Newhouse Op-Ed in Yakima Herald Republic: Congressional authorization for Yakima Basin Plan shows bipartisanship works
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Sunnyside)
In the American West, fewer issues are more complex or at times divisive as who gets access to our most vital single resource: water. Yet in Washington state, we can be proud that pragmatism, bipartisanship, and a strong commitment to a shared goal has allowed a major water project to progress with the input of a diverse group of local advocates.
While the Yakima Basin is one of the nation's most productive agriculture regions, injecting about $3.2 billion annually into our state's economy, the major unknown factor each year is whether there will be enough available water available to meet the region's needs. Without irrigation, there would be no resilient Yakima Valley agriculture industry.
Mitigating the impact of drought is a central benefit of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan. The Yakima Basin Plan is the culmination of decades of collaborative work between a group of conservationists, irrigators, tribes, state and local stakeholders, fish passage experts, and federal agencies. For over 30 years, I and many others have worked together with the stakeholders, in various capacities, to advance this plan. The work of the many groups on the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Implementation Committee presents a model for the nation on how to come to agreement on water projects.
I have been pleased to work with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) to write and introduce legislation to make this plan a reality. This legislation represents years of bipartisan, bicameral work in the Senate and House of Representatives to authorize the next phase of the Yakima Basin Project. In the House, I introduced a companion standalone bill with Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Washington) to show the strong bipartisan, local support for the project.
The legislation ensures that local communities have access to water by authorizing federal partnerships for groundwater storage projects and facilitating water marketing and transfers to move water to where it is needed most.
It increases water supplies for farmers in times of drought — vital for agriculture irrigators in the dry Yakima Valley — through conservation of more than 250,000 acre-feet of water and improvements in infrastructure. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) estimates that once fully implemented, "the Integrated Plan would increase annual net farm earnings for the beneficiary irrigators by $150 million during a severe drought year." According to a Yakima County study, "Total water-dependent employment in the [Yakima River Basin] is approximately 96,000 workers, representing 40% of the Basin's employment."
The plan restores the ecosystem by improving fish passage providing for habitat restoration projects, and it will rehabilitate the Wapato Irrigation Project, a vitally important effort needed to ensure a resilient water supply for the Yakama Reservation.
Last week, the U.S. Senate approved a lands package authored by Senator Cantwell and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The package included our language to authorize the next phase of the Yakima Basin Project.
While the State of Washington has faithfully supported the project, our congressional legislation is required so that the federal government fulfills its obligations on this infrastructure priority for Central Washington. Our legislation authorizes the first ten years of the 30-year Phase III, and while there will be more work to do to appropriate necessary federal funds, it builds on previous phases so that this project can continue to allow the Yakima Valley to flourish.
The House is expected to consider the legislation as soon as next week, and I look forward to supporting passage. Because of the collaborative work behind this project, both at the local and congressional level, the future of the Yakima Basin will not be defined by drought, but by a flourishing economy where current and future water needs are met.
• Dan Newhouse (R-Sunnyside) is Washington state's 4th District representative in Congress.
*This op-ed appeared in the Yakima Herald Republic on Sunday, February 17th and was posted online here.