Bill would cover area water rights

BOISE – A bill to adjudicate all the water rights in North Idaho cleared the House on Thursday on a 64-1 vote – with the only “no” vote coming from a North Idaho representative, Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries.

Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, sponsored House Bill 545 along with 11 other North Idaho lawmakers, and said it’s key to protecting water in the region in the face of possible litigation with the state of Washington.

“What hasn’t been defined can’t be managed or administered, so let’s get out of the ‘what if’ stage, develop a water management plan that will protect Idaho’s precious resource: water,” Clark told the House.

Eastern Washington and North Idaho share the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, and lawmakers anticipate Washington could approach the federal government soon about settling which state controls what amount of water.

Harwood said he felt the adjudication project was too large in its scope.

“If we take smaller apportionments we can get around the federal government being involved and the tribes being involved,” Harwood said.

Rep. George Sayler, D-Coeur d’Alene, a co-sponsor of the bill, said he was not surprised Harwood opposed the bill, citing Harwood’s strained relations with the tribes.

Sayler said during the House debate that the bill “is a proactive step that will put us in a better place with Washington state.”

Under HB 545, the adjudication, under which every water right claim would be filed, compared and weighed in court, would be funded by doubling the fees for those seeking to settle their water rights. Idaho is just completing the biggest water rights adjudication in the nation, in southern Idaho’s Snake River basin.

Backers of HB 545 said establishing who has what water rights in the region will prevent the federal government from stepping in and will keep possible litigation at the state level.

“Frankly, we think we can make Idaho decisions better than the feds,” said Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls.