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:?_:J\ ;!;"%,V "'V\TESTERN S~ "'V\TATE a "'I. .::;,;.;. i;;~~t A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Western States Water Council . Tony Willardson - Editor N CO Ul I-'- AGRICULTURE/WATER RESOURCES Surplus. Crops On May 12, -the House Interior Water and Power Subcamnittee held a hearing on H.R. 1443, the Irrigation Subsidy Reform Act of 1987. (see WSW. 1;671). . Introduced by Rep. Sam Gejdenson,(D-cr), the bill would amend the-Reclamation Projects Act of 1933 to require the Secretary of Interior to charge the.full cost of water used by fai:mers to grow surplus crops. It would not affect existing water service contracts, most of which will not expire until the late 1990's. However,it would affect any new or amended contracts. Proponents of the bill argue it would eliminate an expensive contradiction in federal policy with Interior subsidizing irrigation of crops which the Department of Agriculture pays farmers to stop growing. Supporters include the National Wildlife Federation, the Environmental Policy Institute, the National Tax . Payers Union and eastern and mid'-western congressmen. Opponents of the bill,. includirig the National Water Resources Association, note that less than 2% of all surplus crops are produced on lands irrigated by Bureau o.f Reclamation. proj ects. MJreover, climate and topography limit many western farms to the kind of crops that' are in surplus. Further, a substantial portion of prod1iction on reclamation lands are fed to livestock and never becane part of the market "glut." The major pUrpose of the hearing was to obtain data on irrigationproj ects, costs, contracts and surplus crop production. Subcommittee staff are. preparing a number . of questions for a .more detailed response by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture. Mark up of the bill will not be scheduled until after this data has been received for, the. record and reviewed. (ESI Wkly BIen 5-11-87) .. IssUe 1t679 , May 22, 1987 ~sBi:) WATER QUALI',I.'Y/WATER RESOURCES Ground Water . On. May? i Rep. George Miller introduced the Reclamation States Ground Water Protection and Management Act of 1987 (see WSW 11678). In introducing H.R. 2320, Miller stated, "Over the years, a number of very costly and highly subsidized projects have been built primarily to replace or to supplement ground water supplies that have been depleted, overdrawn, polluted or otherwise made unusable." He cites as specific examples the Auburn-Folsom, San Illis, and Mid-Valley Units of the Central Valley Proj ect in California. "We need solutions other than more dams. We. need effective programs to manage and protect our water supplies . " The bill would employ a "carrot- and-stick" approach, with emphasis on the "stick," to encourage reclamation states to better protect and better manage their ground water resources. Under the bill, the SeCretary of Interior Would identify those states with significant ground water problems. He would then assess the adequacy of protection and management programs in those states based on regulations that would include. the following criteria: (1) mapping and classification of aquifers; (2) state authority to control sources of toxics and other contamination; (3) ground water withdrawal controls; (4) surface use restrictions to protect ground water; (5) conjunctive USe of ground and surface waterl:!; and (6) effective enforcement of federal, state and local ground water protection and management laws. Once identified as having significant ground water problems, a state would have three years to develop adequate programs to remedy the situation. Thereafter, the Secretary would be prohibited fran: (1) spending or obligating funds for the construction of any reclamation project; or (2) The Western States Water Council is an organization of the Western States Governors representing the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico. Oregon, Texas. Utah, Washington and Wyoming.