Governor signs order requiring water users reach permanent solution in conflict
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POCATELLO — Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order during a press conference in Pocatello Wednesday morning, requiring surface water users and groundwater users to reach a longterm solution to their conflict by Oct. 1.
It’s called the Protecting Idaho Water Sovereignty Act, and it aims to end a conflict between surface water users and groundwater users that has been years in the making, and has come to a head in recent weeks.
“We’re focusing on a long-term solution that fits the latest science, meets the needs of all water users, and conserves our water for future generations. The solutions shouldn’t come from the government. They should be carefully crafted by the water users themselves,” Little said.
As part of this initiative, the Idaho Department of Water Resources — which monitors water levels in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer — will coordinate efforts to improve understanding of the aquifer, water efficiency and prioritize funding for projects that benefit the aquifer.
The governor is calling on the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Groundwater Management Plan Advisory Council, which the department created in August 2023, to submit a management plan to the department for review, per Idaho law, by Sept. 1.
Read the order in its entirety here.
This executive order comes less than a week after a temporary solution was reached between the Idaho Surface Water Coalition and Ground Water Appropriators to get through the growing season. The IDWR approved the agreement and lifted its May 30 curtailment order.
The water curtailment order, which would’ve removed water for about 330,000 acres in eastern Idaho, came about because groundwater users in Bingham, Bonneville, Jefferson and Clark counties were found to be noncompliant with an approved state mitigation plan. Under Idaho law, groundwater users are required to have a plan for recharging the aquifer during times of shortages. Earlier this year, the IDWR projected a shortage of 74,100 acre-feet of water for the Twin Falls Canal Company, which has senior water rights. Surface water users in Magic Valley have senior water rights over groundwater users in eastern Idaho.
Under the temporary plan, groundwater districts will conserve 240,000 acre-feet of water and deliver 50,000 acre-feet of storage water to the Surface Water Coalition to cover the shortage, as stated in the 2016 mitigation plan. The parties also agreed to recognize groundwater districts’ prior water conservation efforts, which the SWC disputed in the past.
EastIdahoNews.com asked if any farmers in attendance at the news conference cared to comment on the temporary settlement. No one volunteered to respond, but Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke interjected a few thoughts.
“These people came together with a plan … with full acknowledgement that the hard work lies ahead,” Bedke said. “The stakes could not be higher. It’s time for us to roll up our sleeves, put aside the past and look forward.”
During an interview with EastIdahoNews.com Tuesday, Melaleuca Executive Chairman Frank VanderSloot, who has publicly come out in support of local farmers who faced water curtailment, suggested Idaho Power has a financial interest in the discussion to turn off water in the curtailed districts.
There was a significant spike in IDACORP (Idaho Power’s parent company) stock prices on April 18, the day the curtailment decision was made. There was also a jump in stock trading on June 11, when state officials began placing red curtailment tags on wells in eastern Idaho.
EastIdahoNews.com asked the governor for a response on this point during the press conference.
“Most often, high yield stocks go up and down relative to the bond market,” Little said. “The stock in the last two months has had a lackluster performance. On any one day, any one trade can make a difference, but I see no nexus (on these dates).”
In a statement to EastIdahoNews.com, Idaho Power spokesman Brad Bowlin says the utility company was not involved in the curtailment or in negotiating the settlement.
The company did not communicate anything to investors about the curtailment, he says, which means the surge in stock prices on those specific dates was unrelated to the curtailment order.
“One of the biggest factors that influences the stock price for IDACORP is the change in the stock prices of other utilities and the stock market more broadly. From the date of when the potential curtailment was announced, changes in IDACORP’s stock price have closely mirrored the stock price movement of its peer electric utility companies,” Bowlin says.
Bedke, who has been involved in mediating the dispute between surface water and groundwater users for years, praised members of the advisory council in attendance.
“This group can solve any problem you put before them,” Bedke said, pointing to council members. “I have full confidence in this group … and in their abilities to come together.”
During a Bonneville-Jefferson Ground Water District meeting earlier this month, Chairwoman Stephanie Mickelsen, who represents District 32 in the Idaho Legislature, said a legislative solution is needed to ensure a longterm plan meets the needs of all water users.
Gov. Little addresses this in his executive order, which recommends “the Idaho Legislature convene the Interim Natural Resources Committee prior to the 2025 legislative session to identify predictable and consistent opportunities to enhance the state’s water infrastructure.”
Still, Bedke said legislative action takes time and he’d “give these folks (advisory council members) a crack at it before caving to the Legislature.”
“Let’s let the stakeholders come up with something. If they come to a complete impasse, and it becomes clear (that it can) only be fixed by the Legislature, then the Legislature is well-equipped to do a prescriptive list of things that are mutually agreed upon.”
WATCH THE ENTIRE PRESS CONFERENCE IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.