Capital Budget Committee Holds Special Work Session in Olympia on the Privately Funded Project to Bring Surface Water to Odessa Aquifer Deep Well Irrigators

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Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association

Dec 09, 2014, 08:56 ET

OLYMPIA, Wash., Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 5^th, the House Capital Budget Committee held a Work Session in Olympia. During the Work Session a presentation was provided about the Privately Funded Project to bring Surface Water to Deep Well Irrigators in the Odessa Aquifer by Darryll Olsen Ph.D., Board Representative, Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association (CSRIA), and Brian Kuest, Senior Banking Consultant, CliftonLarsonAllen.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141209/163191
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141209/163192

During the presentation, Darryll Olsen discussed the System 1 Project, which would include about 14,000 acres north of Interstate 90 in the Odessa Subarea. In particular, Olsen explained to the Committee that the pre-construction engineering for System 1 has been completed and a Water Service Contract has been submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District for System 1 of the Privately Funded/Financed Project.

Brian Kuest explained to the Committee that landowners in the System 1 Project have secured over $40 million in private financing from several major banks. Members of House Capital Budget Committee discussed how difficult the current budget environment is to find public funding for projects and were impressed by the fact that such a significant amount of private funding had been obtained by the irrigators for this project. Kuest said that from a private financing standpoint the timing to do such as project was excellent as interest rates were at historic lows and were actually lower than those for revenue bonds and other funding instruments.

Darryll Olsen indicated that System 1 would be the first step in the overall plan/project to bring surface water irrigation to about 70,000 acres (or more) of farmland in the Odessa Subarea by constructing a system of pressurized pipes from the East Low Canal to pieces of land north and south of I-90. The initial development (Systems 1-4) would reach as far south of I-90 to Lind Coulee. Further development to the south (of Lind Coulee) will require additional expansion of the East Low Canal.

Olsen stated that if the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would sign the Water Service Contract, then the System 1 project could soon begin and water could be delivered to areas in System 1 in 2016. However, Olsen indicated that USBR (and the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District) were delaying signing the Water Service Contract as there is a culture at these agencies which continues to believe that public sector financing is the only way to do these sorts of projects.

Darryll Olsen requested that the House Capital Budget Committee urge the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to move ahead immediately and approve/sign the Water Service Contract for System 1 (north of I-90), especially given the fact that System 1 already has private financing and can move ahead with construction right away. Olsen also stressed the importance of time, because if the Contract is not signed in a couple of months, the 2016 farming season could suffer. Lastly, Olsen requested that the Committee make additional public funding contingent on the agencies issuing the existing Water Service Contract to the System 1 private sector participants.

For more information, please contact Darryll Olsen at 509-783-1623 or email.

About CSRIA
The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association (www.csria.org) is a leading organization in promoting water conservation and water efficiency in the Pacific Northwest. CSRIA's membership includes row crop, vineyard, orchard and livestock operations and we irrigate about 250,000 acres of prime agricultural lands in Washington State and primarily consist of operations along the Columbia-Snake River system, relying almost exclusively on private investment to build and operate highly efficient, state-of-the-art river pump stations and water distribution systems. Additionally, many municipalities and port districts are members of CSRIA. In economic terms, CSRIA members annually generate about $475-600 million in state and local income by purchasing goods and services from numerous economic sectors, ranging from paper products and food packaging to financial, legal and marketing services.

About the Odessa Aquifer Privately Funded Project
The Odessa Aquifer Privately Funded Project has been widely endorsed by many newspapers and decision-makers as a viable, cost-effective and realistic option to immediately begin replacing the use of groundwater from the declining Odessa Subarea Aquifer in eastern Washington. Following are recent editorials endorsing/supporting the privately funded/financed project:

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SOURCE Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association