Committee clears omnibus water construction bill authorizing projects, transfers and research pilot

The Select Water Committee advanced Senate File 70, the omnibus water construction bill that authorizes a long list of construction and rehabilitation projects across multiple accounts and includes program-level actions such as account transfers, project amendments, and a forest‑water research pilot tied to treatments near Battle Lake.

Jason Me, director of the Wyoming Water Development Office, explained the bill structure and funding accounts. "This bill simply authorizes construction projects, provides appropriations for those construction projects, ... and then ultimately ends up with grants and potentially loans for the different sponsors that are involved," he told the committee, and walked members through the bill tabs and the project-by-project layout in the committee binders.

Key features described in testimony: - Account one (new development) includes well and transmission projects, a $1 million request for the small water projects program, and authorization language related to ground-based cloud seeding limited to certain mountain ranges; the directory noted project descriptions, appropriation amounts and five-year reversion periods for new projects. - Account two (rehabilitation) lists 17 projects totaling $22,659,625; the director said demand in account two exceeds available capped funding and recommended a $16 million transfer from account one to account two to meet rehabilitation needs. - A unique project under the bill is the Little Snake River/Battle Lake Modification forest-management demonstration (roughly 550 acres of treatments) and a related forest-water research provision to study consumptive-use changes using university and online evapotranspiration tools. - Amendments include mostly time extensions and a targeted additional pre-construction appropriation for the Hoback Junction public water system to secure easements before construction funding is issued.

Committee members asked detailed questions about Alkali Creek (an off-channel reservoir project), easements, landowner mitigation and federal funding partnerships. Director Me described ongoing negotiations with landowners, the importance of option agreements, and efforts to pursue federal programs (Bureau of Reclamation 'WaterSMART', NRCS EQIP, RCPP, and state SRF matching) to reduce state costs. He estimated the Alkali Creek reservoir project could have an overall cost around $85 million and potentially up to $100 million, depending on federal participation.

Cloud seeding: the bill retains ground-based cloud-seeding authorization for Colorado River Basin needs; the director and conservation district representatives defended the provision and cited radar and modeling evidence indicating measurable precipitation increases when seeding saturated clouds, while some committee members expressed skepticism and asked for continued scientific review.

Vote and next steps: The committee recorded a roll-call vote in favor of SF70 (five 'I' votes). The director and agencies will continue to pursue federal funding matches, finalize easements, and report back as projects move toward construction.