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 Legislation to change MWCD to receive further review Members of the Ohio General Assembly will spend additional time later this year reviewing proposed changes in law that could affect the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) and potentially all of the state's 20 conservancy districts. An Ohio Senate committee, citing the need for further review, opted against taking any action this week on a proposal to change the governance structure of the MWCD prior to the General Assembly's summer break that begins next week. In the Ohio House, members of the Economic Development and Environment Committee approved a nearly identical proposal, but the measure was not expected to be voted on by the full House prior to the summer recess. According to the proposed bills, the number of members of the MWCD Board of Directors would increase from five to nine and appointments to the Board would be made by county commissioners, instead of being made by the judges on the 18-member Conservancy Court that has jurisdiction over the MWCD. The bills - House Bill 47 and Senate Bill 170 - also would exempt churches and church-owned properties from paying any assessments levied by the MWCD for maintenance in the system of reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum River Watershed that reduce flooding and promote water conservation. MWCD officials regularly have been meeting with legislators over the last year since numerous bills were introduced by lawmakers to address the conservancy district s plans to levy an assessment and fund needed maintenance and safety repairs for the reservoirs and dams. Hearings in the House on the proposals have been conducted since April. Recently, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer issued a letter in support of legislation that removes judges from the Conservancy Court in the MWCD, and encouraged that the law be expanded to remove judges from the courts of all conservancy districts in the state. Over the next few weeks, officials from the state's other conservancy districts are expected to discuss Moyer's suggestions and any proposed changes to the law, said John M. Hoopingarner, MWCD executive director/secretary. "Generally, the MWCD is opposed to any legislation that singles out only one conservancy district," Hoopingarner said. "We do support a comprehensive review of the conservancy law in a process that involves all stakeholders, agencies and partners and that would result in a possible revision of the law statewide that is embraced by this group." "We pledge our cooperation with the General Assembly and Ohio's conservancy districts in this effort." The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan for flood reduction and water conservation in the Muskingum River Watershed, never has levied a maintenance assessment. According to the proposal, an estimated $10 million to $11 million annually would be generated from property owners in the MWCD region for projects to safeguard the system of reservoirs and dams originally constructed in the 1930s. National, state and local experts and agencies identified about $270 million worth of needed projects in the system that are the responsibility of the MWCD. The MWCD reports that the assessment and projects, including partnering programs with the federal government and other agencies and participants, will begin as early as 2008. The Conservancy Court will hold a session Aug. 1 to hear evidence to determine whether to confirm the appraisal of benefits in the MWCD s plan. Ohio law requires that conservancy districts demonstrate that the benefits resulting from the Official Plan of the MWCD will exceed the costs before a maintenance assessment may be levied. A formal benefit analysis prepared by a national watershed expert has reported that the estimated future benefits resulting from the Official Plan of the MWCD could reach as high as $2.5 billion, and up to a 16-to-1 ratio of economic return on the initial investment in specific projects. Estimated benefits accruing to date exceed that amount for flood reduction alone. Projected assessments can be reviewed online at the MWCD website at www.mwcd.org, and the MWCD also can be contacted toll-free at (877) 363-8500. The MWCD has projected that 94 percent of the estimated 500,000 parcels subject to the assessment would pay an annual fee of $12 per year. A large portion of the collected assessment funds, up to half of the $270 million total, would be used to meet federal cost-share obligations for safety repairs at several dams. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which owns and operates the dams in the Muskingum River Watershed, estimates safety costs for maintenance of four dams (Beach City, Bolivar, Dover and Mohawk) and one levee (Zoar) on a federal priority list is between $510 million to $680 million, with a federally mandated cost-share obligation from the MWCD of between $95 million to $135 million. The MWCD manages the reservoir areas behind the dams in the Muskingum River Watershed, while the USACE owns and operates the dams. The reservoirs, some of which have permanent pools of water (lakes) for water conservation and recreation programs, hold floodwaters temporarily for safe release downstream during flooding conditions. Most of the remaining work to be completed in the MWCD maintenance plan also would be cost-shared with other agencies and would lead to the protection and creation of jobs in the region. Because of its relationship with the USACE and the income derived primarily from the recreational use and natural resources stewardship of its lands and waters, the MWCD never has levied an assessment. However, the rising costs associated with safety upgrades and maintenance in the system of reservoirs and dams are much more than the MWCD routinely can generate from its traditional revenue sources. The counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD jurisdiction are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Washington and Wayne. For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org.
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