Federal Lands Bill Passes House State Affairs Committee along Party Lines

On Monday, the House State Affairs Committee ran out of time to take testimony from all who signed up to testify on House Concurrent Resolution 22, demanding that the federal government imminently transfer title to all of the public lands within Idaho’s borders directly to the state of Idaho. The Chairman allowed two to testify who had traveled from out of the area so that they would not have to return on Tuesday. 

An Idaho County Commissioner testified on the devastating effects on forest health and wildlife habitat under federal agencies management policies.  He asked the committee to imagine what the landscape on federal lands will look like in 100 years.  A Payette resident urged the support HCR22.

The committee this morning continued with testimony regarding the two resolutions, HCR 22 and also HCR 21, which would implement a study team to make recommendations on implementation. Both are sponsored by Representative Lawrence Denney.

A representative of the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) testified against both resolutions.  He said that federal lands belong to the people of the country—not just Idaho.  He discussed various collaborative efforts in which ICL has participated which allow management decisions to include local values and more emphasis on federal lands for wildlife and fish habitat.  This brings local work to reduce fuel loads and other local efforts into the federal process.  He stated during questioning that working with the National Environmental Policy Act allows for more public input.  It gives locals more of a voice than some of the state processes.

Mike Medberry who has participated in some of the collaborative efforts opened his testimony singing a few lines of “This Land is Your Land” and reminding the committee members that the land in question belongs to the people of Idaho.  It came with promise from the federal government that it would be available to all Idahoans including hikers, motorcyclists, ATV riders, snow mobile riders.

Wally Butler, a natural resource specialist for the Idaho Farm Bureau testified in favor of the two resolutions and pointed out that previous testimony seemed to miss the point of the two pieces of legislation.

Former U.S. Attorney Betty Richardson testified on the issue of law enforcement on federal lands.  She was concerned about the unintended consequences regarding the burden to the state of law enforcement if the state and counties had to take over law enforcement and court expenses.  She pointed out the efforts by federal, state and local law enforcement that discovered illegal marijuana growing on federal laws.  She also mentioned the federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes funds which would no longer be paid under state management.

Members of the committee voted along party lines to send both resolutions to the House with a do-pass recommendation. The committee’s three Democrats voted against both measures. 

Idaho LINE Commission releases report at ICIE Gold Room Workshop

Senator Larry E. Craig speaks at the
ICIE Gold Room workshop

The Idaho LINE Commission has released its final report, saying that while it holds Governor Phil Batt’s 1995 agreement with the federal government as a high priority, there may be some tweaking warranted to take advantage of current economic realities facing Idaho.

LINE Commission Chairman, Jeff Sayer said the report emphasizes safety and environment as non-negotiable.

“We have to protect the aquifer and remain true to the 1995 agreement,” he said. “It’s about the Magic Valley, the tribal lands and anyone who is downstream from the Snake River Aquifer. That’s not lost on us.”

Sayer said the Commission set out knowing this process would be controversial, but he reminded the group that the agreement is based on a premise that there will be a place for the waste to go in 2035. There’s no longer any such place. This puts Idaho in a difficult position, he said.

“We need to find a balance between the burdens that come with the industry and the benefits,” he said. “We need to walk a fine line.”

There are three tenants that Sayer said the Commission agreed cannot be changed.

1)   The initiated cleanup of legacy waste must continue. 

2)   The establishment of the environment and aquifer as highest priority remains in place, as well as

3)   Established provisions to hold federal government accountable.

However, while Sayer said the process of waste disposal and fuel storage has changed dramatically since the 1995 agreement.

“20 years ago, we were becoming the federal dumping ground for the United States’ nuclear waste,” he said based on a Federal policy that focused on isolation, dilution and minimizing exposure.

Today, Sayer said the issues at hand are less environmental, and more focused on economics.

Governor C.L. Butch Otter introduced Sayer and his panel of LINE Commission members at the ICIE annual Gold Room Workshop to a joint session of the House Environment, Energy and Technology and Senate Resources and Conservation Committees February 6 saying the timing was right for an extensive and external review if the INL and related nuclear activities in Idaho.

