Stalled House Bill has dam consequence

HB 3211 was introduced early in the session, Gomberg said. “I was very pleased that the bill moved early in the House, came through unanimously, went over to the Senate where it had full support from the committee there, but now it’s tied up in the maneuvering that’s resulting from some completely separate pieces of legislation.”

This maneuvering Gomberg is referring to is the walkout staged by the Republican senators to deny the Senate a quorum, thereby halting passage of legislation the Republicans oppose. And although HB 3211 is not being opposed, it has gotten caught up in the mix.

Two telephone messages left for Anderson by the News-Times were not returned, however, he did offer a brief comment in response to an email inquiry from the paper.

“There remains much needed work in the legislature before the June 25 deadline,” Anderson wrote in that email. “Many important bills with positive impact for our coastal communities are tied up due to the Senate pause in the floor sessions. It is my hope that HB 3211 and others will emerge before the legislative deadline.”

Newport City Manager Spencer Nebel said HB 3211 “is certainly a critical bill for the Big Creek Dam project. There’s really nothing controversial about it, and it will certainly be something that would facilitate the administration for the permitting for the new reservoir that will be built.”

If the bill isn’t passed this session, it will be a setback for the project, Nebel said.

“This is one of many, many pieces. If this bill didn’t pass, then the water rights issue would be starting over from scratch with a new dam.” Passage of the bill allows the city to continue to impound the same amount of water they have been, “and then we’ll have to seek an additional water right for the water we’ll be impounding (in the future),” Nebel said. “The whole process becomes much more streamlined (under HB 3211) for the existing water that we’re currently impounding. Otherwise we’d have to start right from scratch with a brand new water right request.”

Gomberg said generally the difficult part of a major project like the new dam is funding. “Remarkably, we’ve got the money — you would think the money is the hard part. Now we’re just trying to get one simply procedural authorization, and it’s just become a bargaining chip in a much larger game.

“So we’re in a situation where people are wondering aloud how this session is going to end,” Gomberg added. “We’re not just talking about these important policy bills, we’re talking about whether we get out of here with a state budget.”