Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Rights Conjunctive Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill setting deadline for new groundwater methodology orders
Summary
Senate Bill 1061 would require the Department to issue revised methodology orders by Dec. 1 of the year before implementation to give farmers certainty about water management rules; the committee sent the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation after extended Q&A about steady-state vs. transient modeling and mitigation plans.
The House Resources and Conservation Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 1061 after lawmakers and witnesses described confusion in previous years when the Department of Water Resources shifted from a steady-state to a transient methodology close to the planting season.
Sponsor Representative Stephanie Mickelson told the committee the bill “sets up the rules for the game and it sets up a date time certain for the department to have a new methodology order ... which is December 1 of the year preceding when they would want to implement it the following spring season between March and May.” She said prior short-notice changes to methodology “caused for a lot of confusion and problems and ultimately really, wasn't good for growers nor for the state.”
During committee questions, Representative Miller asked how the methodology change affects growers. Mickelson and witnesses explained the difference between a steady-state model — which measures impact over a long period — and a transient model, in which calculated injury can spike in a single year. Mickelson said the department at one point made multiple methodology changes within about a six-month period, creating uncertainty for water users who had already planned for planting and mitigation.
A witness, identified as Jenn Nicholson in the transcript, said the December 1 deadline would “give people enough time to basically have enough flexibility to figure out a new plan so that you don't put people out of business because you've done it in such a short order.” Committee members also discussed mitigation plans and groundwater districts; Mickelson noted mitigation plans and groundwater district membership are key for long-term stability.
Representative Raybould moved to send the bill to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded.
No formal amendments were recorded in committee. The bill establishes a deadline of Dec. 1 for publication of a new or revised methodology order determining material injury under rules of conjunctive management; it does not itself set technical modeling parameters or change mitigation plan content.
Votes at a glance: Senate Bill 1061 — motion to send to floor with a due-pass recommendation moved by Representative Raybould; approved by voice vote (committee recorded “aye,” no roll-call tally provided).
