POCATELLO — Democratic legislators from District 29 fielded questions ranging from mandatory militias to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission during Saturday’s town hall meeting at Pocatello City Hall, but talk of Idaho’s water plan being radically altered focused the crowd of about 25 people attending.

    Former Pocatello Mayor Roger Chase, who is now chairman of the Idaho Water Resources Board, shared information about legislative maneuvering that took place last week in an attempt to scrap much of the language in the plan which was developed after dozens of hearings were held statewide to gather input from industry, agriculture, recreation and conservation interests.

    Adjustments to the plan are made periodically by the board to reflect policy and management changes. The last revision to the plan was adopted by the legislature in 2012.

    Once adopted, the state’s water plan is a key component for establishing regulations and securing federal funding for projects like reservoirs, fish mitigation projects, riparian habitat restoration and flood control.

    “They were going to gut the state water plan,” Chase said about the House Resources and Conservation Committee. Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs is a member of that committee.

    In a Saturday interview, Andrus said his committee, chaired by Rep. Lawerence Denny, R-Midvale, “has every right to change it (the water plan). That’s really our responsibility.”

    A full hearing before the Conservation Committee has been set for Thursday, March 7, at

1:30 p.m.

    The Water Resources Board has eight members appointed by the governor. Board members are a blend of Republicans, Democrats and Independents. In addition to Chase, members are Terry Uhling of Boise, Bob Graham of Bonners Ferry, Jeff Raybould of St. Anthony, Peter Van Der Meulen of Hailey, Charles Cuddy of Orofino, Leonard Beck of Burley and Vince Alberdi of Kimberly.

    By statute, board members are responsible for planning for the conservation, development, use and management of water resources in the state of Idaho. Chase said that given Idaho’s dependency on its water resources, that is no small task. Creating a comprehensive water plan is key to meeting that responsibility.

    Chase said adjustments to the plan had been completed and it was sent to the House Resources Committee for review this session. Last week it came back to the board with tons of deletions and revisions.

    “It was going to devastate our ability to manage Idaho water,” Chase said. “It would have let the private sector decide what to do with water management.”

    And that’s fine with Andrus, especially when it comes to areas deemed wetlands.

    “I don’t think the state should be managing wetlands,” Andrus said. “It’s a violation of property rights.”

    The changes made by House Conservation Committee included removing references to “climate variability,” the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Task Force and the need to protect wetlands, habitat near streams, floodplains and stream channels.

    The former Pocatello mayor said he immediately sounded the alarm.

    “I’m not afraid of confronting people,” Chase said.

    Andrus is sticking to his guns on the issue.

    “We wrote up some things we thought would make water rights for users more friendly,” Andrus said.

    Despite the pending hearing, Chase said it is doubtful sweeping changes to the water plan will get approved this session mainly because a mandated deadline for legislative action will expire.

    Andrus said the 60-day limit for action may not expire this week, depending on legal interpretation of when the plan was first presented to the legislature.

    Chase also said the changes that the legislative committee was trying to make would have jeopardized Idaho’s control of water resources by bringing stricter federal oversight and potential litigation.

    Andrus said he’s not so sure.