It was only fitting for State Sen. Bill Hansell to talk about water issues at the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce’s Business to Business Luncheon on Tuesday. After all, the luncheon took place in the middle of the Oregon Water Coalition’s meeting at the Hermiston Conference Center.
Hansell talked about water bills that could impact the Umatilla Basin. He said that when he was elected to the Senate in 2012, his predecessor, Dave Nelson, figuratively handed him the baton when it came to protecting the interests of irrigators.
“He (Nelson) said there are a lot of people in the stands watching you – don’t drop the baton,” Hansell said. “The challenge of moving the baton down the track is one that I embrace. I will do everything in my power to get positive results.”
Hansell said Senate Bill 839, known as the Water Supply Bill, was the most significant water bill that came out of the last session. Hansell was part of a group of legislators that worked on the bill’s language.
“Did we get everything we wanted? No. But what we did get was significant,” he said. The bill creates a water supply development account to provide competitive grants and loans for water development projects throughout the state.
“The bill is intended to fund both in-stream and out-of-stream projects, including water conservation, storage, aquifer recharge and efficiency,” Hansell said. The bill also provides matching dollars to federal spending for the Willamette and Deschutes basins.
Hansell said the bill is significant to the Umatilla Basin, as well, because it is intended to provide a fix to House Bill 3369 by allowing the basin to change the terms of the grant for water development. The bill also provides grant money for local water projects and repeals unworkable standards that were included in HB 3369.
Hansell said he was not particularly optimistic about the passage of new water bills in the upcoming short session.
“I’ve been told that in a short session that anything that has any type of controversy probably isn’t going to go very far, and it’s hard for me to imagine any water bills that don’t have some significant controversy,” he said.
Having said that, however, Hansell said there are three water bills on the table for consideration that aim to set new standards that the Water Resources Department must meet before shutting off wells. Hansell said the bills are a response to a proposal by the department to shut down approximately 200 wells in the Klamath Basin due to interaction with surface water.
“Farmers are concerned that tying groundwater to surface water will end irrigation in the Klamath Basin and set a precedent to do so in other basins,” he said. Hansell said he wouldn’t predict whether the bills will pass or not.
Returning to his track theme, Hansell said he may not be the fastest runner in the field, but he intends to run smart.
“I believe we can win this water bill race if we run smart.”
