The Associated Press
The state House of Representatives votes Wednesday in favor of a bill that would make it easier and faster to get new water rights or change exisitng rights.

House approves hard-fought water rights bill

REBECCA COOK, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- The state's water rights mess has taken a toll on people like Max Fernandez, a Centerville sheep herder who has been trying for 13 years to get a well permit.

"Thirteen years wasted in my life," Fernandez said Wednesday from his ranch. "I'm 60 years old, I'm going to die waiting."

Hoping to find a solution in Fernandez's lifetime, the state House on Wednesday passed a bill aimed at simplifying and speeding up the state's water rights permitting process.

"The state of Washington is a great state but it looks to me like something is wrong if they cannot get their act together," said Fernandez, who needs well water to irrigate the sheep pastures on his 1,200-acre ranch. "It's not only me, I'm just one application number."

He is one of 7,000 people waiting in line for water rights, according to the Department of Ecology. Of those, 41 percent are for farm uses and 34 percent are for housing.

Gov. Gary Locke has promised to keep legislators in Olympia until they pass a water rights bill. But lawmakers have been toiling unsuccessfully on the issue for years, and the fate of the bill in the Senate is still uncertain.

"We've worked that bill until the print wore off," said Republican House Co-Speaker Clyde Ballard of East Wenatchee. "My impression is we have a good chance of getting the water bill through."

The Ecology Department's goal is to get through the 7,000-permit backlog in four years.

"I don't have expectations, I've seen too many goals come and go," said Rep. Gary Chandler, a Moses Lake Republican. "Certainly we'll be able to start at least dealing with them."

House Bill 1832, co-sponsored by Chandler and Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, does several things, including:

-Sets up two lines for water permits; one for new applications and one for transfers or changes to existing water rights. The goal is to let relatively simple transfers be processed quickly. Of the 7,000 permits currently in line, about 1,800 involve changes to existing rights.

-Allows local water conservancy boards, in addition to the Department of Ecology, to make decisions on changes to water rights.

-Allows water rights secured under a family farm permit to be transferred to other uses, such as municipal or residential. This will make it easier for some cities to grow, especially in Eastern Washington.

-Adjusts the "use it or lose it" policy. Under current water law, if you do not use the water permitted to you within five years, you lose the right. This provides little incentive for conservation. The bill allows water users to relinquish some of their water without losing the right to it forever.

-Lets local watershed planning groups receive as much as $100,000 for planning, including determining what the minimum flow of rivers should be. If the groups don't use the money, it goes back to the Department of Ecology.

The bill passed 83-14 in the House, with one member excused from voting. Supporters say the bill is crucial for agriculture and for the economy in Eastern Washington, where growth and development depend on a scarce supply of water.

"While the bill may not do everything for everyone, it does a lot to help fish, a lot to help farmers and a lot to help people," said Rep. Bill Grant, D-Walla Walla.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where Senate Environment Committee Chairwoman Karen Fraser, D-Lacey, plans a hearing on Monday and hopes to move the bill out of committee on Tuesday.

"We should be able to act fairly expeditiously," she said.

House members who voted against the bill say they want to make sure there's money in the budget for water conservation and fish protection.

"This bill, while it does very good things, is not an entire package," said Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish. "I want this body to keep its eye on the entire package."

That package, Dunshee said, would include $15 million to help farmers use water more efficiently; $5 million for fish screens to keep fish from being sucked into irrigation ditches; and $2 million for enforcement to crack down on people stealing water.

The following House members voted against the bill: Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle; Dunshee; Rep. Carolyn Edmonds, D-Shoreline; Rep. Ruth Fisher, D-Tacoma; Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park; Rep. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines; Rep. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle; Rep. Jim McIntire, D-Seattle; Rep. Mark Miloscia, D-Federal Way; Rep. Erik Poulsen, D-Seattle; Rep. Sandra Romero, D-Olympia; Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Seattle; Rep. Geoff Simpson, D-Covington; Rep. Velma Veloria, D-Seattle.

Rep. Beverly Woods, R-Poulsbo, was excused from the vote.

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