HB 3189 threatens our rivers and is supported by ski areas

[ten ply]

HR 3189 that is... I figured this was as good of a place to raise the alarm as any... with the ski/fish crossover.

The bill, which is being pushed by the National Ski Areas Association, Aspen’s SkiCo, as well as the Farm Bureau, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Colorado Petroleum Association, and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association would have sweeping impacts on rivers in the West and nationwide — preventing federal agencies from doing their job to safeguard rivers, fish and wildlife.

H.R. 3189 essentially allows private water users dry up rivers with impunity and would impact a wide variety of river restoration efforts nationwide. The bill could stop the Fish and Wildlife Service from requiring flows that help salmon find fish ladders so that they can safely pass over dams. It could prohibit the Forest Service from requiring water diverters, like hydrofrackers, to leave some water in streams on National Forests to keep native cutthroat trout alive. It would potentially destroy broadly supported multi-year and multi-million dollar settlement agreements — such as the ones on the Klamath and San Joaquin rivers — to restore salmon and steelhead fisheries at hydropower facilities, and would even set back efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay.

From: http://www.americanrivers.org/blog/o...ndustrys-bill/

A solid overview and history... note that even the NSAA thinks the bill is too broad, yet they still support it: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com...a4bcf887a.html

[LightRanger]

I have a hard time believing it'll make it through the Senate. The bottom of the Bozeman Chron article notes "a similar bill has been stalled in the State since October."

I agree with the enviros, though, that it could be interpreted to prevent fisheries agencies from imposing instream flow requirements on operators of dams and other water infrastructure.