He said the work of the Commission has confirmed the vision of his predecessors that the INL holds a place as the preeminent state asset that must be maintained and enhanced for the foreseeable future. Sayer agreed.

“The INL is one of our most important assets, hands down,” Sayer said. “There are a lot of folks who say ‘we need to leave nuclear,’” he said, “but nuclear is the core that sets the INL apart from all other systems. If we leave that, we lose all the related contracts.”

Sayer cited economic impact studies showing the INL is responsible for 24,000 jobs and $3.5 million of annual economic impact. Replacing it, he said, will be virtually impossible.

In addition, outreach conducted through the state’s universities will be significant in continuing to fill the vacuum in the work force the industry faces.  The Center for Advanced Energy Studies, or CAES, is a collaboration between the universities and the INL which is garnering world wide attention, Sayer said, and Idaho has an opportunity to build on this work, reaching out to partner with other states.

To date, Sayer noted the Federal government has done a phenomenal job at cleaning up the waste that comes into our state, meeting all the deadlines set fort in the 1995 agreement, except the integrated waste treatment unit set to process liquid waste. That’s one process where the deadline was missed. Our Governor, the DOE and state are working to make sure that’s brought back into the schedule.

The Commission report notes that cleanup still needs to progress, and that permanent fuel disposition is what today’s discussion revolves around. At the same time, he said, there are changes in the industry that spell opportunity for Idaho, and federal funds that have been set aside to manage nuclear waste. How do we take care of spent fuel rods that have used only used 15% of their capacity when they come out of the reactors? The focus of the federal policy is now on storing those until they can be used.

With these issues in mind, the Commission’s recommendations include:

• Continue to work cooperatively with the U.S. Department of Energy and other impacted states to address remaining environmental risks and continue cleanup at the INL site.

• Exercise leadership as the U.S. formulates federal energy and nuclear waste management policies.

• Capitalize on Idaho’s nuclear technology competencies by supporting the growth of existing nuclear businesses, the corresponding infrastructure, and the attraction of new nuclear businesses.

• Invest in its infrastructure to enable INL and Idaho universities to successfully compete for U.S. and global research opportunities.

• Develop and promote the Center for Advanced Energy Studies as a regional, national and global resource for nuclear energy research.

• Strengthen and expand nuclear education and workforce training offerings.

Paramount to the Commissions recommendations was the impetus not to miss out on an economic opportunity for Idaho.

“If we’re not careful, we’ll become a defacto storage site without a meaningful reward.”

Sayer noted the fine stipulated in the 1995 agreement is $65,000 day subject to caveats. The reality, he said, is there will be a significant amount of work to get those funds and the DOE will likely just pull them from the INL budget and reapply them.

Panel member Senator Larry Craig reaffirmed Sayer’s statement the INL has a different place in our energy future than it did 20 years ago.

“The lab I saw in the 1970s and the one I see today are worlds apart,” he said. “The lab we have today is operated in the context of today’s knowledge and today’s science. It’s there today because of this agreement.”

He likened the changing realities and their impact on the 1995 agreement to the US Constitution.

“Some would like to think of (the Constitution) as a static document that should not be changed, that it was endowed by our creators,” he said. “It still has the fundamental principals, but we have found some need to change it along the way.”

“There is now one clean, non emitting form of energy in the world, and it is nuclear. There are hundreds (of plants) being built across the world and others planned. What we can offer to our nation is dynamic, a world class asset, and there is nothing else like it in the world. It sets Idaho apart and sets a dynamic opportunity for all of us.”

Utah Legislator presents on Utah's Transfer of Public Lands Act

Ken Ivory, American Lands Council,
presents to a joint committee

meeting Monday

Earlier this month, House Speaker Scott Bedke said he supported his predecessor's interest in exploring an Idaho version of the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act, which would shift management of acres of federal lands to the states.

Utah and Arizona have passed legislation demanding the federal government turn over control of millions of acres of public acreage in those states. Utah's governor signed the bill, while Arizona's was vetoed by Gov. Jan Brewer. On Monday, Ken Ivory, President of the American Lands Council and the Utah legislator who led passage of that state's bill urged Idaho lawmakers take the same step toward managing public land in its borders. The Utah bill sets a 2014 deadline for the federal government to yield control of nearly 30 million acres. That total does not include national parks and monuments and wilderness.

