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Committee adopts substitute for Senate Bill 953 after debate over conflicts and reservoir return-flow rights
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Summary
The House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee voted to give a do-pass recommendation to a House committee substitute for Senate Bill 953 (6–5–1). The substitute keeps environmental-fee revenue dedicated to environmental protection, removes a prior bar that limited Clean Water Commission members’ outside income and adds a provision granting exclusive rights to return flows for certain reservoir storage contractors.
The House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee voted to give a do-pass recommendation to the House committee substitute for Senate Bill 953 after members debated provisions that change Clean Water Commission eligibility and clarify reservoir return-flow rights.
Chair Farnon moved adoption of the substitute, which incorporates language from House Bill 1885 and Senate Bill 1397 and keeps funds collected for environmental protection dedicated to that purpose. The committee adopted an additional House amendment (number 0.01h) that includes cleanup language for the Department of Natural Resources, then rolled that amendment into a new substitute and voted the substitute as amended.
Why it matters: the substitute removes a prior rules-based prohibition that prevented a Clean Water Commission member from earning "significant income" from companies that hold or apply for water-pollution permits, and instead relies on recusal if a commission member faces a conflict on a particular vote. Supporters said the change helps recruit qualified board members; opponents said removing the broader restriction weakens conflict safeguards and could limit accountability.
Representative Justice, who spoke in favor of expanding the candidate pool, said the rule change responds to difficulty finding board members after a two-year waiting period. Representative Burton warned the committee that recusal alone ‘‘may not be a strong enough protection’’ and asked how the change would be enforced and whether it would reduce avenues for neighbor-to-neighbor redress of pollution concerns.
The substitute also includes a provision from Senate Bill 1397 stating that a person who has contracted for the right to store water in a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir ‘‘shall have exclusive rights to any return flows from that reservoir.’’ The sponsor described a municipal example in which a locality would receive credit for return flows it returns to the reservoir; Representative Burton asked whether the provision is intended to prevent diversion of those returns, and the sponsor confirmed it was.
Vote at a glance: clerk and chair announced the roll call result as 6 ayes, 5 noes and 1 present; the chair declared the substitute for Senate Bill 953 do pass.
What’s next: the committee forwarded the substitute as amended with a do-pass recommendation; the measure will proceed through the legislative process on the House floor or be incorporated into further action by sponsors.
