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Savage Rapids debate flows to Salem By PETER WONG SALEM -- Savage Rapids Dam provoked a partisan fight Wednesday as a House committee approved two bills guaranteeing Rogue River water to the Grants Pass Irrigation District without tying that right to the dam's removal. The House Water and Environment Committee cleared both bills by 5-4 votes, Republicans for and Democrats against them, and set the stage for a noisy debate in the full House. Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber vetoed a similar bill four years ago. "This is a fruitless effort," said Rep. Jackie Taylor, D-Astoria. "If we pass them, the governor is going to veto them, I feel pretty sure of it. We are beating a dead horse, over and over." But Rep. Jason Atkinson, R-Jacksonville, said the federal government should pay for replacement pumps if it thinks the 78-year-old dam is a barrier to coho salmon, which it declared a threatened species two years ago. "Until the National Marine Fisheries Service comes here and gives us money for what it is demanding, I will support keeping water in the canal," said Atkinson, who moved for approval of both bills. The state Water Resources Commission took away the district's right to supplemental water last year because it was tied to a promise by the district to work toward removing the dam, which sits on the Jackson-Josephine county border. The district has appealed the cancellation to the Oregon Court of Appeals. House Bill 3065 and House Bill 3075 would give the district a right to draw a supplemental 71.79 cubic feet per second, dropping to 52.32 cfs on Oct. 15. The only difference between the two bills is that House Bill 3075 lets the district draw the water once a task force completed its recommendations. It's not a real difference because the task force finished its work at the end of 1996. GPID board chairman Dennis Becklin, who headed the task force, and state water resources director Martha Pagel sat at the same table in the committee hearing room Wednesday. Both wore black, but that was about all they had in common as they argued their cases again. Becklin said the bills represent "ground zero" in the controversy about the dam, "and they are absolutely crucial to avert a catastrophe in my community." But Pagel said the Legislature would set a bad precedent by approving water rights in a specific case. "This is not about denying water to a community," she said. `This is about the commission's decision that the district failed to comply with the conditions of its water right." The committee heard testimony on the bills earlier this month. Fishing and environmental groups oppose the bills; the only supporters were district officials. Another bill (Senate Bill 987), which would require legislative approval before a dam can be removed, is awaiting a vote in the Senate. The Legislature shelved a similar bill in 1995 after Kitzhaber threatened to veto it. Just before the House committee voted out its bills, Rep. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, said only half in jest: "Let the show begin." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA