JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Two lawmakers have introduced legislation that would make it illegal for states to export Missouri’s waters outside of the state without a permit.
Missouri State Sen. Jason Bean (R-Holcomb) and State Rep. Jamie Burger (R-Benton) are both pushing for change with Missouri’s water sharing rules, citing prolonged drought concerns from last year.
A state climatologist told FOX 2 in December that Missouri experienced a “one-in-20-year drought event” based on lack of rain and snowfall throughout last year. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported around 98% of the state experienced some extent of a drought last year.
The dry stretch, most notably from April through November, marks the seventh-driest growing season since 1895. This drought has impacted farmers, livestock, and navigation along the rivers, also prompting concerns with drinking water.
The two bills aim to address how Missouri supplies water to other states.
Bean’s bill (SB 782) calls for a permit application process through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Within 180 of the application, the department can approve or deny the proposal. The bill also requests that the department “consider existing and proposed in-state uses” of water others are seeking for distribution. It also calls for a review of all approve water exports every three years.
Last week, Bean analyzed the water shortage situation in Kansas for perspective to his bill, telling the Missouri Independent, “We don’t want to lose our water because they’ve mismanaged theirs.”
Burger’s bill (HB 2153) also calls for a permit process and for “beneficial use” to be considered. His legislation aims for transparency of domestic, agricultural, industrial and recreational uses from Missouri to all proposed states.
The bill’s language reads, “In making the determinations of need and beneficial use, the director shall consider the availability of all water sources and other relevant matters as the director deems appropriate and may consider the availability of groundwater as an alternative source.”
Bean’s bill cleared a Senate committee on Tuesday, and a House committee backed Burger’s bill in January. The next steps for both pieces of legislation remain to be determined.
Regarding the legislation, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources states, “We not only share water with the eight states along our border, we share water with a total of 26 other states (as either an upstream or downstream state) and two Canadian provinces.” That stretches as far west as Montana, as far east as Pennsylvania and as far south as Louisiana.
According to the Natural Environmental Education Foundation, around 529 million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered for domestic use in Missouri each day.
