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HJM023aa..................................................by WAYS AND MEANS
SNAKE RIVER - FLOW AUGMENTATION - Stating findings of the Legislature and
opposing efforts to release large amounts of storage water for flow
augmentation, contrary to the law of the state of Idaho, and also opposing
removal or breaching of the four lower Snake River dams.
03/03 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/04 Rpt prt - to Res/Con
03/10 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
To Gen Ord
Rpt out amen - to engros
03/11 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
03/12 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
Rls susp - ADOPTED - 62-8-0
AYES -- Andersen, Barraclough, Barrett, Bauer, Bayer, Bedke, Bell,
Black, Block, Bolz, Bradford, Campbell, Cannon, Clark, Collins, Crow,
Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Eberle, Edmunson, Ellsworth, Eskridge,
Field(18), Field(23), Gagner, Garrett, Harwood, Jaquet, Jones,
Kellogg, Kulczyk, Lake, Langford, Martinez, McGeachin, McKague,
Meyer, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Naccarato, Nielsen, Raybould,
Ridinger, Ring, Roberts, Rydalch, Sali, Schaefer, Shepherd, Shirley,
Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Trail,
Wills, Wood, Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- Boe, Douglas, Henbest, Langhorst, Pasley-Stuart, Ringo,
Robison, Sayler
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Mr. Speaker
Title apvd - to Senate
03/15 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Env
03/17 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/18 10th Ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
Floor Sponsor - Noh
Title apvd - to House
03/18 To enrol - Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/19 Pres signed - To Secretary of State
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 23
BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
1 A JOINT MEMORIAL
2 TO THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF
3 IDAHO, THE DIRECTOR OF THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, THE DIREC-
4 TOR OF THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME, THE OFFICE OF SPECIES CON-
5 SERVATION FOR THE STATE OF IDAHO, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS REPRESENTING THE
6 STATE OF IDAHO ON THE NORTHWEST POWER AND CONSERVATION COUNCIL, THE COM-
7 MISSIONER OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, NOAA FISHERIES, AND TO THE CON-
8 GRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF
9 THE UNITED STATES.
10 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the
11 State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-seventh
12 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
13 WHEREAS, on January 16, 2004, several conservation and fishing groups
14 filed a complaint in the federal district court in Oregon in the case of Amer-
15 ican Rivers v. NOAA Fisheries, Civ. No. 04-CV-0061-BR, alleging that the bio-
16 logical opinions issued by NOAA Fisheries in 2001 and 2002 regarding operation
17 of the Bureau of Reclamation projects in the Upper Snake River Basin are arbi-
18 trary and capricious, and otherwise contrary to law, and should be set aside
19 by the court; and
20 WHEREAS, the complaint also alleges that the current federal program of
21 sending up to 427,000 acre-feet of water downstream for flow augmentation,
22 under a willing-seller program that must comply with state law, is insuffi-
23 cient for the needs of the listed species; and
24 WHEREAS, the complaint contends that sufficient water needs to be sent
25 downstream from the Upper Snake River projects to meet arbitrary and unrealis-
26 tic flow targets that have been established downstream by NOAA Fisheries; and
27 WHEREAS, providing water downstream to meet the flow targets would require
28 sending millions of acre-feet of water out of Idaho, thereby devastating its
29 agricultural economy and significantly affecting supplies for municipalities,
30 recreation, resident fisheries, ground water recharge and spring flows; and
31 WHEREAS, Idaho has been in the midst of a severe drought over the past
32 several years; and
33 WHEREAS, the downstream flow targets are not hard constraints, as previ-
34 ously determined by the federal district court in Oregon and by NOAA Fisher-
35 ies; and
36 WHEREAS, flow augmentation using water from the Upper Snake River projects
37 has been demonstrated to be a failed experiment by virtue of the fact that it
38 does not increase travel time or provide temperature benefits for the listed
39 species; and
40 WHEREAS, the Idaho State Legislature has made plain its intent, in Section
41 42-1763B, Idaho Code, to repeal the temporary legislative authorization for
42 the Bureau to release storage water for flow augmentation in the event that
43 the 2002 biological opinion is set aside by a court; and
44 WHEREAS, the conservation and fishing groups have made clear that their
2
1 primary motivation for filing the complaint includes placing pressure upon the
2 state of Idaho, water users, and other citizens of the state to support
3 removal or breaching of the four federal dams on the Lower Snake River.
4 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
5 sion of the Fifty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
6 the Senate concurring therein, that the Idaho Legislature opposes efforts to
7 release large amounts of storage water for flow augmentation, contrary to the
8 laws of the state of Idaho, and also opposes removal or breaching of the four
9 Lower Snake River dams.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Idaho State Legislature supports the
11 efforts of the state of Idaho, by and through the offices of the Governor and
12 the Attorney General, to intervene in the current legal proceedings to protect
13 the sovereignty of Idaho's water.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
15 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this
16 Memorial to the Governor of the State of Idaho, the Attorney General of the
17 State of Idaho, the Director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, the
18 Director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Office of Species Con-
19 servation for the State of Idaho, the council members representing the state
20 of Idaho on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the Commissioner of
21 the Bureau of Reclamation, NOAA Fisheries, and the congressional delegation
22 representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
Moved by Stevenson
Seconded by Wood
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE AMENDMENT TO H.J.M. No. 23
1 AMENDMENT TO THE MEMORIAL
2 On page 1 of the printed memorial, in line 15 delete "04-CV-0061-BR" and
3 insert: "04-CV-0061-RE"; and in line 38, delete "increase" and insert:
4 "decrease".
