Committee adopts amendment and advances $500,000 Harmony CREP match fund to Ways and Means

The House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water adopted the dash-3 amendment to House Bill 2813 and forwarded the bill to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation and referral to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.

Committee staff summarized that House Bill 2813 would establish the Harmony Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) match fund, appropriate $500,000 from the General Fund into that fund and direct the Oregon Water Resources Department to provide state distribution for water users in the Greater Harney Valley groundwater area who cancel groundwater rights as part of enrollment in the federal CREP. The dash-3 amendment posted to OLIS opens the program statewide where basins complete the CREP process, finish the environmental impact statement (EIS) and secure federal match funding.

Co-Chair Owens emphasized that the amendment limits application to areas where groundwater will no longer be appropriated and that the process to enroll in CREP and obtain federal match is “arduous,” requiring local design through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and local stakeholders. Vice Chair Fingerh McDonald moved adoption of the dash-3 amendment and then moved the amended bill to the floor; the committee recorded no opposition and the motions passed by voice vote.

The committee noted a technical dash-1 change to a date raised by Representative Hartman and said further adjustments remain under discussion. The bill will proceed to the House floor and to Joint Ways and Means for fiscal review.