Here’s the release from Senator Bennet’s office:

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would ensure farmers and ranchers have access to modern and safe water infrastructure.

Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced The Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2013 on Thursday. Congressman Cory Gardner (R-CO) is leading companion legislation in the House.

The bill would reform outdated tax provisions that hinder ditch and irrigation companies’ ability to raise capital to invest in infrastructure. Current law dictates that mutual ditch and irrigation companies must receive 85 percent of their income from shareholder investment to maintain its non-profit designation. The bill allows these companies to receive other sources of income for operations and maintenance and still maintain its non-profit status. The legislation requires that the extra revenue be used exclusively for operations and maintenance of the ditch and irrigation company.

Currently, when ditch and irrigation companies incur a large capital expense, such as replacing a dam in disrepair, they are severely limited in how they can collect revenue. This legislation eases restrictions while still ensuring that the revenue is used solely for operations and maintenance expenses.

“Water is a precious resource in Colorado, and nobody knows that better than our farmers and ranchers,” Bennet said. “Producers throughout the state face challenges when it comes to distributing water across their land to keep it productive for its agricultural uses. This bill will help give irrigation companies in Colorado greater flexibility to keep this infrastructure in good working condition.”

“Current law is outdated and does not serve the needs of the people of Colorado,” said Gardner. “It’s critical that farmers and ranchers have access to water. This legislation will help prevent the buy and dry-up of farm land and protect agriculture jobs in Colorado.”

“The high cost of maintaining reservoirs, ditches and other irrigation structures comes at great cost to Idaho farmers and ranchers,” said Crapo. “Many in the agriculture community form mutual ditch and irrigation companies to develop and maintain water storage and delivery systems for their land, but due to an outdated provision in our tax code our farmers and ranchers end up being penalized for this very investment. In order to maintain a thriving agriculture sector, we must fix this provision by passing the WATER Act.”

From The Greeley Tribune (Eric Brown):

Water providers for farmers and ranchers could have more dollars and flexibility to upgrade their aging delivery systems if a pair of Colorado lawmakers push through their respective bills in Washington.

Many in Weld County — the 8th-most agriculturally productive county in the United States, lined with hundreds of miles of irrigation canals, spillways, inlets and diversion structures — are eager for passage, since routine upgrades and repairs to these water-delivery systems can add up into the millions of dollars.

Current law says that mutual ditch and irrigation companies must receive 85 percent of their income from shareholder investments to maintain nonprofit designation. In recent years, though, a number of ditch companies have seen an influx in revenue, mostly from an upswing in oil and gas activity in the region, and that increase in dollars has put some companies past the 85 percent threshold, leaving them to be taxed on the additional revenue.

With aging water infrastructure being a concern in rural Colorado, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., recently introduced a bill that would reform tax provisions and allow irrigation and ditch companies to receive additional sources of income and still maintain nonprofit status. The legislation requires that the extra revenue be used exclusively for operations and maintenance of the ditch and irrigation company. Bennet, along with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, introduced their Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2013 on Thursday.

Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., introduced companion legislation in the House last fall.

Several farmers and ditch company representatives in Weld met with Gardner last year to help the congressman piece together his legislation.

The U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation estimated last year that Gardner’s bill would take away about $31 million in tax revenue from the federal government between 2012 and 2021 — “definitely worth it,” Gardner said, stressing how important irrigated agriculture is to the economy and to the nation’s food security.

With the effort now receiving bipartisan support, many in Weld County — like Dale Trowbridge, general manager at the New Cache La Poudre Irrigating Co. in Lucerne — are hopeful, adding that the additional dollars and flexibility from such legislation would “certainly be welcome.” Trowbridge and his company alone oversee about 80 miles of ditches and canals for about 350 shareholders — and the system is 134 years old. “When you’re working with something that big and that old, there’s always upgrades or repairs needed,” he said.

However, replacing the nearly 200 head gates along his system can cost $10,000-$15,000 each, Trowbridge noted. Replacing or doing major work on a diversion structure can add up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Building new facilities to store more water or repairing reservoirs can cost $10 million-plus. Trowbridge didn’t even want to take a crack at estimating the costs of further water-efficiency measures — such as lining irrigation ditches with concrete, to prevent water lost to ground seepage. “Across the board, we see this as a good thing … if we want to make the most of our water,” Trowbridge said.

Here’s a release from US Representative Cory Gardner’s office:

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would ensure farmers and ranchers have access to modern and safe water infrastructure.

Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced The Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2013 on Thursday. Congressman Cory Gardner (R-CO) is leading companion legislation in the House.

The bill would reform outdated tax provisions that hinder ditch and irrigation companies’ ability to raise capital to invest in infrastructure. Current law dictates that mutual ditch and irrigation companies must receive 85 percent of their income from shareholder investment to maintain its non-profit designation. The bill allows these companies to receive other sources of income for operations and maintenance and still maintain its non-profit status. The legislation requires that the extra revenue be used exclusively for operations and maintenance of the ditch and irrigation company.

Currently, when ditch and irrigation companies incur a large capital expense, such as replacing a dam in disrepair, they are severely limited in how they can collect revenue. This legislation eases restrictions while still ensuring that the revenue is used solely for operations and maintenance expenses.

“Current law is outdated and does not serve the needs of the people of Colorado,” said Gardner. “It’s critical that farmers and ranchers have access to water. This legislation will help prevent the buy and dry-up of farm land and protect agriculture jobs in Colorado.”

“Water is a precious resource in Colorado, and nobody knows that better than our farmers and ranchers,” Bennet said. “Producers throughout the state face challenges when it comes to distributing water across their land to keep it productive for its agricultural uses. This bill will help give irrigation companies in Colorado greater flexibility to keep this infrastructure in good working condition.”

“The high cost of maintaining reservoirs, ditches and other irrigation structures comes at great cost to Idaho farmers and ranchers,” said Crapo. “Many in the agriculture community form mutual ditch and irrigation companies to develop and maintain water storage and delivery systems for their land, but due to an outdated provision in our tax code our farmers and ranchers end up being penalized for this very investment. In order to maintain a thriving agriculture sector, we must fix this provision by passing the WATER Act.”