CELP centered
The Center for Environmental Law & Policy (CELP) announced they oppose federal money for an Odessa Subarea aquifer study.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., was able to include $3 million in 2010 Senate Energy and Water Development appropriations bill to help fund a feasibility study on replacing water drawn from the Odessa Subarea aquifer. The study would determine the best method to replace ground water with surface water from the Columbia River.
It seems Sen. Murray’s attempt to help the Columbia Basin angered Rachael Paschal Osborn, the executive director of CELP.
“The appropriation is a waste of taxpayer money,” she stated in press release. “There’s also the question whether the state can issue a water right to divert another 1,000 cfs out of the Columbia River.”
Osborn must not know how the state Department of Ecology is trying to increase water supplies for municipalities and agriculture using the Columbia River. The Grant County PUD is facing a push from the state to help at the cost of Crescent Bar Island land, which is owned by the utility. Ecology is making inquiries to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to raise the river by 3.5 feet to increase the water supply. This would flood part of the island.
Maybe she also missed how the state provided a $6 million grant to help study ways to refill the declining Odessa Subarea aquifer. Finding new water sources for the region served by the Odessa aquifer is necessary to save about $630 million in annual agriculture sales and about 3,600 jobs, according to Ecology.
The study is part of a $46 million package of grants slated for spots along the Columbia River and its tributaries. The money stems from 2006 legislation to find new water sources in the region to improve water supplies during droughts and increase the water flow to help salmon.
Still, CELP doesn’t care.
“In the Columbia Basin, nothing could be more important than water access,” Murray stated. “From Moses Lake to the Tri-Cities, our farmers and communities need and deserve a safe, reliable, sustainable water supply. This bill makes a strong investment in ensuring that the Odessa Subarea aquifer continues to provide the water resources that this region needs to continue to thrive.”
Would CELP like to see a study to help salmon, decrease the impacts of droughts, provide irrigation for food crops, and retain 3,600 jobs generating $630 million for Columbia Basin families?
“The science and economics are clear. Taking more water from the Columbia River for irrigation is a real loser for both economic and environmental terms,” Osborn stated.
CELP is an extremist environmental group. They regularly make announcements without concern about facts or even providing a respectable argument to sustain their stance. In their announcement to oppose Murray’s funding, they cite four sources. One is their own comments on the study — which is not done. The second is comments from two “resource economists.” The third is a report from the National Academies of Science. The fourth source is Osborn herself.
Pretty trustworthy, right?
CELP’s record is to sue cities and agencies to force their arrogant opinions on others. They sued Washington State University over watering a golf course, sued the Tri-Cities to over water conservation standards, sued to force Methow Valley irrigators to change their systems, and sued the state to stop exempt wells from being used. If their opinions were sound, wouldn’t people have accepted their ideas without litigation?
Will they sue to stop additional Columbia River water from being used in the Odessa Subarea? We think they will. They are already upset at the idea of funding a study to see how it can be done.
If Osborn and CELP really wanted to help the environment, they would encourage the study. It might just prove them right.
— Editorial board