About 64 percent of Idaho's 53 million acres is in federal control, 31 percent is in private hands and 5 percent is owned by the state, mostly for endowments for schools and other beneficiaries. Ivory sees this transfer as a possible solution that is big enough to take care of the nation's fiscal problems, free up resources for the state, and allow local representation, management and taxation, benefitting the environment, local economies and schools.

Ivory's assertion is based on Article 4 of the constitution, which he says the federal government has misread to claim they can do whatever they want with federal lands. In reality, he says, congress has an obligation to honor an earlier obligation to dispose of the property once the need to hold it in trust for the states to fund the Revolutionary War was no longer relevant. Their continued hold on what should be state property impinges upon states rights.

"Taxing the soil is an attribute of sovereignty, if you don’t have the right as a state to tax your property within your boarders you don’t have sovereignty," he said.

But, assuming Utah is successful in it's efforts to control public lands, will they be able to do so? Ivory says all of the relevant parties have gathered together and agreed that such a transfer of management would be possible, with some adjustments.

"There is definitely going to be a transition," he said. "No one pretends we can flip a switch."

New Legislators Change the Tempo of Normally Routine Rule-Making Process

The House Resources and Conservation Committee continued with the process of rule making last week, with several agencies presenting edits to existing rules having spent the summer collaborating on the shape of those possible changes.

The Idaho Department of Lands presented several rule changes, which were approved:

- Changes to the Idaho Forest Practices Act were precipitated by the Department's response to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality following regular water quality assessments. The rule language was changed to provide flexibility for private landowners for timber sales after a wildfire or infestation, and revised the definition of "clearcut" to align with the scientifically accepted term.

- Grazing, Farming, Conservation, Noncommercial Recreation and Communication Leases - Proposed changes stipulated leasees must submit a grazing management plan, and clarified language for farming and grazing. The Department collaborated on these changes with members of a task force that included representatives from Simplot, Idaho Farm Bureau and Western Watersheds.

- The Issuance of Geothermal Resource Leases - These regarded leases for all state lands and focused on issues regarding shutdowns in the case of public safety, environmental concerns or fire; sampling by a leasee, use of byproducts by a third party, and a modification to the lease assignment section. Ben Otto with the Idaho Conservation League spoke in favor of the rule modifications.

Jake Howard of Idaho Outfitters and Guides presented a rule change regarding wolf trapping which sets guidelines on what outfitters and guides can and cannot do trapping for wolves. The rule has no impact on what the public can do without a guide, and was approved by the committee.

On Monday, the committee will meet for a joint senate/house presentation from the American Lands Council.

The House Environment, Energy & Technology Committee met on Wednesday afternoon to review a rule on public drinking water and three rules on control of air pollution.  Seven of the 17 committee members are newly elected legislators.  The questions were many and the discussion was lively.  The drinking water rule included a section on incorporation by reference adopting changes in federal regulations so that Idaho’s rule is consistent with the federal rule.  While this is usually a pretty standard procedure, some committee members asked why the section of the federal rule wasn’t included with the material they received so they could see exactly what they were being asked to approve.  A motion to adopt the rule failed by one vote. The chairman asked the DEQ staff to come back next week with copies of the federal changes that are to be incorporated so the committee has a complete picture.

Then came the three air pollution rules.  The first rulemaking was to make various “housekeeping” revisions such as updates for consistency with federal regulations, clarification, and typographical corrections to certain air quality permitting rule sections, related definitions, and the toxic air pollutant sections.  Again there were a lot of questions and discussion.  The rule was rejected.

The second rule included some changes to the auto emissions inspection rule – which resulted from the passage of a law in 2008 requiring emissions testing in both Ada and Canyon counties.  In discussion on this particular rule, some members asked if they could reject just the proposed changes or would they have to reject the entire rule—even those parts already in effect that were not changed.  More lively discussion ensued before the committee approved the proposed rule changes.

The final rule was to incorporate by reference so Idaho’s regulations would be consistent with the federal rule for regulation of green house gases.  It was approved by the committee.

