Committee hears bill to limit large-scale export of Missouri water

Sen. Jamie Berger presented a Senate substitute for Senate Bill 82 at a hearing of the House Committee on Conservation and Natural Resources, outlining a proposal to give Missouri a formal process to review and restrict large-scale export of the state’s water supplies.

Berger told the committee the measure is meant to “protect Missouri’s interests first, protect Missouri citizens’ existing rights to water for beneficial uses such as farming.” The bill would require exporters to identify an end user, create a 30-mile buffer around exports, add reporting and permitting-type reviews by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and instruct the DNR to prioritize Missouri needs if conflicts arise.

The bill’s sponsors and supporters stressed Missouri’s role as a water-rich state and raised recent western shortages as a driver of demand. Casey Wasser of the Missouri Soybean Association said understanding current use is essential and cited testimony that Missourians and businesses “collectively consume 3,200,000,000 gallons of water each day” in the state.…