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Idaho committee returns MHAFB water-pipeline draft to sponsor after water agencies oppose it
Summary
The House Resources & Conservation Committee voted Feb. 13 to return RS 33185C1 to its sponsor after members learned the Idaho Water Users Association, the Idaho Department of Water Resources and the Idaho Water Resources Board opposed the draft that would allow negotiating user fees for foreign governments using Mountain Home Air Force Base water.
The House Resources & Conservation Committee returned a draft bill concerning Mountain Home Air Force Base water infrastructure to its sponsor during a brief Feb. 13 meeting in Room EW40.
Rep. Gannon (D17) presented RS 33185C1, saying State and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds helped pay for a 14-mile pipeline that connects the base to the CJ Strike Reservoir to expand and stabilize the base’s water supply. The draft would authorize the Idaho Water Board to negotiate user fees for foreign governments that use base water while training, with the aim of recouping some project costs, Gannon said.
Committee members asked whether the Idaho Water Users Association (IWUA), the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) and the Idaho Water Resources Board (IWRB) had been consulted and whether they supported the proposal. Rep. Gannon said those groups had been consulted but opposed the draft. Rep. Raybould moved to return the draft to the sponsor, citing that opposition and warning against disturbing complex, previously negotiated water agreements over temporary-use issues.
Rep. Church offered a substitute motion to instead introduce RS 33185C1 so the idea could receive more thorough consideration. After discussion, the substitute motion failed by voice vote. The original motion to return the draft to its sponsor then carried by voice vote, meaning the committee did not advance RS 33185C1 at the meeting.
Earlier in the session Rep. Mickelsen moved to introduce four other RS drafts — RS 33353, RS 33344, RS 33290 and RS 33348 — and that motion carried by voice vote. The committee adjourned at 12:36 p.m.
