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Stimulus may help
Klamath irrigation
The
Klamath Basin could get
funding for irrigation
infrastructure improvements
and other irrigation
projects as part of the
economic stimulus package
being revised in Congress.
Versions
of the stimulus bill passed
by the House
and Senate include varying
amounts — between $ 500
million and $1.4 billion
— for the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation. The Senate
voted 61-37 Tuesday to
approve the stimulus
package, triggering an
intense round of late-night
bargaining to hammer out a
compromise.
Democratic
leaders have pledged to have
legislation on Obama’s desk
by mid-month.
Aging infrastructure
It’s
unclear how much the Bureau
could receive in a final
economic stimulus bill, but
part of the money could go
to its Klamath Reclamation
Project, one of the three
oldest projects in the
country.
“There’s
always aging infrastructure,
there’s no question of
that,” said Dave Solem,
director of Klamath
Irrigation District.
The Bureau
operates a number of
irrigation projects across
the West. Dan Keppen,
executive director of Family
Farm Alliance, said his
organization began lobbying
the U.S. departments of
Agriculture and Interior
last April to include Bureau
infrastructure funding in
economic stimulus packages.
The Basin
is not explicitly named in
any of Family Farm
Alliance’s requests, but
Keppen said a portion calls
for rehabilitating and
improving aging
infrastructure operated by
the Bureau.
As one of
the nation’s oldest
government-owned irrigation
projects, the Basin would
fall under that umbrella.
“In the
stimulus, we have the
opportunity to take care of
some fixes,” Keppen said.
Bureau
programs initiated in the
Klamath Basin also could see
boosts in funding. The
Environmental Quality
Incentives Program, or EQIP,
and Agricultural Water
Enhancement Program, or AWEP,
are programs developed in
the region to provide
matching federal dollars for
improvement and conservation
projects by irrigators or
irrigator districts.
Keppen and
Solem said there are
hurdles.
Getting
irrigation projects started
can take a long time because
of permitting and
environmental study
requirements. Keppen said
that is why his organization
also is pushing to
streamline the process.
Solem said his organization
would work with local Bureau
officials.
“There are
a few projects, but the
Bureau is going to have to
prioritize,” he said.
Kevin
Moore, spokesman for the
Bureau’s Klamath Falls
office declined to comment,
saying a list of possible
projects is still under
review.
“Any
speculation about how any
money would be utilized
locally would be premature
until we receive more
details,” he wrote in an
e-mail.
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