House to vote on bill bolstering supplies in central Ore.

The House tomorrow is scheduled to vote on an Oregon congressman's bill to allow new hydropower development in central Oregon and provide water to attract technology businesses.

Republican Rep. Greg Walden's H.R. 2640 will be considered under suspension of the rules, which means no amendments may be added and it must receive two-thirds of the vote to pass. The measure was passed by the Natural Resources Committee in July by voice vote.

The bill would reduce by a quarter-mile the length of wild and scenic river protections on the Crooked River to allow construction of a small hydropower facility at the base of Bowman Dam. It would also allow the city of Prineville to use 5,100 acre-feet of groundwater, allowing it to attract businesses similar to the Facebook data center, Walden said.

The city is in talks with multiple technology companies interested in locating in Prineville but concerned about the availability of water, he said.

"I look forward to the full House quickly considering the bill and approving it," Walden said in a statement after the committee's passage of the bill. "This is exactly the kind of common-sense, no-cost legislation that Congress should be taking up to create good jobs at no cost to the taxpayer."

The bill would also allow additional release of water from Prineville Reservoir, potentially benefiting the downstream blue-ribbon trout fishery, Walden said.

"H.R. 2640 provides a unique opportunity to provide a balanced solution for the Crooked River that would benefit all stakeholders," Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the committee's ranking member, wrote in a committee report. "Like all water allocation issues, however, negotiations are difficult and often sensitive. Issues including how, when, and whether water will be released from the dam for fish and other uses remain unresolved."

An identical bill passed the House last Congress.