Water Bill Passes a Milestone

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2017 Contacts: Stacey Malstrom, Oregon Environmental Council, (503) 508-7233 Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, (541) 708-0731 Water Bill Passes a Milestone Oregon’s House Committee on Energy and Environment Makes Progress Toward Smart Water Management SALEM — Tuesday evening, the Oregon House Committee on Energy and Environment voted to move HB 2705 out of committee, a …

Draining Oregon: Lawmakers plan hearings on 3 water bills

Draining Oregon: Lawmakers plan hearings on 3 water bills by Andrew Theen The Oregonian/OregonLive March 21, 2017 Oregon lawmakers will hold a first hearing Wednesday on three bills designed to address the state’s long-standing inability to measure and study its groundwater supply, and how to pay for it. Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, introduced the bills on the heels of a …

MERKLEY, WALDEN DELIVER CROOKED RIVER VICTORY FOR CENTRAL OREGON

For Immediate Release December 12, 2014 MERKLEY, WALDEN DELIVER CROOKED RIVER VICTORY FOR CENTRAL OREGON Bipartisan agreement will deliver greater water security and economic growth for Central Oregon WASHINGTON – This holiday season, Central Oregon will have one more reason to celebrate: In the final moments of the 113th Congress, major legislation implementing improved water management in Central Oregon has …

Governor Signs Bill to Protect Salmon Habitat

For Immediate Release August 15, 2013 Contact Forrest English, Rogue Riverkeeper, 541-261-2030 Josh Laughlin, Cascadia Wildlands, 541-844-8182 Erik Fernandez, Oregon Wild, 503-283-6343 x202 Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-708-0731 Governor Signs Bill to Protect Salmon Habitat Bill to Reduce Impacts of Suction Dredge Gold Mining on Oregon Rivers Salem, OR — Anglers, landowners, outdoor recreation businesses, and river advocates celebrated …

Our View: Water bill looms as accomplishment for ’09 Legislature

Our View: Water bill looms as accomplishment for ’09 Legislature By Editorial East Oregonian July 14, 2009   Gov. Ted Kulongoski has yet to sign House Bill 3369, but it looks like he will in the next week or two. That should be like the sound of running water to a parched pilgrim. It means relief is not far ahead. …

Aquifer recharge bill advances to Ways and Means Committee

Aquifer recharge bill advances to Ways and Means Committee By Mitch Lies Capital Press June 23, 2009 SALEM – A legislative committee on Monday, June 22, moved a multi-part bill that could improve groundwater supplies in the Umatilla Basin and help the state develop a statewide water management plan. “This is a piece of work I think will have a …

Bills to protect environment derailed by finances

Bills to protect environment derailed by finances By Beth Casper and Stefanie Knowlton Statesman Journal June 15, 2009 Only a few proposals make it out of committee   Even with a Democratic majority and support from the governor, environmental legislation this session couldn’t contend with the state’s economic woes. A carbon cap-and-trade bill, Senate Bill 80, the core of the …

’09 Legislature enters homestretch, and region is watching

’09 Legislature enters homestretch, and region is watching By Nick Budnick Bend Bulletin June 03, 2009 What’s left As the 2009 session nears its end, local officials and others are tracking several bills that could affect Central Oregon, including: • HB 3100: Metolius destination resort ban • HB 2227: Destination resort limits in Deschutes • HB 2228: Skyline Forest preservation …

Water-management bills debated

Water-management bills debated By Stefanie Knowlton Statesman Journal April 04, 2009 Proposed cuts to key department dampen discussion and plans Environmentalists to water providers debated the future of water in Oregon last week during public hearings, work sessions and budget talks. Looming over every water conversation were proposed 30 percent cuts to the Water Resources Department, which measures stream flows, …

Legislative “Odd Couple” Tackles Water Issues

Legislative “Odd Couple” Tackles Water Issues By Chris Lehman Oregon Public Broadcasting March 26, 2009   One of Mark Twain’s many famous quotes is:  “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over.” Nowhere is that more true than in the west. The Oregon Legislature has spent the better part of its history untangling fights over water.  But this year, …

