HOUSE BILL REPORT
SHB 978
BYHouse Committee on Agriculture & Rural Development (originally sponsored by Representatives Rayburn, Baugher, Bristow, Doty and Lewis)
Revising provisions relating to the Yakima river basin enhancement project.
House Committe on Agriculture & Rural Development
Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. (13)
Signed by Representatives Rayburn, Chair; Kremen, Vice Chair; Baugher, Brooks, Chandler, Doty, Grant, Holm, Jacobsen, McLean, Moyer, Nealey and Rasmussen.
House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)
AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 16, 1987
BACKGROUND:
The state and federal governments have been conducting the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, a study of water issues in the basin. The primary objectives developed under the study are: providing supplemental water for presently irrigated lands, providing water for new irrigation development on the Yakima Indian Reservation and for increasing instream flows for anadromous fish, and developing a comprehensive water management plan for the basin.
State law directs the Department of Ecology to work with members of the congressional delegation to identify and advance, for federal authorization, elements of the Yakima enhancement project which have general public support and acceptable cost-sharing arrangements, meet study objectives, and otherwise have potential for early implementation.
SUMMARY:
While the Yakima enhancement project is being developed and implemented, the policy of the state shall be to require that any new water project or modification of a water project, including fish passage or protective facilities, that creates a new demand for surface water from the Yakima river system include as a part of the project a supply of additional water to meet the demand created. (Water supplied by proposals to raise the reservoir elevation of Lake Cle Elum by 3 feet shall not be considered such a supply of additional water.) Any permit or other authorization of a state agency required for the project shall include this requirement as one of its conditions. This policy does not affect existing rights to water valid under state law.
EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S): Congress is requested to authorize the construction of a pipeline between Keechelus Lake and Kachess Lake as one of the early implementation elements of the Yakima enhancement project to supply water for the operation of the fish passage facilities at Easton Dam. The department shall work to assure that this element is included in federal legislation.
Although the Senate amendments still require that a supply of water be provided for certain projects, the water supplied does not have to be "additional" water, as is required in the substitute House bill.
The requirements established by the bill do not limit persons or entities from entering into an interim operating agreement for the construction of a water project pending the completion of facilities which create the water required for the operation of the project. Neither the requirements of the bill nor such interim operating agreements shall interfere with or impact the availability of water needed to fulfill existing water rights and various aspects of those rights recognized under state water law.
Fiscal Note: Not Requested.
House Committee ‑ Testified For: Ron Van Gundy, Roza Irrigation District; Jim Trull, Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District; Jeff Dunning, Ellensburg Water Company; Urban Eberhart, Kittitas Reclamation District; and Bob Lee, Department of Agriculture. (Support policy of bill: Hedia Adelsman, Department of Ecology; and Curt Smitch, Department of Fisheries.)
House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.
House Committee - Testimony For: (1) Federal legislation authorizing water projects in the Yakima basin requires that the projects be water neutral (that they not take water away from an existing use). The bill reinforces this concept and applies it to projects not covered by the federal legislation. (2) Facilities proposed for Lake Easton would create a new demand for water. Water supplied by raising Lake Cle Elum by 3 feet would not be available in water short years; the Lake Easton facilities should not rely on such an undependable source of water. (3) The bill will keep irrigation districts from having to file suits regarding new projects to protect their rights to water; it will ensure that new projects have the water they need when they are first built. (5) Increasing water for fish should be based upon the availability of additional water for the fish.
House Committee - Testimony Against: Legislation should not be enacted which will preclude the development of the Lake Easton screen and ladder project or which will reduce water management flexibility.
VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:
Yeas 91; Nays 1; Absent 2; Excused 4
Voting Nay: Representative Brekke
Absent: Representatives Gallagher and C. Smith
Excused: Representatives Allen, Madsen, Pruitt and Scott