Water Users present bill to clarify what constitutes “floodways” versus drainages or ditches and “development” versus maintenance

Norm Semanko with the Idaho Water Users Association presented a bill to the House Resources and Conservation Committee clarifying what constitutes a floodway versus a drainage or a ditch and “development” in a floodway versus maintenance. “Lately, we’ve had local entities trying to require a permit to make maintenance improvements – what constitutes ‘regulatory creep’ by agencies,” he said, presenting a letter from the city of Meridian to a Nampa and Meridian irrigation districts saying that their performing regular maintenance on a Ten-Mile Creek required a permit. The bill was sent to the House for consideration.