Committee defeats amendment requiring 80% reimbursement by long‑haul pipeline users; SB 4 advances

The Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee considered Senate Bill 4 on long‑haul surface water transfers and rejected Amendment 6, which would have required primary long‑haul pipeline users to reimburse 80% of construction costs. The committee then advanced the bill on a subsequent roll call with 12 members recorded voting yes.

Senate Bill 4 creates a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) process for long‑haul water pipelines and establishes cost‑recovery provisions for utilities that build such infrastructure. The amendment offered by Representative Matt Pierce (D‑District 61) would have defined a "long‑haul water pipeline user," excluded incidental customers from that definition, required the CPCN application to identify users and include financial assurances, and made cost recovery contingent on an 80% reimbursement commitment from those primary users.

The change mattered because members worried about who ultimately bears the cost of expensive, long‑distance water projects if the primary user takes less service than anticipated or a project fails to proceed. Representative Matt Pierce said the amendment mirrored protections…