Local ground water districts still at the negotiating table as threat of water curtailment continues
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IDAHO FALLS – A curtailment order is now in force for junior groundwater users throughout the state, but many eastern Idahoans are continuing to fight for a deal that would allow farmers to make it through the growing season.
During a public meeting hosted by the Bonneville-Jefferson Ground Water District at the Melaleuca Conference Center Wednesday morning, water district attorney Skyler Johns explained there is an offer on the table for a one-year deal to avoid curtailment and fall back on a 2015 mitigation agreement.
The agreement was put in place to improve recharge of the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer, which has been declining for decades. The plan also maintains priority for senior groundwater rights holders over junior ones.
“Our district would maintain its proportionate share of pumping obligations, which is 240,000-acre-feet. It would need to provide its proportionate share of 50,000-acre-feet of storage water. Additional recharge we’ve provided this year would be considered to satisfy any prior outstanding obligations we had under the agreement,” Johns tells EastIdahoNews.com.
Other water districts involved in the negotiation process will be holding meetings as well, so it’s hard to say when this counter-offer will be addressed. But with a curtailment order already in place, Johns says it’s likely to happen quickly.
This issue is being negotiated in Bonneville, Bingham, Jefferson and Clark counties because, according to the Idaho Department of Water Resources, those groundwater right holders are not in compliance with the state mitigation plan. Other groundwater users around the state are in compliance and are not subject to have their water shut off.
Johns said there is a “window of opportunity” to come up with a new, longterm mitigation plan by Oct. 1. If a new plan isn’t approved by that date, Johns said litigation will continue like it has for years and local water users will face the same challenges again next year.
“We have public sentiment on our side and we have a major crisis facing our state. It’s touched on people who haven’t been involved in the conversation before,” Johns said. “We have a lot of people at the table who recognize this water delivery call has the potential to devastate our economy.”
The impact on the economy was brought up multiple times at Wednesday’s meeting and was a major talking point. Several people who commented said it’s unrealistic to think a permanent solution is going to be reached by Oct. 1 when litigation has been going on for years.
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Though Johns didn’t directly respond to that point because he doesn’t want to jeopardize the negotiating process, he did say there have been concessions made on the one-year deal that he never thought would happen and that makes him “more optimistic” than ever that a permanent solution can be reached.
“The director (of the Idaho Department of Water Resources) issued an order requiring additional pumping reduction obligations. He moved it from 240,000 to 252,000-acre-feet. The Surface Water Coalition was willing to move it back to 240,000,” Johns says.
Johns says the coalition also showed a willingness to work with them in the future by acknowledging the 2015 agreement can be amended or replaced and that water districts can void it through litigation if they aren’t in agreement.
Many local farmers have had state water officials place a red tag on their pumps informing them “this diversion has been curtailed until further notice.”
If the water isn’t shut off, fines of up to $300 per acre could be imposed for those who continue pumping.
Bonneville-Jefferson Ground Water District Chairwoman Stephanie Mickelsen brought this up, saying “part of the path forward is going to require … this being fixed legislatively.”
Voters re-elected Mickelsen as a nominee for state representative in the May Republican primary.
Her son, Andrew, manages the Mickelsen family farm. He tells EastIdahoNews.com about 10,000 acres throughout Bonneville, Jefferson and Clark County are impacted by the curtailment. He was issued a red tag earlier this week days after a letter from the state said he had until June 14 to use an approved mitigation plan to avoid curtailment.
He responded to Stephanie’s point by saying judicial decisions in water policy prevent real change from taking place and he’s opposed to “giving in” on this issue.
“I’m tired of this getting kicked down the road,” Andrew said. “The state doesn’t want to be the bad guy. They want to let us go cut our own foot off. I am opposed to continuing trying to settle because they are never going to be happy until everything is shut off.”
Andrew told us he’s planning to continue pumping for now and see how this debate plays out.
Others expressed similar sentiments, blaming the governor and other state officials. Some suggested putting further pressure on the state by banding together and refusing to pay property taxes.
“What the hell is that red tag on somebody’s pump? It’s leverage,” one man said. “They have totally annihilated the land value in eastern Idaho and they’re not going to fix that.”
While Bonneville-Jefferson Ground Water District board member Carl Taylor understands the anger, he suggested a different approach.
“It might feel good to say I’m fed up with it … and draw a line in the sand, but it doesn’t get us very far,” Taylor said. “We have to contend with this water call and we’ve got to have a plan. We’re in a better position today to have a plan than we’ve ever been.”
The ground water district concluded the meeting by calling on those in attendance to provide written input on the matter so the board can take it back to the negotiating table with the Idaho Department of Water Resources and senior water rights holders. The board will review the responses and come back with a proposed course of action at its next meeting on Monday at 10 a.m. It will also be held in the Melaleuca Conference Center.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little said Tuesday he is optimistic the state and groundwater districts can reach an agreement.
“I am encouraged by the progress we’re making to find a path forward to protect farmers and the supply of water for the year. The two sides working together is far better than any government-imposed solution. While the terms of any deal likely won’t be perfect for either side – compromise never is – it would provide water for crops this year. Once we get a deal across the finish line, we will shift our focus to a long-term solution as outlined in Director Weaver’s June 5 letter.
“I know we can do this. Idahoans have always come together to resolve our differences and find a path forward,” Little said.
Additional meetings of groundwater users are taking place Wednesday night. The Bingham Ground Water District is holding a meeting at Snake River High School at 7 p.m. The Jefferson/Clark Ground Water District is holding a meeting at West Jefferson High School at 6 p.m.