06/20/07 Water curtailment dates

There are two important dates that nearly 600 groundwater users are aware of in of in south-central Idaho. TUTHILL "The deadline for mitigation plan submittal is June 29." That's Dave Tuthill, Idaho Water Resources Director and the man who issued the notice to farmers, industries and municipalities that their ground water would be cut off. Tuthill says without a mitigation agreement on the 29th the wheels will be rolling toward a July 6th curtailment. The curtailment for junior water right holders is in response to a 2005 call from senior holders Blue Lakes Trout Farm and Clear Springs Food. Tuthill is still holding out hope that some kind of agreement will be reached by the end of this month. TUTHILL "We encourage the plans to be submitted either by the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators on behalf of both districts or by the ground water districts. However if those plans aren't forthcoming then individuals can file their own plans but I know there is effort being expended toward developing mitigation solutions and I'm certainly encouraging those efforts." Tuthill is optimistic some kind of mitigation will get everyone through this year and he wants to hold hearings so that legal and technical issues can be resolved, then presented to the courts prior to next year. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott