JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – There’s new momentum around a bill that would make it illegal to export Missouri’s waters outside of the state without a permit.

The Missouri House voted in favor of the legislation on Wednesday. With one more vote of approval, it would head to the Senate for consideration.

State Rep. Jamie Burger (R-Benton) introduced HB 2153 earlier this year that in an effort to change Missouri’s water sharing procedures, citing prolonged drought concerns from last year.

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According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as of Thursday, around 36% of Missouri is abnormally dry, while another 32% of Missouri is dealing with a moderate or severe drought. Gov. Mike Parson issued a drought alert last November through May 1, enabling resources for communities hit hard by drought conditions.

As for the bill, it calls for a permit application process through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Within 180 days of the application, the department can approve or deny a proposal for other states to export water from Missouri.

The bill calls for the department to consider “beneficial use” when issuing permits. Burger aims for transparency of domestic, agricultural, industrial, and recreational uses from Missouri to all proposed states.

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According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri shares water with eight states along its borders, in addition to 26 other states upstream or downstream and two Canadian provinces. That stretches as far west as Montana, as far east as Pennsylvania and as far south as Louisiana.

According to the Natural Environmental Education Foundation, around 529 million gallons of water are withdrawn and delivered for domestic use in Missouri each day.

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