Legislature has no stock-water answer this year

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Even this year's longer, 105-day legislative session was too short and too packed with budget woes to resolve the state's stock-water issue.

None of the several bills intended to clarify a long-standing state exemption allowing unlimited use of water for livestock survived last week's bill cutoff.

Now the plan is to form a work group after the session ends to make recommend-ations on the future of the exemptions, which have fueled rural growth and development.

State Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, said Tuesday creating a study group could surface in the biennial budget bill that is now the focus of work in Olympia.

Washington lawmakers face at least an $8 billion budget gap this year.

"In the end, (the state Department of) Ecology and the competing interest groups wanted to wait until we are out of the session," Chandler said.

Jay Gordon, executive director of the Washington State Dairy Federation, said he believes a lack of information about impacts of a change doomed chances for a bill to move.

Gordon said participants wanted to avoid the "Cool Hand Luke" syndrome, a reference to a line in the 1967 Paul Newman movie, "What we have here is a failure to communicate."

"There are so many people whose livelihoods depend on these wells. We have to be careful we don't move too quickly," he said.

Evan Sheffels, water policy special assistant to Ecology Director Jay Manning, said the agency is looking forward to participating in a work group.

"We are supportive of a conversation over the interim," he said Tuesday. "It is important to us. We want to find a way through this."

Several bills, including versions introduced by Chandler and Rep. Charles Ross, R-Naches, were prompted by attempts by the Ecology Department to limit the exemption, first added to state law in the 1945 ground-water code.

Manning argued the exemptions have been abused, allowing large dairies and feedlots to draw large amounts of ground water without obtaining a state permit.

The department also was concerned the increase in the number of rural homes relying on exempt wells are taxing ground water and threatening older, senior water rights. That issue has surfaced in Kittitas County, where state and county officials are trying to develop guidelines for new housing developments that would impose some restrictions on use of water until more is known about the impacts well use has on existing rights and surface streams.

In addition to watering stock and homes, the exemption extends to industrial uses and water for a family garden or lawn. The stock-water exemption is the only one of the four without a limit. The others are either capped at 5,000 gallons per day in the case of a home and an industrial use, or by the size of the lawn or garden to be irrigated.

The dairy federation's Gordon said the exemption is such a large issue for farm and rural residents that a delay for all sides to more fully understand it should result in a better piece of legislation next session.

"There are so many operations and families intertwined with this policy that a good, serious discussion from the environmental community, the tribes and farmers is needed so everyone has an understanding of how to unravel this without hurting anyone," he said.

* David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com