Rough debut for Columbia water bill

Rough debut for Columbia water bill By Mitch Lies Capital Press February 19, 2009   SALEM – It was, as John DeVoe of WaterWatch said, deja vu all over again in a House committee hearing Tuesday, Feb. 17, on a bill calling for summer water withdrawals from the Columbia River. Many of the same players who testified on a similar …

Senate OKs surcharge for Klamath dam removal

Senate OKs surcharge for Klamath dam removal By Matt Preusch and Ted Sickinger Oregonian February 17, 2009   The Oregon Senate passed a bill Tuesday to pay for removing four Klamath River dams with a 2 percent surcharge on the Oregon ratepayers of Pacific Power. Senate Bill 76 was approved 18-12 on largely partisan lines with Sen. Jason Atkinson of …

Bill would pass cost of Klamath Dam removal to ratepayers

Bill would pass cost of Klamath Dam removal to ratepayers By Matthew Preusch Oregonian February 03, 2009   A plan to pass much of the tab for removing Klamath River dams to Oregon power users gets its first hearing in Salem today. The bill is considered a critical step in a larger agreement amongst farmers, fishers, tribes and others to …

Oregon consortium to evaluate Umatilla Basin aquifer recovery

Oregon consortium to evaluate Umatilla Basin aquifer recovery Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife News Bulletin April 18, 2008   The Oregon Water Resources Department this week signed a $750,000 contract with an Oregon-based consortium led by IRZ Consulting, GSI Water Solutions, and HDR Engineering to evaluate the feasibility of a “Umatilla Basin Aquifer Recovery Project.” A bill authorizing the study …

House approves Oregon water, conservation projects

House approves Oregon water, conservation projects Associated Press July 23, 2007   WASHINGTON – The House unanimously approved a bill Monday boosting four Oregon water conservation and dam safety projects. The Oregon Water Resources Management Act, sponsored by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., addresses projects in southern, eastern and central Oregon. The measure was approved by the House last year, but …

Since You Asked: The well ain’t dry, but source is all wet

Since You Asked: The well ain’t dry, but source is all wet Mail Tribune May 11, 2007 I just recently heard a snippet on the news regarding a bill which Oregon is trying to sneak through. Oregon legislators are saying the state is out of money and have come up with the idea to place water meters on personal wells …

Dropping rural Oregon groundwater levels causing concerns

Dropping rural Oregon groundwater levels causing concerns Bend Bulletin (AP) March 14, 2007 SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A homebuilder in rural Oregon can still sink a well and usually pump up to 15,000 gallons of water a day. But well levels are dropping, and in Salem the situation is getting another look as agriculture, fishery and environmental advocates ask lawmakers …

A showdown looms on the Clackamas River over drinking water

A showdown looms on the Clackamas River over drinking water By Lee van der Voo Lake Oswego Review March 07, 2007 Limited river water may pit fish against utilities A state law prompting higher water levels in the Clackamas River may one day force water users to trade their green lawns for the survival of endangered species. Those water users …

How much water flows? Who knows?

How much water flows? Who knows? By Karen McCowan Eugene Register-Guard March 01, 2007 The state is being urged to get a handle on how much of the precious natural resource is being used   Who’s using how much of Oregon’s most essential natural resource? Nobody really knows. Of the thousands of individuals and groups with state water rights, only …

Bill would give away more Columbia River water

Bill would give away more Columbia River water By Janie Har Oregonian February 05, 2007 Senators introduced a bill on Monday that would allow the private sector to take 500,000 acre-feet of Columbia River water each year for irrigation and other purposes. Supporters say they need Senate Bill 483 — also called the Oregon Oasis Project — to boost the …

CAMPAIGN 2006: Proposition 84: Bond would preserve, restore state’s waterways

CAMPAIGN 2006: Proposition 84: Bond would preserve, restore state’s waterways By Greg Lucas San Francisco Chronicle October 10, 2006 (10-10) 04:00 PDT Sacramento — Proposition 84 would split $5.4 billion in bond money between a laundry list of water-related projects and spending on natural resources preservation and restoration, including $400 million for state parks. Among the spending proposed on water projects, …