasco. According to studies conducted by the United States geological survey, the volume of ground water has increased by about five million acre-feet. About eighty-five percent of this increase is the result of percolation following irrigation and seepage from the distribution system. Ground water levels have also risen as a result of reservoirs formed behind the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. As a result of drainage management, the system is reported to be at equilibrium. The studies provide the information needed to determine which ground water is a result of the project and which is naturally occurring. Problems associated with the raised ground water levels include landslides and loss of arable land through ponding. Benefits include dilution of concentrations of nitrate and increase in volume of water potentially available for beneficial use over the naturally occurring volume otherwise available.

It is the intent of the legislature to provide authority to the department of ecology to conduct negotiations and enter into agreements with the United States for allocation of ground waters that exist as a result of the Columbia basin project, adopt rules for implementing the agreements and establishing priorities for processing applications, and accept funds for its expenses, as soon as the legislature can obtain and evaluate information necessary to provide a sufficiently specific grant of legislative authority from which to derive rules. The legislature finds that rules for implementing the agreements and processing applications will be significant legislative rules and that such advance information is necessary for the legislature to be able to properly carry out its responsibility to both give direction and review the rules after their adoption.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The department of ecology shall develop a proposed scope for negotiations for entering into agreements with the United States for the allocation of ground waters that exist as a result of the Columbia basin project, shall develop a plan for conducting such negotiations, and shall report to the standing committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over water resources by December 1, 2002.

(2) Matters to be addressed by the department under subsection (1) of this section include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Assuring consistency with authorized project purposes; federal and state reclamation laws, including federal rate requirements; and provisions of United States repayment contracts pertaining to the project;

(b) The ability of the department to grant applications to beneficially use such water only if use of the water will not impair existing water rights or project operations or harm the public interest;

(d) Effect on any ownership interest or rights in ground waters that are not allocated pursuant to the agreements;

(e) Procedures for implementing the agreements and priorities for processing of applications;

(f) Administrative and staff expenses connected with entering into or implementing the agreements, including estimated total expenses and amounts to be recovered;

(g) The amount of water that will continue to be recharged and be available for use indefinitely and the amount of water that is not being recharged and will be depleted as a result of allocation and use;

(h) Allocation of the water among various beneficial uses, including, but not limited to, irrigation, municipal, domestic, commercial, and industrial;

(i) Effect on amount of water available for allocation and use as a result of conservation and efficiency measures applied to the Columbia basin project delivery system and irrigation practices and reductions in withdrawals from the Columbia river;

(j) Effect of allocation and use on water quality;

(k) Water needs for preservation of environmental benefits of the Columbia basin project and measures necessary to meet those needs;

(l) Effect of water availability on land use and associated environmental impacts;

(m) Public process and inclusion of affected interests;

(n) Watershed planning and any other local or statewide planning processes or initiatives;

(o) Potential liability of the state and the United States;

(p) Requirements for review of environmental impacts;

(q) Pending litigation related to the subject matter of the proposed agreements; and

(r) Duration of the proposed agreements."

SHB 2874 - S COMM AMD

By Committee on Environment, Energy & Water

On page 1, line 3 of the title, after "project;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and creating new sections."