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Methow Valley News August 26, 1999 Endangered Species Coverage New MOA draft on the table Changes emphasize HCP, revised water rule by Lee Hicks A new draft of a proposed memorandum of agreement on endangered species plans in the Methow basin revises provisions related to water use and potential building restrictions. The new draft, dated Aug. 19, includes changes suggested by the state Department of Ecology and has been reviewed for comment by Okanogan County officials. County and Ecology representatives met recently to go over the draft, but it has yet to be discussed with top state officials for the National Marine Fisheries Service. NMFS is the agency that listed spring-run Chinook salmon and steelhead trout as endangered in the Methow basin. Bob Turner, NMFS state director, was on leave during the recent discussions. Turner has been pressing for the MOA with the county and state agencies to guide plans for fish protection and recovery. Okanogan County water resources director Dennis Beich said Monday (Aug. 23) that, "some of the new language has Turner’s blessing and some does not." Among the proposed changes is wording that appears to place greater emphasis on commitments by federal and state agencies and the county to work toward a "habitat conservation plan." An HCP has been the keystone of the county’s position in negotiations. The 1973 Endangered Species Act provides protection from litigation for government agencies and landowners who are part of HCPs. NMFS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which listed bull trout as threatened in the Methow basin, could issue "incidental take permits," allowing for some loss of listed fish. The new MOA draft, as with previous versions, says neither federal agency will issue "take" permits until the habitat plan is approved, which could take an estimated two years while water conservation methods, water flow monitoring, fish screens and other irrigation ditch improvements are implemented. The new MOA draft also changes an earlier clause that would have required Ecology to "immediately initiate" measures to adjudicate water rights in the basin if target flows for fish recovery are not met. Under the proposed new language, Ecology "will initiate...investigations and procedures," if streamflow goals are not reached. NMFS has made the target flows for local streams the centerpiece of "biological opinions" related to irrigation diversions on Forest Service land. Many irrigators and hydrologists, though, say the flows as proposed could be achieved only 20 percent of the time. In another significant change, Ecology is proposing in the MOA to withdraw a part of a new proposed basin water rule that would allow conversion of seasonal irrigation rights to year-round use. Instead, that provision would be reconsidered after state Fish and Wildlife makes recommendations regarding winter fish mortality. State Fish and Wildlife official Jeff Tayer told the News Monday that the agency hopes to accomplish the winter study this year, using existing data. "We’d like to move through that as quickly as possible," Tayer said. The water rights conversion is related to both the winter mortality issue and a "water bank" that has also been proposed. The bank would allow a water rights holder to deposit water to a bank, with most of the rights dedicated to improve instream flows for fish. Some water could be withdrawn for agriculture or development, or marked for habitat enhancement. In the new MOA draft, Ecology proposes adopting guidelines for a water bank by Jan. 30, 2000. Earlier drafts of the MOA contained stiff provisions that would require Ecology to close the Methow basin to new water appropriations, including exempt wells. The county, which hedged on signing an MOA without assurances against litigation, would have been required to declare a building moratorium if conditions of the agreement were not met. There is no reference to a building moratorium in the revised MOA. The MOA changes proposed in the latest draft say Ecology will work with the county, federal agencies and water users to restore streamflows in the seven stream reaches of the basin. If flows are, "determined insufficient to protect listed species under ESA by 2003, no further appropriations will be allowed..." until further studies are complete. As the MOA discussions appear ready to resume, the county is awaiting a response from NMFS to a request that various agencies meet to streamline permitting procedures for projects to improve irrigation ditches to protect fish. A number of projects which have received state and federal funding risk delays and loss of funding unless permits can be expedited, the county has written NMFS. The county has suggested a meeting to work out a solution. Opinion | Sports |
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