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A Pro Oregon Oasis Project Editorial from the East Oregonian

By Paul Hirsch

The Oregon Oasis bill appears to be stuck in the Oregon State Senate, with a threatened veto by the governor if it makes it out. The Klamath Basin Crisis group, a pro-irrigation group in Oregon, has reproduced an editorial from the East Oregonian on their website website.

"Assuming the bill makes it through the Senate with amendments, Gov. Ted Kulongoski has said he will veto the bill. We in Eastern Oregon think that would be a big mistake. We know the governor doesn't like this bill because it doesn't fit with his vision for aquifer recharge. We know he worries about the equity of diverting more water from the Columbia River at the risk of offending neighbors in Washington and Idaho, as well as the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

But Gov. Kulongoski hasn't done much to move this region in the direction of aquifer recharge. And while the state of Washington moves ahead with long-range planning to divert more water from the Columbia, we in Eastern Oregon can ill afford to worry about offending the fine residents of the Evergreen State."

Full post as published by Environmental Law in Washington State on July 05, 2007 (boomark / email).