Legislators moved forward a water bill Tuesday that would effectively keep information about the state’s major water users from the public.
The bill would allow the state Department of Natural Resources to release how many major water users there are in each county and how much water is collectively used by all of a county’s major water users.
Major water users, as defined by the state, have the ability to use more than 100,000 gallons of water a day — the kind of amounts only large industrial entities are capable of using, like farms and agricultural enterprises.
Statewide there are nearly 90,000 farms, mostly family-owned, according to the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
“The thing we’re looking to do here is protect the identities of the farmers that are using this to not be, then, an open record,” said Rep. Kurtis Gregory, a Republican from Marshall, who chaired the committee meeting on Tuesday.
Those who have testified against the bill in previous committee hearings said they fear that major water users are preparing to export water across state lines, and that Diehl’s bill would allow them to operate in secrecy if they do.
Proponents of the bill have previously said that there is no penalty if water users don’t report their water use to the state. If the water users knew information about who they are and how they’re using water would be confidential, they wouldn’t be as hesitant to report their water use to the government, proponents have said.
Representatives from the Missouri Farm Bureau, the Missouri Soybean Association and the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association have also previously testified in support of the bill.
