By State Sen. Daryl Schmitt (R-Jasper)
As Hoosiers across the state know, water is a precious resource that impacts everybody's daily lives.
Whether you’re a farmer who needs water for your crops, or if you just want to ensure you have plentiful drinking water in your home, water is vital to everyone.
While the state is blessed with ample water resources, it is not evenly distributed throughout Indiana.
This year, Senate Republicans have prioritized a bill that would set up a mechanism to allow major water-transfer projects under limited circumstances, without jeopardizing access for Hoosier households and businesses.
Senate Bill 4 would create two separate permit processes for water-transfer projects through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a project that moves water from one major basin to another, and Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) for a long-distance project that stays within the same basin.
A project would need to obtain a permit from the DNR if the plan is to transfer more than 10 million gallons of water per day from one basin to another.
If a project would move water to a different basin and involve a large, long-distance pipeline, it would need to get permits from both the DNR and IURC.
On Tuesday, the bill unanimously passed the Senate and now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
As always, constituents can reach out to me with any questions or concerns they may have by filling out a "Contact Me" form at IndianaSenateRepublicans.com/Schmitt or by phone at 1-800-382-9467.
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State Sen. Daryl Schmitt (R-Jasper) represents Senate District 48,
which includes Crawford, Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike and Spencer counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
