Committee hears bill to extend deadline tied to Tiana Way Community Forest water milestones

The Capital Budget Committee on April 7 heard public testimony on Engrossed Senate Bill 5303, which would extend by 10 years the deadline to secure permits and funding for water facilities tied to the Tiana Way Community Forest in the Yakima River Basin, committee staff said.

Committee staff member Rob Hatfield briefed members on the bill, describing the Yakima Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan as “created to deliver benefits both to in stream and out of stream water uses.” Hatfield said the Tiana Way Community Forest—purchased under 2013 legislation—was intended to remain a community forest only if permits and funding were in place by June 30, 2025, to build facilities that would deliver 214,000 acre-feet of water for in‑stream and out‑of‑stream uses. Under the original authorization, if those milestones were not met the Board of Natural Resources could place the land into the common school trust.

The bill before the committee would extend the deadline by 10 years (to mid‑2035), and the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee adopted a striker that, Hatfield said, left in place the original…