Kempthorne calls for water dealGovernor warns that lack of agreement could lead to costly litigationBy COREY TAULE ctaule@postregister.com BOISE -- Gov. Dirk Kempthorne on Wednesday urged members of Idaho's largest water group to solve a dispute about who controls water in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. Speaking at the Idaho Water Users annual convention, Kempthorne warned that if a settlement is not reached, the future could include some junior water-rights users having their wells shut down, costly litigation and an outcome determined not by water users but judges. " Sometimes even when you win, you have not won," he said. Although drought and use have been slowly draining the aquifer since the 1950s, the conflict between surface-water and groundwater users came to a head in 2003 when fish farmers near Hagerman demanded their share of water. Because they owned senior water rights, the director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources ordered some junior users to shut down their wells. That action was delayed for a year, and now legislators find themselves trying to facilitate a deal between the two sides. The estimated price tag for a settlement, which is likely to involve a package of water-rights purchases, ranges from $80 million to $135 million. This issue was recently muddied when the Twin Falls Canal Co. and others with senior rights made a call for water. But Kempthorne emphasized Wednesday that despite the call, surface-water users have pledged to keep negotiating. " Failure is not an option," he said. Sen. Don Burtenshaw, R-Terreton said he met with surface-water users Wednesday morning. He said the surface users gave their reasons for making the water call but didn't offer any new proposals. Burtenshaw said both sides are awaiting an economic impact study before resuming negotiations. Yvonne Landon, a secretary for the Snake River Valley Irrigation District in Shelley, said people she's spoken with are concerned but not panicked. Still, Landon said, a settlement would give everyone with deep-water wells some peace of mind. " If they get shut down, that wouldn't be good," Landon said. Because it includes both surface- and groundwater users, the Water Users Association is not part of the negotiations. But the group's president, Norm Semanko, echoed the governor by saying both sides need to get back to the negotiating table. Kempthorne said Wednesday he's not ready to talk about specifics that may emerge from negotiations. But a couple of weeks ago, while addressing the Post Register's editorial board, the governor was asked whether at some point he would gather both sides and lock them in a room until a settlement is reached. " That's possible," Kempthorne said. "I've done it before." Also on Wednesday, Kempthorne urged legislative ratification of a water settlement between the state and Nez Perce Tribe. The settlement has passed Congress and been signed by President Bush. It still needs approval from the state and the tribe. The deal is complex, but it essentially calls for the tribe to give up water-rights claims on the Snake River in exchange for some land rights and $193 million in federal money. Kempthorne told the water users association to contact legislators and urge them to ratify. Not ratifying the deal would leave this issue to the courts, he said. For more information on these and other stories see today'edition of the Post Register or subscribe online.
|