Stockwatering exemption: Water is not an unlimited resource

This editorial appears in the June 19 Yakima Herald-Republic

We hope the next six months are productive for a group of lawmakers, dairy and feedlot operators, environmentalists and Native Americans. In their hands could very well rest the future of water resources in Eastern Washington.

The situation has become even more urgent following a decision by the state to approve another large animal feeding facility.

A week ago, the state Ecology Department approved a water transfer for the Easterday Ranches feedlot in Eltopia, north of the Tri-Cities in Franklin County. The feedlot will accommodate 30,000 head of cattle on nearly 1,000 acres.

The approval again draws attention to, and vocal criticism of, a state law that allows an exemption for stockwatering purposes. The exemption means there are no permits required, and no limits set, on drinking water for livestock.

The state claims it has no other recourse with regard to the stockwatering exemption in light of a state Attorney General's 2005 opinion that supported the dairy and feedlot industries' interpretation of a 1945 groundwater code. That rule allows use without a permit of 5,000 gallons of water per day for a home as well as industrial use, enough water for a half-acre garden and water for stockwatering.

The code contains no limit for watering stock.

The Ecology Department argues the approval for the Easterday Ranches vindicates its position that only stock watering is allowed without a permit. That's why last fall it required the feedlot owner to secure a water right related to other uses like dust control and cooling.

That's exactly what Easterday Ranches did when it obtained a transferred water right from a nearby farm.

While the new feedlot will move ahead, we agree with the Ecology Department that the stockwatering issue needs to be resolved. As it is now, the unlimited use of water for livestock is unsustainable, especially when these massive livestock operations like Easterday Ranches are established. The underground aquifers are not limitless.

During the past legislative session, several proposals were put forward to deal with the stockwatering issue but nothing gained traction, thanks mostly to the overwhelming problems associated with the state's record budget deficit.

Lawmakers did set up this study group, which will report back to the Legislature when it reconvenes in January.

What is required now is for this select group to sit down, get serious and hammer out a compromise. And when such a pact is reached, it should not attempt to grandfather in these large-scale dairy and feedlot operations. That would hardly help mitigate the problem.

We hope the state's approval for the Easterday Ranches gives added incentive to the task at hand. When it comes to Western water rights, solutions have been elusive at best.

But clearly unlimited water use can't be sustained into the foreseeable future. No one benefits when a resource, in this case water, comes up empty.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.