Newhouse Water Bill

Rep. Dan Newhouse is applauding the House for approving his bill, H.R. 2097, the Bureau of Reclamation Surface Water Storage Streamlining Act of 2015. On Wednesday, he addressed the House.

NEWHOUSE: Mr. Speaker, as a third generation farmer I know firsthand the challenges facing many in our western agricultural communities, and the critically important role that water plays in agriculture's success. In recognition of this fact, earlier this year I introduced H.R. 2097, the Bureau of Reclamation Surface Water Storage Streamlining Act.  This measure will speed up Reclamation's feasibility study process on surface water storage, spurring the development of new projects across the West.

The House approved the measure yesterday morning.

NEWHOUSE: What it does is streamlines the process. It puts a time limitation as well as a fiscal limitation on the feasibility studies fro water projects, essentially to speed the process.

Many of these projects have been tied up with red tape for 10 years or more.

NEWHOUSE: We need to have infrastructure, we need to be able to respond to the situation that we find ourselves in of needing more water available during the summer months, being able to capture it during the winter months when we have it. Essentially that's what exactly what this bill does. It helps to speed up the process. We don't consume and waste a lot of time with the never ending study process.

And that's Washington Ag Today. I'm Greg Martin, thanks for listening on the Ag Information Network of the West.