Gregoire signs bill to expand WSU Tri-Cities

RICHLAND – Gov. Chris Gregoire traveled east Wednesday to sign a bevy of bills considered key to the economy of Eastern Washington and the state as a whole, including legislation that put money toward the development of Columbia River water storage and a biodiesel industry.

No measure, though, garnered more support locally than one expanding Washington State University in the Tri-Cities to a four-year school. Roughly 200 people gathered in the atrium of one of the southeastern Washington university’s three buildings, cheering and clapping as Gregoire signed the bill.

“I’ve come to believe that education is the cornerstone of our success. If we get that right, then our future is very, very positive,” Gregoire said.

Companies already located in the region or that want to relocate here want assurances that the state can provide the best-trained, most-skilled workers in the world, she said. But too often, she said, the state compares itself to other states in the quality of its education.

That is comparing ourselves to mediocrity, she said.

“We need to compare ourselves to other nations, because we need to be able to go toe-to-toe when it comes to education – with Japan, India, or Ireland or Germany,” she said. “And that’s what today is all about.”

Local business leaders and university officials have been lobbying for the expansion for several years. Lawmakers granted three other university branch campuses authority to expand last year, but not the Tri-Cities.

The campus plans to accept 35 freshmen in the fall of 2007 and expand class sizes from there, WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor David Lemak said. Eventually, the school will provide higher education opportunities for even more students – easing stress on the state’s already crowded universities, he said.

The university also plans to partner with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a national science laboratory in Richland, to expand its technology programs and potentially draw students from around the world, he said.

“If you look at just plain statistics, there is a direct correlation between level of education and income,” Lemak said. “Education is the driving force behind economic development, and we’re a part of that.”

Rep. Larry Haler, a Richland Republican, said the campus expansion could prove to be one of the most significant steps for the region for years to come.

“This campus will be the agricultural and technological engine for this part of the state,” he said.

Gregoire signed a number of measures Wednesday that many groups had argued were central to economic development in Eastern Washington, including one that exempted farmers from the state sales and use tax on parts for farm machinery and equipment. Another designated millions of dollars for biofuel low-interest loan programs to develop alternative fuels.

Gregoire signed a measure appropriating $200 million in bonding authority for Columbia River water storage projects. The legislation is part of a larger Columbia River management plan the governor signed last month. She praised the plan as the tonic to end a 30-year stalemate over competing water needs in Eastern Washington.

The measure seeks to make more water available in the future by increasing storage in new reservoirs and allows the state to sign regional agreements with communities or other groups seeking new water rights.

Gregoire also signed legislation exempting farmers in the declining Odessa aquifer east of Moses Lake from the state’s use-it-or-lose-it law. The measure is intended to ensure that farmers who are forced to switch to dryland crops – or choose not to water crops, thus boosting the aquifer – won’t lose their water rights.

“The one message, I think, that comes out of this legislative session is we are one Washington, and finally we have broken through to understand its 21st-century industries. It’s higher education. It’s the finest, safest quality agriculture in the world. Those are our future,” Gregoire said after the ceremony.

A four-year university in the Tri-Cities, resolution of long-standing water battles and development of biofuel and life science industries are new keys to the region, she said.

“I couldn’t be more excited for this area. I think the economic potential’s been there a long time; we just haven’t made the investments,” Gregoire said. “Now we’ve made the investments and opened up the door to economic prosperity here.”