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WESTERN STATES WATER June 9. 1995 Issue No. 1099 o recycled paper conserves water THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL " , Creekview Plaza Suite A~201 /942 East 7145 S~. (Mi4V1!le,JJtah 84047 / (80!) 561'5300 /FAX (801) 255:9642 ..~... - - ,- - - - -' . - Chairman - Larry Anderson; Executive Ditector - Craig Bell; Editor - Craig Bell; Typist - Alona BarikS ' ADMINISTRA TION/CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE Spending CutsNeto President Clinton, on June 7th, exercised his first veto by rejecting a $16,5 billion spending cuts package. According to reports, Republicans will not attempt to override the veto, but rather will construct a new e:ackage of cuts with some modest changes. The resident objected to the extent of the cuts to education and other social programs. Among other things, the vetoed legislation would have cut $1.3 billion in unused FY94 and FY95 revolving 10anJunds under the Safe Drinking Water Act (yVSW #1 Og7j; However, the money remains unavailable, as Congress appropriated the funds subject to a pending bill authorizating spending. ENVIRONMENT Instream Flows-Western State Developments, Montana's House of Represen,tatives has passed an instream flow bill (H.B.472)Which thl:! Senate'~ !':latural Resources Committeehiiis alsO approved: The bill authorizes a holder of ariappropriated, consumptive use water right to obtain a temporary authorization to lease all or a portion of such right to an individual, association, partnership or corporation for instream flows to benefit fisheries. While the legislation requires compliance with all current water right processes, it allows only the owner to seek to enforce the temporary change authoriZation or to object to other temporary change requests. An objection by any appropriatior may be made during the ~mporary change application renewal process and Once .uring the term of the temporary change permit. This legislation would allow for the testing of leasing feasibility and would automatically sunset in ten years. Ora901'1 has now issued formal rules for instream flow " lease agreements: Qregon's experience with instream , flow protection can be traced back,to 1929, when flows wera'reserved in ihe Columbia River Gorge to protect scenic falls. After water rights for instream flows were authorized in 1987, a few informal agreements for . temporary leases were approved by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD).,To further facilitate such leases, formal rules were"drafted in 1993" subjected to extensive public Gomment, and finalized in February 1995. In April,theOWRD,released an information guide to "Short'Term Water Right Lease Agreements". "Short-term" means that the lease cannot . exceed two years. The first lease agreements under the rules are now under review. , The Oregon rules require that the applicant must document flow rate, lease price, prior use of the water, and commit to non-use for the term of the lease. Irrigation districts may pool water rights internally. Optional 'lease provisions may' relate to additional monitoring requirements, modifications or termination of the_lease. A '21 ~day, period .i.s al!o\\'ed for objectio!'!s from other. water rights' holders,' which may lead to , modification or cancellation Qf p'roposed leases. Since instream' flows Constitute a beneficial use under Oregon law, irrigators facingforfeiture dueio non,use haVe an incentive to enter lease agreements. ' The May/June issue of the Journa/ of Water. Resources Planning and Management includes an article by Berton Lee Lamb entitled, "Criteria for Evaluating' Instream-Flow Programs: Deciding What Works." It describes the history and resuJts of various instreamflow programs throughout the West. The author suggests five criteria to evaluate "these unique state water-management institutions." Reprint copies are available free of charge from the author, Burton Lee Lamb, political scientist, with the National Biological Services, at (970) 226-9314. The Journal will accept and publish comments on the article until November.