Kempthorne aide questioned at water meeting

GRANGEVILLE, Idaho – The former chief council to Gov. Dirk Kempthorne planned to meet with a small group of Idaho County commissioners, but instead fielded criticism from about 100 concerned citizens who arrived at the meeting after word about it got out.

Michael Bogart, who has worked on the Nez Perce Tribe water rights agreement, spent two hours Friday answering questions from Idaho and Lewis County citizens who said they believe north central Idaho is being sacrificed to save southern Idaho irrigators.

“You are selling us out to southern Idaho big money water,” said Martin Thompson of Nez Perce.

Bogart represents Kempthorne on the water agreement that gives the Nez Perce Tribe annual rights to 50,000 acre-feet of water in the Clearwater River and $80 million in cash and land in return for dropping claims to nearly all the water in the Snake River and its tributaries. The state and federal governments also pledged tens of millions of dollars for fish habitat and other environmental improvements.

It was approved by Congress in 2004. It still must be approved by the Idaho Legislature.

As part of the deal that trades the tribe’s water-rights claims for money, land and salmon conservation measures, the state has agreed to set minimum stream flows in the many rivers and creeks in the Salmon and Clearwater basins. The minimum flow standards will not affect existing water rights and are subordinate to all current and future domestic, municipal, commercial and industrial uses.

Proponents say it will settle a complicated dispute once and for all, giving farmers and others firm ground to plan their water needs and helping avoid a court battle.

But others, including the Idaho Farm Bureau, oppose the measure, claiming private land will be restricted so severely that some acreage will become useless. Some opponents believe the state would ultimately win if the case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Citizens Friday said the governor should drop the complicated settlement and instead pursue a court case they believe the state would win.

Many attendees agreed with Idaho County Commission Chairman Randy Doman, who said the agreement should be delayed so the public has time to understand and digest it. He said the state, tribe and federal government hammered out the plan for years, yet the public is being asked to accept it in a matter of months.

Audience members were also critical that the meeting was not openly advertised.

Doman justified the move and said official notice wasn’t given or required because it wasn’t called by the commission.

But Commissioner Alice Matson disagreed, saying if the commission gets together, the meeting should be public.

Bogart met earlier in the day at Orofino with city and Clearwater County officials.

But County Commissioner Stan Leach said the meeting there was futile. He said technical questions may have been answered, but the county and city continue to stand in opposition.