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 23, As Amended
BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
1 A JOINT MEMORIAL
2 TO THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF
3 IDAHO, THE DIRECTOR OF THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, THE DIREC-
4 TOR OF THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME, THE OFFICE OF SPECIES CON-
5 SERVATION FOR THE STATE OF IDAHO, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS REPRESENTING THE
6 STATE OF IDAHO ON THE NORTHWEST POWER AND CONSERVATION COUNCIL, THE COM-
7 MISSIONER OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, NOAA FISHERIES, AND TO THE CON-
8 GRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF
9 THE UNITED STATES.
10 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the
11 State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-seventh
12 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
13 WHEREAS, on January 16, 2004, several conservation and fishing groups
14 filed a complaint in the federal district court in Oregon in the case of Amer-
15 ican Rivers v. NOAA Fisheries, Civ. No. 04-CV-0061-RE, alleging that the bio-
16 logical opinions issued by NOAA Fisheries in 2001 and 2002 regarding operation
17 of the Bureau of Reclamation projects in the Upper Snake River Basin are arbi-
18 trary and capricious, and otherwise contrary to law, and should be set aside
19 by the court; and
20 WHEREAS, the complaint also alleges that the current federal program of
21 sending up to 427,000 acre-feet of water downstream for flow augmentation,
22 under a willing-seller program that must comply with state law, is insuffi-
23 cient for the needs of the listed species; and
24 WHEREAS, the complaint contends that sufficient water needs to be sent
25 downstream from the Upper Snake River projects to meet arbitrary and unrealis-
26 tic flow targets that have been established downstream by NOAA Fisheries; and
27 WHEREAS, providing water downstream to meet the flow targets would require
28 sending millions of acre-feet of water out of Idaho, thereby devastating its
29 agricultural economy and significantly affecting supplies for municipalities,
30 recreation, resident fisheries, ground water recharge and spring flows; and
31 WHEREAS, Idaho has been in the midst of a severe drought over the past
32 several years; and
33 WHEREAS, the downstream flow targets are not hard constraints, as previ-
34 ously determined by the federal district court in Oregon and by NOAA Fisher-
35 ies; and
36 WHEREAS, flow augmentation using water from the Upper Snake River projects
37 has been demonstrated to be a failed experiment by virtue of the fact that it
38 does not decrease travel time or provide temperature benefits for the listed
39 species; and
40 WHEREAS, the Idaho State Legislature has made plain its intent, in Section
41 42-1763B, Idaho Code, to repeal the temporary legislative authorization for
42 the Bureau to release storage water for flow augmentation in the event that
43 the 2002 biological opinion is set aside by a court; and
44 WHEREAS, the conservation and fishing groups have made clear that their
2
1 primary motivation for filing the complaint includes placing pressure upon the
2 state of Idaho, water users, and other citizens of the state to support
3 removal or breaching of the four federal dams on the Lower Snake River.
4 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
5 sion of the Fifty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
6 the Senate concurring therein, that the Idaho Legislature opposes efforts to
7 release large amounts of storage water for flow augmentation, contrary to the
8 laws of the state of Idaho, and also opposes removal or breaching of the four
9 Lower Snake River dams.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Idaho State Legislature supports the
11 efforts of the state of Idaho, by and through the offices of the Governor and
12 the Attorney General, to intervene in the current legal proceedings to protect
13 the sovereignty of Idaho's water.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
15 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this
16 Memorial to the Governor of the State of Idaho, the Attorney General of the
17 State of Idaho, the Director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, the
18 Director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Office of Species Con-
19 servation for the State of Idaho, the council members representing the state
20 of Idaho on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the Commissioner of
21 the Bureau of Reclamation, NOAA Fisheries, and the congressional delegation
22 representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14179C1
This joint memorial supports the efforts of the State of Idaho,
through the offices of the Governor and the Attorney General, to
intervene in federal litigation, filed by several conservation
and fishing groups, alleging that the biological opinion for the
Bureau of Reclamation projects in the Upper Snake River Basin is
illegal and should be set aside. The joint memorial also rejects
efforts to release large amounts of storage water for flow
augmentation, contrary to state law, or to remove or breach dams
on the Lower Snake River. The lawsuit seeks to establish that
the current federal program of sending up to 427,000 acre-feet of
water downstream for flow augmentation, under a willing-seller
program that must comply with state law, is insufficient for the
needs of the listed species. Despite previous findings to the
contrary by the federal district court and NOAA Fisheries, the
conservation and fishing groups have asked the court to require
the federal government to acquire enough water to meet downstream
flow objectives. Meeting these flow targets would require
sending millions of acre-feet of water out of Idaho, thereby
destroying its agricultural economy and adversely affecting
supplies for other uses in Idaho. In spite of these disastrous
impacts, the increased flow augmentation would not increase
travel time or provide temperature benefits for the listed
species. The current flow augmentation program is authorized
until January 1, 2005, under the provisions of Section 42-1763B,
Idaho Code. However, the current law provides that the
legislature intends to repeal the existing statute, if the 2002
biological opinion is set-aside.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
Contact
Name: Speaker Bruce Newcomb
Phone: (208) 332-1111
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE HJM 023