{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221123934/http://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=b8314767-eaf3-4fdd-b1b2-4315eb19c93a", "Risch and Simpson Praise Passage of Simpson's Water Bill in Senate Committee", "2013-11-21", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Jim Risch", "R000584", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Today a bill authored by Congressman Mike Simpson to permit existing water diversions in Idaho wilderness areas was passed by the Senate committee with jurisdiction on the issue.\u00a0 The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which Senator Jim Risch is a member, passed H.R. 876, the Idaho Wilderness Water Resources Protection Act, by voice vote.\u00a0\n\u201cPredating the existence of the wilderness areas, private land owners had received permits to maintain and repair water diversions that existed on national forest system lands,\u201d said Risch. \u00a0\u201cMany of the permits have since expired leaving those who own the water diversions without options for maintaining their water systems. This legislation would protect these private property rights and give the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to reissue and issue special use authorizations to the owners of these diversion facilities within the Frank Church and the Selway-Bitteroot Wilderness areas.\u201d\nThere are a number of water diversions in both the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and the Selway-Bitteroot Wilderness areas that have existed since before the wilderness areas were established.\u00a0 Simpson\u2019s bill would allow the U.S. Forest Service to issue special use permits to owners of water systems, authority that it currently lacks.\n\u201cThese water diversions already existed when the area was designated as wilderness,\u201d said Simpson.\u00a0 \u201cThe owners of these facilities already hold a valid water right under Idaho\u2019s law, and they\u2019ve been using the diversion to provide water on their own land since before the wilderness designation.\u00a0 This bill goes back and provides the appropriate authorization that the wilderness acts overlooked, giving private land owners the ability to properly maintain and repair these diversions.\u201d\nSimpson added, \u201cAt some point in the future, all of these 25 existing diversions will need work done to ensure their integrity, and H.R. 876 will allow needed work to begin without delay.\u00a0 I\u2019m pleased that it has moved another step in the legislative process today, and I look forward to it being passed by the Senate and signed into law.\u201d\nH.R. 876 now awaits consideration on the floor of the U.S. Senate.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221123934/http://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=b8314767-eaf3-4fdd-b1b2-4315eb19c93a"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.984141767024994, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}