"It really adds insult to injury to ask farmers to pay for the maintenance of canals that were bone dry for most of the year because of a misguided federal decision," said Smith. "This bill will never make up for the total losses of the past year, but it will provide some compensation to farmers. More importantly, it lets Klamath farmers know that the federal government still cares about them and their families." 

"Maintaining irrigation canals that didn't deliver the water that was needed isn't an expense our agricultural community can afford," said Wyden.

Despite the fact that water was withheld from the irrigation districts for much of the planting season, the law requires local farmers and ranchers to maintain the canals. This bill would require a reimbursement for those costs. Irrigation districts would then be required to return the savings to their members. This year, the bill is expected to return over $4 million to irrigators in the Klamath Basin.

The same bill passed the House in November under the sponsorship of Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR).