DIRECT BUY-OUTS

Even if it were economically feasible to bring Columbia River water to the Odessa Subarea, such action would take many years and probably not reach to eastern sector lands.  In the interim, Odessa farmers and others have suggested that the public should pay Odessa Subarea irrigators to stop pumping water. 

On September 27 the Moses Lake-based Columbia Basin Herald reported the proposed interim solutions:  “While the [B]ureau works on the study, the Odessa Aquifer Coordination Team is developing projects to maintain irrigation in the sub-area. Projects being developed to cut depletion of the aquifer include paying deep-well irrigators not to irrigate, paying them for conservation program participation and a Bonneville Power Administration buy-back program.”  These proposals are also circulating via a group titled the “Northwest Environmental Alliance.”

The “direct buy-out” solutions, which involve the public paying farmers not to pump water, include:

oPower Buy-Back:  Bonneville Power Authority would pay irrigators to idle their wells, utilizing funds generated by selling the “saved” electricity on the spot retail market.  Problems with this approach include that Odessa farmers do not receive subsidized electricity (as do their neighbors in the CBP) and hence revenues would not be very large.  Moreover, BPA does not conduct power buy-backs except in extreme circumstances (such as 2001).  It is not clear what public benefit would result from this program.

oConservation Reserve Enhancement Program or CREP:  Federal dollars would be used to pay farmers to stop irrigating environmentally sensitive lands.  CREP is a good program, but is focused on protecting lands adjacent to streams to enhance riparian and aquatic habitat, especially for endangered fish species.  A hallmark of the Odessa Subarea is that it is dry and without significant streams that flow year-round.  There are no salmon in the Odessa Subarea.  However, to the extent CREP payments could be used to retire lands to protect flowing streams, the public would receive a benefit.

o“Odessa Water Save Program”:  This program would direct state funds to fix Odessa’s cascading wells.  While these illegally-built wells unquestionably are a huge problem for the Odessa, the damage is done.  Significant investigation would be required to determine whether casing some of the hundreds of leaky wells in the region would benefit individual irrigators, who still might not be able to access water.  In addition, there is no evidence that Odessa Aquifer levels will rebound in any meaningful time frame even if leaky wells were sealed throughout the Subarea.

No economic analysis has been conducted to assess how the public would benefit from direct buy-out arrangements.  However, the Washington Legislature did amend the state’s relinquishment (“use it or lose it”) laws to provide a special exemption for Odessa irrigators, who will no longer risk losing their water rights even if there is no water to pump.  Another law allows Odessa irrigators to exchange their water rights for water transferred from the CBP.  Will a program to purchase Odessa water-less water rights be proffered next?

[Special Odessa relinquishment exemption, click here.]

Justification for public buy-out of Odessa irrigators is premised on the theory that, if Odessa area wells are ‘rested,’ then Odessa groundwater levels will rebound.  There is no scientific support for this concept. 

Next:    Water Importation