A top USDA official toured the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program in Eastern Washington last week.

OGWRP is a regional effort to build the necessary infrastructure for farmers to exchange valid state-issued Odessa groundwater rights for Columbia Basin Project water.

The visit of Robert Bonnie, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, is “quite timely,” said Kristina Ribellia, executive director of the Columbia Basin Conservation District.

The district is submitting six Regional Conservation Partnership Program proposals to NRCS by July 2 for OGWRP’s EL 11.8 and EL 22.1 systems, totaling $150 million in requests.

In 2022, the OGWRP was funded for watershed planning under the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Small Watershed Program, PL-566.

Once the plan is complete and approved, NRCS will request funding to design and construct the remaining pump stations and laterals needed to complete the OGWRP.

The project builds on past significant investments by the state, Reclamation, ECBID, and producers.

“USDA has become an important partner, contributing nearly $50 million to help accelerate the implementation of the OGWRP’s public and on-farm infrastructure over the last two years,” Ribellia said. “Under Secretary Bonnie’s visit underscores the department’s interest and commitment to getting this project on the ground as quickly as possible.”

To date, several partners have provided funding to advance toward project completion, including:

• Washington State Department of Ecology: $158.8 million.

• USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service: $49.4 million.

• East Columbia Basin Irrigation District: $16.8 million.

• Bureau of Reclamation: $10.3 million.

• Landowners: $1.03 million.

“This project has incredible momentum and collaboration across many key partners and elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels,” said Craig Simpson, secretary-manager for the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District.

“This tour was an amazing opportunity to show Under Secretary Bonnie how NRCS’s initial investment of $49.4 million taxpayer dollars is being used to help local farmers,” said Roylene Comes At Night, the state conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington. “This is only our initial investment though; we hope to bring much more funding to the table as the project continues. It is important that we help convert all 87,000 acres of farmland from ground water to surface water because the aquifer is in significant decline and municipal and agricultural water sources are at risk.”