March 20, 2002     Print-Friendly Version

Walden Urges Farm Bill Conferees to Retain $175 Million in Funding to Resolve Klamath Basin Water Crisis  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) this morning delivered a letter to members of the Farm Bill conference committee urging the retention of $175 million provided in the Senate version of the bill for resolving the water crisis in the Klamath Basin.   The Farm Bill conference committee is currently meeting to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.     

A copy of Walden’s letter is available upon request. 

“Just because the government made poor decisions doesn’t mean there are not significant water quality and quantity problems that must be dealt with in this Basin,” wrote Walden.  “That’s why I strongly support the $175 million in funding that is included in the Farm Bill by the Senate.  But I want to make sure those funds are spent in a way that will do the most good for fish, farmers and water fowl, and my amendment addresses these vital needs.” 

Farm Bill negotiators, representing both House and Senate members of the conference committee, agreed yesterday to spend $17.l billion on conservation in the 10-year bill.  This figure represents $4.2 billion less than the level set in the Senate for conservation.  

“While I am absolutely committed to providing as much funding as possible to resolve the crisis in the Basin, because of a math error the Senate version of the Farm Bill overspent their budget by over $6 billion, making it very possible that many of the important conservation programs in the bill, including the Klamath Basin provisions, will end up receiving less money than the Senate levels,” said Walden. 

Congressman Walden has introduced a proposal to provide more specificity to the $175 million in funds targeted for the Klamath Basin than is provided in the original language authored by Senator Ron Wyden.  Walden’s amendment to the Farm Bill incorporates the findings of the February, 2002 National Academy of Sciences Report on the Klamath River Basin, as well as the 2002 Biological Assessment (BA) by the Bureau of Reclamation, both of which specifically identify a number of projects that would improve water quality and water quantity in the Basin.  Among these are riparian restoration in the Winema and Fremont National Forests, improved flows and habitat conditions on Klamath River tributaries, the creation of a hatchery for the endangered sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake, a pilot oxygenation study, and mitigation for the loss of family wells in the Klamath Basin community.  These projects are not identified in the Wyden proposal. 

Walden’s amendment directs specific projects designed to ensure the delivery of irrigation water for agriculture, such as a provision to provide for water banking as proposed in the 2002 BA to increase water availability in drought years.  The Walden proposal would also provide $20 million to the Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) in the Basin, which are led by locally elected officials and provide services to develop water and soil conservation programs.   

“I refuse to forget that this is the Farm Bill, and the purpose of what we do in the Farm Bill is to make sure that we have a vibrant agricultural economy in the Klamath Basin and throughout this country,” wrote Walden.  “If we take the steps I’m proposing, we’ll improve fish habitat, we’ll improve water quality and quantity, and we’ll improve the health of the national wildlife refuges.”  Walden continued, “By doing all of these things, we will improve significantly the chances that farmers and ranchers in the Basin will get the water they need.”

To view a side-by-side document highlighting differences between the Walden and Wyden amendments to the 2002 Farm Bill, please click on the following link: http://walden.house.gov/issues/klamath/onepagerpart2.pdf.

Congressman Walden represents the Second Congressional District of Oregon, which includes the 20 counties of southern, central and eastern Oregon. Rep. Walden is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the the House Committee on Resources.