Governor's 2013 budget to include increases to education

The Governor, in his State of the State address Monday called for a 3.1 percent increase in General Fund spending, reflecting what he says is a slow, but steady growth in the economy. Some of the highlights:

Education

His requests include increased funding for K-12 education, although he stressed that he does not seek to “simply revisit issues” related to the recently overturned Students Come First measures.

Instead, he’s asking the State Board of Education to seek input from a broad cross-section of stakeholders and identify elements of school improvement on which there is broad agreement.

Economy:

The Governor sited a falling unemployment rate over the last 17 months as evidence of a slowly improving economy. Idaho’s first reduction in unemployment insurance rates in several years will result in about $50 million in savings to Idaho employers in 2013.

LINE Commission:

The governor commended work done by his Leadership in Nuclear Energy or LINE Commission in 2012, saying their work is not about making Idaho “the nation’s nuclear dumping ground,” but about focusing efforts on options for securing, enhancing and leveraging work being done at the Idaho National Laboratory and the Center for Advanced Energy Studies. He pointed out his commitment to enforcing the terms of the 1995 agreement with the federal government to get all nuclear waste out of Idaho by 2035, acknowledging that the path toward that end is unclear now that the Yucca Mountain facility is not planned to open.

Personal Property Tax:

The governor sited the elimination of personal property tax as an area where there is consensus, acknowledging the tax represents for some counties a significant part of how they pay for public services. His budget sets aside $20 million for easing this transition for those counties.

Heath Exchange:

In addressing Idaho’s impending Health Insurance Exchange under the tenants of the Affordable Health Care act, the governor noted that taking advantage of this alternative is better what he says would be “an unresponsive, one-size-fits-all federal exchange wreaking havoc on some of America’s most reasonable costs of coverage,” and preserves the option for Idaho citizens to have a voice in how one element of that law is implemented.

Medicaid:

Rather than following the advice of the Medicaid work group he assembled last summer, which included Health and Welfare Director Dick Armstrong, Representative Fred Wood, Senator Patti Anne Lodge and Senator Dan Schmidt, the governor said he is asking Director Armstrong to lead an effort to flesh out a plan for changing Idaho’s system with an eye toward the potential costs, savings and economic impact. This is a process he hopes will pay off with a specific proposal in 2014.

Physicians:

Idaho has the sixth-oldest physician workforce in America, and we rank 49th in the nation for doctors per capita, a formula the governor says will be trouble unless we step up efforts to get beyond the 20 medical school seats available for Idaho students each year. This is the same number of seats available to us since 1972, when Idaho’s population was less than half what it is today.

To this end, his budget proposal includes two facets:

-       Funding rural rotation training for the residency program at the Boise VA Medical Center,

-       Funding five additional seats in the WWAMI collaborative medical school program at the University of Washington, the extra seats slated for students in the Targeted Rural and Under-Served Track or TRUST program for Idaho students

Inmates:

The Governor noted his support of the Department of Correction’s request for permission to issue $70 million in bonds for a 579-bed secure mental health facility at the prison complex south of Boise, siting the more than one in four inmates dealing with some form of mental illness. This is a revamp of an earlier request by Correction Director Reinke, that had been approved by the legislature.

Wildfire:

This past year, wildfire suppression costs approached a cost of a quarter-billion dollars as well as impacts on the environment, public health, property, and the unrealized benefits of healthy, actively managed forests and rangeland. The Governor’s budget includes a request for $400,000 to help create four more volunteer fire protection associations like one formed by Mountain Home-area ranchers last summer.

“Nonprofit groups like theirs can assist the BLM, Idaho Department of Lands and rural fire districts in fighting and maybe even preventing catastrophic wildfires on the nearly two-thirds of Idaho land ‘managed’ by the federal government,” he said

State Water Plan:

The Governor sited the newly revised State Water Plan being submitted this session as another example of our Idaho preference for actively managing our natural resources. This plan represents the first update since 1996, and it reflects use of the latest technology in better evaluating our needs and the status of our water supplies.

He noted that for the first time includes includes strategies and milestones for executing management policies and evaluating their effectiveness.