© 2025 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
There will be intermittent power reductions for KBSX and KBSU throughout the next week, including weekends.

Sens. Crapo, Risch back bipartisan clean water bill

FILE - Old growth Douglas fir trees stand along the Salmon river Trail on the Mt. Hood National Forest outside Zigzag, Ore.
Rick Bowmer
/
AP
FILE - Old growth Douglas fir trees stand along the Salmon river Trail on the Mt. Hood National Forest outside Zigzag, Ore.

Idaho’s two Republican senators are signing on to a bipartisan bill that would triple the budget of a program to clean up water sources in national forests.

Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch want to expand grants that go to farmers, utilities and cities to rehabilitate these polluted waters.

If passed, it would prioritize projects involving wildfire restoration, drinking water and climate change resiliency.

Under the Headwaters Protection Act, annual grants for the Water Source Protection Program would increase from $10 million to $30 million.

The bill would also establish $30 million in annual funding for the forest service to evaluate watersheds and ensure current management practices don’t degrade healthy water sources in the future.

“We must support watershed restoration projects that encourage collaboration in small, rural and disadvantaged communities and Tribes without exerting federal control over private lands,” Crapo said in a statement Thursday.

“When managed properly, National Forests can provide the foundation for healthy watersheds, providing clean drinking water and irrigation,” said Risch. “The Headwaters Protection Act will allow community, industry, and federal partners to improve and protect critical forest water sources for decades to come.”

Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both Democrats from Colorado, and Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico) co-sponsor the proposal as well.

Copyright 2025 Boise State Public Radio

I cover politics and a bit of everything else for Boise State Public Radio. Outside of public meetings, you can find me fly fishing, making cool things out of leather or watching the Seattle Mariners' latest rebuilding season.

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.