Water Supply Legislation Passes Senate Committee with Broad Support

SB 1069 will provide funds to Umatilla & Morrow Co.; Grants to Oregon communities.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - With broad support both inside and outside the Capitol, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee passed a bill today that will directly confront the water supply crisis in Oregon. In a consensus vote, members of the Committee advanced Senate Bill 1069, also known as "ACWA," the Agriculture and Community Water Act.

"Providing a proactive solution to depleting water resources in Oregon is vital for Oregon’s economic security," said Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin). "That’s why Senate Democrats made this issue a top priority for the 2008 February Session, and both Republicans and Democrats came together to craft bipartisan legislation that works for all Oregonians."

Senate Bill 1069 provides a comprehensive plan for water shortages in Oregon. The first piece establishes a matching grants program for Oregon communities to fund feasibility studies for water conservation, reuse, and storage projects.

The second piece of the legislation specifically addresses the decade-long crisis in declining ground water in the Umatilla Basin.

Two projects will directly address the long term water needs of the region. Senate Bill 1069 will launch a water mitigation bank as well as fund a feasibility study for the Sand Hollow project.

The Sand Hollow project would direct surface water from the Columbia and Umatilla Rivers during winter months into the Umatilla Basin to recharge and inject depleted aquifers.

"Just as water is essential to sustaining animal and plant life, this legislation can play an essential role in sustaining the life and economies of many Oregon communities through the development of methods to utilize water from parts of our state where it’s plentiful, in areas where it is scarce," said Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem).

"ACWA" was the successful result of a broad coalition of groups and bipartisan interests, including the Oregon Farm Bureau, the League of Oregon Cities, the Oregon Wheat Growers League, the Oregon Association of Nurseries, the Umatilla Electric Cooperative, the Oregon Water Resources Congress and the Confederate Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, among others.

"ACWA’s success is clearly the result of the cooperative bipartisanship and shared priorities that went into crafting the bill," said Sen. Brad Avakian (D-NE Washington/SW Multnomah Co.), chair of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. "Struggling farmers will now have what they need to take care of their families and livelihoods."

Senate Bill 1069 now moves to the Joint Ways and Means Committee for consideration.