Bob Bingham is the founder of Idaho’s largest property rights group, North West Property Owners Alliance (NWPOA) and recently became a newly elected Kootenai County Commissioner.
Bob has a reputation for getting citizens aware and involved.
NWPOA is a viable force today working very hard for property owners’ water, property and privacy rights by attending and monitoring pertinent meetings, combating legislative proposals and hiring legal defense.
Recently Bob emailed the current NWPOA Board of Directors, (Bob resigned from the board several years ago) NWPOA’s water adjudication attorney, myself and others to share some information regarding a looming concern to all Washington State (WA) and North Idaho (ID) property owners.
GOVERNMENT PURSUIT OF WATER CONTROL IS RELENTLESS – A MUST READ!
Bob Bingham’s email began: “Remember for the last couple of years I’ve been telling you that a bigger fish (than tribal water right claims) is Washington State regarding our North Idaho Water. As you know, NWPOA has been fighting/negotiating to protect our water rights here in north Idaho for the last several years.
“However, Washington State was then and as far as I know, still is seeking to “demand” N. Idaho raise the instream flow out of the Post Falls dam to a level 200-300% higher than it is now. (850 cfs) Basically, WA State wants us to open the gates and allow most of the water to flow to them. Don’t think they can do it? Remember, WA State was the bulldozer that FORCED Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Hayden sewer districts to spend tens of millions of dollars (That will eventually double and/or triple monthly sewer costs to North Idaho city dwellers) on new “near perfect” sewer treatment technology over the next 10-15 years. WA State is a liberal powerhouse of socialism and they regularly flex their political power. I had not revisited this topic in some time, thanks to Rich Loudenback for getting me to look at it again. The irony is that this has little to do with property owners on either side; it has to do with controlling property owners on both sides, so we must stick together.”
Within hours, Norm Semanko, attorney for NWPOA replied: “This is indeed a HUGE issue. And there is an even BIGGER fish: that would be any claim for federal reserved instream flow water rights in the Spokane River made by the United States and/or any tribe in any future water rights adjudication initiated in Washington State. Such a claim would threaten all existing ground water uses in Idaho, not just future ones, because of the senior priority that would be claimed by the U.S./tribe(s). And you know Washington State would support that, not fight it, paving the way for the claims to be decreed.”
Back to Bob’s original email: “As Rich Loudenback pointed out, CAPR is aware and fighting over in WA. Personally, I feel everyone should fear the central water bank scheme. The government forces itself into something that currently costs us nothing, (water from your rural well) but after they are done re-engineering it, it will cost you …”if” they let you have some. Water that use to be free and available, becomes regulated with the government determining who gets water and how much. The WA government will run the program, which means things like fish, global warming, tribes, etc. will be given passes to move to the front of the line … the average mom & pop rural citizens will have to do without or less than what we need. They will use tax money to sucker farmers to sell water rights forever tying those water rights up. The goal of Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030 is to control human behavior; our job is to rein in our government.”
Another large group of interested Idaho citizens is “North Idaho Water Rights Alliance”, (NIWRA) who collectively represents Benewah, Kootenai, and Shoshone Counties in water adjudication. NIWRA’s spokesperson is Pam Secord. Water is the new gold; those who control water will control everything.
WHAT DOES CAPR NATIONAL SAY ABOUT WATER BANKS?
The Citizens’ Alliance for Property Rights (CAPR) has a Spokane chapter that is very front-and-center in this fight, and they cite the following information:
“Water Banking is NOT a free market; a free market is a system in which the prices for goods and services are determined by the open market and consumers, in which the laws and forces from any intervention by a government, price-setting monopoly, or other authority. Exempt wells are exempt wells!” http://proprights.org/blog/water-rights-where-do-we-stand-hirst-0
“CAPR DOES NOT SUPPORT bills which seek to promote water mitigation banks, trust water rights, or mitigation…”
www.spokanecounty.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/10114 THIS DOCUMENT SAYS A COW WILL ONLY GET 12 GALLONS OF WATER A DAY. Is that enough water for a cow? Do you think 275 gallons a day for indoor use and 26 gallons a day for outdoor use is enough water for homes? What happened to 5,000 gallons a day with exempt wells that rural well owners were ABLE TO USE?
http://www.spokanecounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/13642 – Do you agree that $1,205,000 should be appropriated to account for WATER BANK ACTIVITIES?
http://www.spokanecounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/12735 is the water bank loan for 1 MILLION DOLLARS THAT SPOKANE COUNTY TOOK OUT to manage the water bank.
