Laserfiche WebLink
<br />OIJB81 <br /> <br />., <br /> <br />SpecIfically, It is evident that reserved rights are not sufficIent <br /> <br /> <br />to meet the needs of al I federal agencies In order to carry out al I <br /> <br />the federal land management responsibIlities mandated by Congress. Some <br /> <br /> <br />agencies may have very limited reserved rIghts; others have more of <br /> <br />such rights, but must also establish water rights by other mechanisms <br /> <br />for secondary uses authorized by Congress which are not among the purposes <br /> <br />/I <br /> <br />of a particular reservation. Some agencies may have a choice In some <br /> <br />cIrcumstances whether to assert a reserved water right or other water <br /> <br /> <br />right In order to perfect the rIght to water needed to carry out federal <br /> <br /> <br />programs. In realIty, then, the reserved right Is IntImately linked <br />to the agency's general water rights policies and procedures. <br />There are substantial uncertaIntIes and unresolved questions con- <br /> <br />cernlng non-reserved water rIghts as well, and It therefore became clear <br /> <br />to the Task Force that we could not fully carry out our responsibilities <br /> <br />without addressIng generally the mechanisms by which the Federal Government <br /> <br />secures water rights suffIcient to carry out congressionally-mandated <br /> <br />management programs on the federal lands, whether reserved rights are <br />Involved or not. <br /> <br />D. Report Mainly Directed at 17 Western States <br />The Task Force quickly decided that, although some non-Western <br />States have genuine concerns about state-federal water right relation- <br />ships, the most pressIng problems relate to the more arid western states <br />whose water rights systems, based In whole or In part on appropriatIon <br />and actual use. are more serIously affected by federal reserved rights. <br /> <br />-11- <br />