Committee advances bill to relocate Bob Oak Game Farm after nitrate detections in sole-source aquifer

Representative Ed Orcutt, the bill—s prime sponsor, told the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that Substitute House Bill 2668 would start a multi-step process to move the state-run Bob Oak Game Farm off a sensitive aquifer and fund remediation of the current site.

"I support maintaining a game farm. I support the programs that the game farm supports," Orcutt said, adding the bill is "to relocate the game farm" rather than shut it down. He told the committee some downstream wells show nitrate readings multiple times the federal limit and said the relocation process will require time and funding.

The proposed substitute requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify alternate locations that do not pose "a material risk of contaminating municipal or residential drinking water supplies," report those options to the legislature and request predesign funding in the 2027-29 capital budget; the agency must later submit capital requests to complete relocation and remediation work.

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