The last sentence in the first paragraph of this Spokane County link titled INSTREAM FLOWS SAYS IT ALL. https://www.spokanecounty.org/1236/Instream-Flow
“The intent is to set up instream flows throughout the state.” Since an instream flow rule is present in the Little Spokane River WIRA 55 and a water bank is being set up, we can expect that WATER BANKS with mitigation packages which limit water use will become the norm across the state and water wells will become EXTINCT!!!!
DOE’s website says the average household uses 300 gallons a day. See the last sentence in the first paragraph in the DOE link at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/rights/water-right-home.html
This https://www.spokanecounty.org/1498/Water-Bank-Feasibility-Study shows many links regarding meetings in which water banking in WIRA 55 in the Little Spokane River area was discussed since 2014.
Bingham concluded his email with the following informational links:
THE TOTALLY WACKED SYSTEM WA STATE IS IMPLEMENTING TO START “CENTRALIZED WATER BANKS”
(Some text are excerpts from the linked document, other comments are from Bob Bingham)
http://spokanewatersheds.org/wria-55-57-current-projects (bb) Washington State is moving quickly towards “banking” water and implementing a “cap and trade” for water just like carbon. Property owners over there need to be awakened to what it going on or they will lose everything.
The purpose of an instream flow rule is to protect and preserve water in streams for “instream resources” including fish, wildlife, recreational uses, wastewater management, and hydropower. The rule protects river flows and balances the needs of all water users by setting a regulatory threshold to determine when there is water available for new uses.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/rules/557-ov.html On January 27, 2015 Director Maia Bellon signed a new instream flow rule for the Spokane River and Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) Aquifer for the benefit of the community and the river. The rule became effective February 27, 2015.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/rules/images/pdf/spokane/173557-petition-02292016.pdf the Instream Flow Rule for the Spokane River & Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) Aquifer, WAC 173-557
(bb) WA State will write the rules, and then they will get some in their pocket judge to require Idaho to enforce their dogma not just on WA state property owners, but Idaho property owners too. Remember, they already used WA law to reach into Idaho (forcing their wastewater discharge standards upon North Idahoans) … all they need now is the judge or federal agency to force water banking on North Idaho.
Rule Implementation – The rule applies to the main stem of the Spokane River and those portions of Spokane and Stevens Counties within the boundary of the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. After February 27, 2015, all new uses of water from the Spokane River and Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, including new water right permits and permit-exempt ground water withdrawals are required to comply with the rule.
https://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa you can sign up for emails about this activity.
This is a section of the actual WA code text … WAC 173-555-010 General provision. These rules, including any subsequent additions and amendments, apply to waters within and contributing to the Little Spokane River basin, WRIA-55 (see WAC 173-500-040). Chapter 173-500 WAC, the general rules of the department of ecology for the implementation of the comprehensive water resources program, applies to this chapter 173-555 WAC. In the area where this rule and chapter 173-557 WAC overlap, the application of each rule shall be determined as follows:
(1) New water use from the Little Spokane River, its tributaries, and the shallow aquifer associated with the Little Spokane River and its tributaries that is not part of the SVRP aquifer shall be regulated under this rule (chapter 173-555 WAC).
(2) New water use from the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie aquifer shall be regulated under chapter 173-557 WAC, Water resource management program for the Spokane River and Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) aquifer.
For more NWPOA (North West Property Owners Alliance) info contact the secretary/treasurer, Carla Woempner at cw@nwpoa.org or call at 208 956-0638 and for property owners living in Washington State, contact CAPR (Citizens Alliance for Property Rights) Gloria Clark at gclark@air-pipe.com. Pam Secord of NIWRA can be contacted at niwaterrights@gmail.com
Also, see: 2017 NWPOA DINNER: ‘We Can Stop a Lot by Being Big and Strong’ for insight into NWPOA’s fine organization.
