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EXPORTS: APPLES TO FLOW BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CHINA Page 7 Capital Press The West s Weekly FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 VOLUME 88, NUMBER 22 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM NO WATER FOR NOW $2.00 Fight over Clean Water Act rule enters new phase Political action likely, lawsuit possible, experts say By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Photos by Dan Wheat/Capital Press An irrigation outfl ow on the Roza canal sits high and dry with McDonald Road bridge in background. Orchards and vineyards are on either side. This is about seven miles northeast of Prosser, Wash., Growers in Washington state’s Roza Irrigation District go without so they can have water left for late summer Area in detail Capital Press water for later in the growing season. The Roza and other irrigation districts throughout the Yakima Basin were forced to turn to reservoir water ear- lier than normal because of the scant Cascade snow pack. Klingele, 51, farms the land his father farmed sev- en miles north of Prosser. He raises apples, cherries, pears and juice and wine grapes. He hopes for full crops but fi gures the fruit might be smaller, tonnage may be down and he might have pockets of poor quality due to less water. 2 Wash. Wenatchee Col 97 90 28 R i v er Ellensburg 90 26 Roza Irrigation District Selah Yakima 241 N 24 240 Sunnyside 15 miles aR i ver m ROSSER, Wash. — The Roza canal normally runs big and fat through Brad Klinge- le’s apple orchard and vine- yard this time of year. It’s 20 feet wide, about 5 feet deep and full of that precious water from the Cascade Mountains, the lifeblood of more than 350,000 acres of farm- land in the Yakima Valley. Some 72,000 acres of that is within the Roza Irrigation District, stretching 95 miles from Selah to Benton City. But this May, the Roza canal is dry. The irrigation district’s board voted to shut it down for several weeks to save a um b i P By DAN WHEAT 97 22 221 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Turn to WATER, Page 12 MORE DROUGHT COVERAGE ON PAGE 3 Brad Klingele, a tree fruit and grape grower in Prosser, Wash., is shown on May 20. • Some fear SJ Valley ag could go way of timber industry • Extra days may be added to Owyhee Project water season • Moisture could help Idaho groundwater users • Governor declares drought in 8 Oregon counties The fi ght over the U.S. En- vironmental Protection Agen- cy’s Clean Water Act rule is entering a new phase now that the controversial regula- tion has been fi nalized. Opponents of the rule are expected to galvanize polit- ical pressure against it and potentially resort to litigation against the government. Agriculture groups fear that EPA’s new interpretation of the statute will greatly ex- pand its authority over any water on farmland, while the agency contends the rule is necessary to clear up uncer- tainties about the law’s scope. An initial review of the nearly 300-page fi nal rule indicates that EPA hasn’t re- solved the industry’s main concerns about regulatory overreach, said Dustin Van Liew, executive director of the Public Lands Council, which represents ranchers who rely on public grazing allotments. While the fi nal rule has set some benchmarks for deter- mining which water bodies will be regulated, much lee- way is still left in the hands of bureaucrats, he said. The American Farm Bu- reau Federation is particularly concerned about EPA’s juris- diction over ditches, ephem- eral streams and isolated wetlands that may be found in fi elds, said Mace Thornton, the group’s executive director of communications. “There will be a lot of law- yers and policy experts going over the rule with a fi ne- toothed comb,” he said. Farm groups will be press- ing Congress to stop the rule from taking effect, Van Liew said. The House has already passed a standalone bill to block its implementation and the Senate is considering a similar action, he said. President Obama would Turn to EPA, Page 12 Inslee taps Ecology water offi cial to lead ag department Washington Farm Bureau praises governor’s choice By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA — Washing- ton’s incoming agriculture director says he has enough hands-on experience with farming to know it’s not his fi eld. Derek Sandison dabbled in his spare time in the 1990s with a vineyard near Ellens- burg. “I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I wasn’t any good at it,” he said. “I learned to leave that kind of work to a profes- sional.” Sandison’s occupation for several years has been to work with farmers and others to increase water supplies in Central and Eastern Washing- ton. Turn to SANDISON, Page 12 THIS WEEK IN THE CAPITAL PRESS Iris yellow spot virus detected in volunteer onions OSU researchers have alerted onion growers to be on the lookout for iris yellow spot virus. Page 4 Scientists pursue gene- disrupting pesticides Fruit fl y sets back approach to controlling insects with biological methods. Page 11 Offi ce of Columbia River Director Derek Sandison stands on Pinto Dam in Grant County. Sandison, who has an extensive background in water is- sues, has been appointed state agriculture director. Washington Department of Ecology