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--> --> House OKs bill to repay irrigation districts PORTLAND (AP) - Klamath Basin farmers hard-pressed by drought and limits on irrigation water would get $4 million to cover maintenance costs for irrigation canals under a bill approved by the U.S. House on Tuesday. The measure introduced by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., which passed the House Resource Committee Nov. 7, was considered by the full House under rules suspension, which sped the process. The measure easily passed on a voice vote and was forwarded to the Senate. In April, the U.S. Department of the Interior decided to withhold irrigation water from Upper Klamath Lake that usually went to farmers. The move was intended to meet Endangered Species Act requirements for sucker fish and Coho salmon. Only a small fraction of the usual water allocation was available to basin farmers, and some lost all of their crops. Some water was later restored but it was too little, too late to make a major difference to most growers. Federal law, however, still required farmers and ranchers to do maintenance on the canals. The bill, HR2828, returns the money spent on upkeep with instruction that it be turned over to their members. "In America, you shouldn't have to pay for something you don't receive," said Walden, who represents the state's eastern region. "This bill is the fair thing to do." Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V., said he would vote for the bill but said the government could have better spent about $750,000 that went to guarding the irrigation project's headgates from "acts of lawlessness" by protesters who broke them open several times this summer. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing