WSP10937 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~-' l-"" U'l ex) ...... water rights law in the West to explain why there is so much antagonism between the states and the Federal Government. He stated the major issues related to the nature and extent of Federal claims, or what can the Government have rights for, and how much water can it have. He pointed out that the undecided issues in the determination of Indian claims relate to priority of right, quantity of right, and the use and administraiton of water in relation to non-Indian rights. He concluded that the interest of the Western states is served by not having Federal claims modified by Federal administrators. but rather by having those rights sensibly quantified and finally determined in a court of competent juris- dic tion. OVERVIEW OF WATER LAWS AFFECTING STATE OF TEXAS (106th Meeting, 17-18 September 1980) Mr. Felix McDonald, Chairman of the Texas Water Commission, began his presenta- tion by saying that the law divides water in the hydrologic cycle into several different classes, i.e., atmospheric moisture, diffused surface water, under- ground water, and waters confined in a watercourse, and that different rules of law have arisen in Texas concerning ownership and use of the various classes. He stated that Texas has operated under two divergent and conflicting doctrines, (I) the Riparian Doctrine which allows an owner of land abutting on a stream or lake to use whatever he needs from the available supply (doctrine of abundance) and (2) the Appropriative Doctrine which holds that surface water is the pro- perty of the state and, therefore, the state can grant permits for use during a given time for stated purposes (doctrine of scarcity). As Texas is a water deficit state, it is essential that this natural resource be carefully guarded as to the right to use such water, in what amounts, and for what purpose. Most Texas court decisions have rejected the natural flow doctrine in favor of a "reasonable use rule." FEDERAL OPINION ON INSTREAM FLOW OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN EXISTING LEGAL CONSTRAINTS (l06th Meeting, 17-18 September 1980) Mr. Stewart Olive, who is on intergovernmental personnel assignment to the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Instream Flow Service Group at Fort Collins, Colorado, began his presentation by announcing that his paper was entitled "General Opportunities for Protecting Instream Uses in Western States." He defined instream uses as traditional uses of water, i.e., navigation and hydro- power generation, with new emerging uses such as water quality, fish and wild- life protection, recreational uses, and the delivery of water to downstream requirements. He stated there has been a struggle to protect the certainty of water rights and that the need for certainty has given rise to a consumptive use ideology. STATE OPINION ON INSTREAM FLOW OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN EXISTING LEGAL CONSTRAINTS (l06th Meeting, 17-18 September 1980) Mr. Tom Lay, General Counsel to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, began by saying that his presentation applied to all types of appropriators, i.e., an 11