What’s in store with new water resource law?

Speeding the Columbia River Water Resource Management Program into law showed resolve and political skill, even though some environmentalists question the wisdom of the project.

But now what happens?

The governor’s office released a list of “near-term actions” under the new program, which she signed into law Thursday.

“Immediately following the enactment of the new law, (the Department of) Ecology will begin to pursue new water resources in Eastern Washington,” it reads. “These efforts will include:

“ Developing an alternative feed route for the Potholes Reservoir.

“ Making modifications to Pinto Dam.

“ Developing water conveyance facilities to the Odessa Subarea.

“ Providing mitigation for the drawdown of Lake Roosevelt under the Agreement in Principle with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

“ Completing appraisal and feasibility reviews of storage sites identified by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

“ And initiating conservation projects identified in cooperation with the Washington Conservation Commission and other local partners.”

Let’s talk phosphates

After getting entangled in a legislative deal over an unrelated environmental bill (one dealing with toxic flame retardants), a statewide restriction on phosphates in dishwasher detergent was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The bill would sharply limit the amount of phosphates in dishwasher detergents, which now can be composed of up to 8.7 percent phosphates. Phosphates, however, are potent fertilizers. Once in wastewater, they can trigger problem algae growth. State regulators want a sharp reduction in phosphates in the Spokane River. Rep. Timm Ormsby’s bill is an attempt to restrict them at the source. (The state passed a similar limit for clothes detergents in the early 1990s, and most soap for hand-washing dishes does not contain phosphates.)

“We’re far better off if we deal with the phosphate problem before the water goes down the drain,” said Ormsby, D-Spokane.

The bill, House Bill 2322, is strongly opposed by the two largest detergent manufacturers, who say that phosphates are a highly effective cleaning agent. Without them, they predict, dishwashers won’t work well and will clog with lime deposits from hard water. Makers of more-expensive phosphate-free versions of detergent say there are phosphate alternatives that work just as well, but cost more.

Ringing up a study

Anyone who’s watched the House of Representatives voting on a bill has heard the off-to-the-horse-races clamor of the automated bell that sounds whenever House lawmakers vote. Perhaps intended to wake the sleeping, the bill prods lawmakers to press the green or red buttons by which they cast their votes. The results are tallied on a large electronic board on the wall behind the speaker of the House.

It is, admittedly, not a quiet bell.

Still, we have to wonder which annoyed Senate staffer penned Section 111, titled “Legislative Building Omnibus,” deep in the Senate capital budget bill released Wednesday afternoon.

It includes this unusual provision:

“Funding is also included for a study of how to acoustically insulate the chambers of the house of representatives in order to prevent the loud, boxing-ring-style bell of the voting machine from disturbing the decorum of the senate.”

The cost of the study isn’t mentioned.

Wal-Mart bill dies

Despite heavy 11th-hour lobbying by labor unions, health care advocates and others, a bill to require large employers to spend at least 9 percent of their payroll on employee health care died Tuesday when the 5 p.m. bill cutoff fell.

Instead, lawmakers opted for a study of workers on publicly subsidized health care which – unlike previous versions – will be made public.