Packed house at water town hall meeting as VanderSloot calls for action and Bedke responds
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS – We need some heroes.
That was Frank VanderSloot’s message to a packed crowd during a town hall Wednesday night.
Melaleuca’s Executive Chairman was the introductory speaker at a town hall meeting in the company’s event center about Idaho’s ongoing ground and surface water dispute. It was an informational meeting designed to provide background and context for the discussion, as well as give people a chance to ask questions and address concerns.
PHOTO GALLERY | Massive turnout for East Idaho Water Town Hall meeting
During the meeting, various politicians — including Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke and Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls — spoke alongside VanderSloot and water officials. They encouraged attendees to take action to support local farmers, and specifically encouraged people to become informed and involved on the issue.
They urged locals to write Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Bedke, and state legislators and commit them to saving local farmers and the eastern Idaho economy. At the meeting, there were form letters residents could sign to send to state politicians.
Background on the water curtailment dispute
VanderSloot has publicly come out in support of local farmers who faced water curtailment earlier this year over claims they were noncompliant with a state-approved mitigation plan to recharge the Eastern Snake River Aquifer.
The May 29 water curtailment order from the Idaho Department of Water Resources would have removed water for about 330,000 acres in eastern Idaho, and impacted groundwater users in Bingham, Bonneville, Jefferson and Clark counties.
Under Idaho law, surface water users in Magic Valley have senior water rights over groundwater users in eastern Idaho. Earlier this year, the Idaho Department of Water resources projected a shortage of 74,100 acre-feet of water for the Twin Falls Canal Company. Groundwater users are required to have a plan for recharging the aquifer during times of shortages.
The parties came up with a temporary plan last month and were able to avoid the curtailment. 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 a 2015 statewide mitigation plan. The parties also agreed to recognize groundwater districts’ prior water conservation efforts, which the SWC disputed in the past.
VanderSloot’s message to locals
Several changes to the 2015 agreement have resulted in litigation in recent years, which VanderSloot heavily focused on during Wednesday night’s forum.
At the time the agreement was signed, VanderSloot said very few people were aware of it, which is concerning to him.
“Our farmers were told that if they signed this, they would be given safe harbor, that they would not have to close down their farms in the future. The courts haven’t supported that,” VanderSloot said.
Then in 2021, VanderSloot explained the IDWR decided it would no longer recognize groundwater users prior water conservation efforts, leading to years of litigation. The Legislature never addressed the issue so the Supreme Court upheld the department’s decision.
In 2023, the department changed its formula for how it calculates water shortages.
Hours before Wednesday night’s Town Hall, the department changed its forecasted shortfall amount in the Twin Falls area from 74,100-acre-feet to 6,800-acre-feet, indicating, according to VanderSloot, there was no need for a water curtailment in the first place.
“They knew this community was coming together. I think you’re having an impact,” VanderSloot told Wednesday night’s crowd to rousing applause. “They issued an order to shut down our wells on that formula. We’ve got to pay attention. They plan to take our water.”
He also expressed disappointment in Gov. Brad Little for not directly taking action in the water conflict.
The governor signed an executive order last month requiring surface water users and groundwater users to reach a longterm solution to their conflict by Oct. 1. He called on the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Groundwater Management Plan Advisory Council, which the IDWR created in August 2023, to submit a management plan to the department for review, per Idaho law, by Sept. 1.
RELATED | Governor signs order requiring water users reach permanent solution in conflict
In a Thursday morning news release, Little says he’s pleased with groundwater committee members efforts in working toward a longterm plan aimed at improving the health of the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.
“I am pleased to see the Groundwater Management Plan Committee continue to do the hard work necessary to find a long-term solution,” Little said in a news release. “Idahoans and farmers working to find sustainable solutions creates the best opportunity for water certainty. We want water users, not the government or the courts, to determine our destiny.”
But VanderSloot disagrees. Forcing farmers to come up with a longterm plan by Oct. 1 with the 2015 agreement as the framework is “how we got here in the first place,” he said, and it puts them at an even greater disadvantage.
“We need some heroes,” said VanderSloot. “I think our great hope is Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke. He’s here, he’s at the negotiating table. He has influence. We’ll be listening really carefully to every word he says.”
Lt. Gov Bedke commits to safeguarding east Idaho economy
Bedke, who owns a ranch in Oakley and has been involved in mediating this dispute since 2015, is personally invested in this issue. While he did not specifically address any of VanderSloot’s points, he did say he “will do everything in his power to preserve the economy of Idaho Falls and in the surrounding region.”
“It is very important that you all stay in business and that (it) looks as close as it can to the way you’re doing it right now,” Bedke said to applause.
But Bedke also pointed out Idaho is one of the fastest-growing states, which means there will be more competition for water in the future.
Bedke acknowledged the state’s prior appropriation doctrine, which determines priority for senior water right holders, “is disruptive.” That’s why the state, which owns the water, comes up with ways to mitigate and “take off the rough edges,” he said.
Bedke attended the Groundwater Management Plan Committee’s meeting in Pocatello on Wednesday and said he was delighted to see people stay and talk with each other long after it was over to work out more details.
It’s through this type of interaction that this issue will be resolved, Bedke explained.
“I would say we have less of a water problem now and more of a people problem. We’ve got to work it out with the people,” Bedke said. “If there’s been one positive thing out of this whole mess, it is that now you’re aware. Stay engaged … and let’s get this thing solved. We can do it.”
Andrew Mickelsen, president of the Osgood Canal Company, ended the night by offering possible solutions to the water issues facing Idaho. Bruce Loertscher, a state committeeman for the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee who has one of the oldest water rights in Idaho, also spoke.
To join the conversation or for additional information, click here.
WATCH VANDERSLOOT’S REMARKS IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.
