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<br />
<br />0007J3
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<br />I. INTRODUCTION
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<br />T~e tw? prongs of ill?, comm~nts today - watershed p~~tec:ion and. managem~nt ~nd its int~l'stat~"
<br />dimenSions - are particularly tImely. Interstate water lItIgatIon has mcreased sIgnlficantlyovetthe
<br />past decade - disputes over the Canadian River, Arkansas River, and Republican River compaotSc:
<br />Virginia's rights on the Potomac River, and new disagreements among the states of the NortbPlatJ::
<br />River Basin have ~een or curr:ently are before ~he Supre~e Co~rt, while :"mblings fro~ Geot$i~:t
<br />Alabama and Flonda concerDlng half a dozen mterstate fivers m that region, about which w~ wurf
<br />hear more in the next panel, may portend the Court being presented with the first majoreMt~hlf::
<br />seaboard interstate water dispute since the Delaware River litigation of the 1930s. CorrespondiQgly</,
<br />watershed protection and management, including restoration, 1 is an issue that is increasingiy ap~,~
<br />of such interstate turmoil, not only to keep the source of the water on which we are all dependent"."
<br />pure as possible, but because Americans are increasingly concerned about the adverse impacij'6i'
<br />deteriorating watersheds on fish, wildlife, and aesthetic values.-. ~~~~1~~
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<br />At the outset, let me define what I mean by ''watershed protection and management" in the Cbn~~t~<\'
<br />of my remarks. I believe it has at least three dimensions. First is the 'hreal" dimension, with neatt~'
<br />unanimous agreement on the nationat2 and internationallevels3 that a river basin or subbasin is ." .
<br />optimal geographic area for planning and implementing water resource development atl
<br />management programs. Second are the substantive planning and management goals for a watershe<t:
<br />most of which are set forth in the Clinton Administration's "Clean Water Action Plan" announ~a.
<br />three years ago today. Third is the coordination mechanism for a cooperative planning ana,.
<br />management effort by various local, state, native American, federal, and international jurisdictio; ."
<br />This mechanism may be very informal, as historically has been the case, or very structured, such~'
<br />interstate compact commissions. The federal agencies have recently announced a "Unified, Feder(
<br />Policy for a Watershed Approach to Federal Land and Resource Management" which lays outa'
<br />coordination mechanism for exercising their highly important roles in watershed management. 65;',;
<br />Fed. Reg. 62566 (Oct. 18,2000). It is to be hoped that it will achievea significant improvemenf",
<br />over their historic performance. To accomplish more effective and equitable federal participation'
<br />in watershed management I have stated my strong preference elsewhere4 for the federal-interstate
<br />
<br />lSee, e.g., R.J. Glennon and J.E. Thorson, Federal Environmental Restoration Initiatives: An
<br />Analysis of Agency Performance and the Capacity for Change, 42 Ariz.L.Rev. 483 (2000).
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<br />2See, e.g., Report of the Senate Select Committee on National Water Resources, S.Rep. No. 29, sJth
<br />Cong., 1st Sess. 17-18 (1961); National Water Commission, Water Policiesfor the Future, Chs. lO-
<br />II (GPO 1973); Water in the West: Challenge for the Next Century, Report of the Western Water
<br />Policy Review Advisory Commission 6-4 through 6-9 (June 1998) (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National
<br />Technical Information Service Pub. No. PB99l00026).
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<br />3See, e.g., Charles E. Bourne, "The Development oflnternational Water Resources: The 'Drainage
<br />Basin Approach'" in International Water. Law, Patricia Wouters, ed. (Kluwer Law Int. 1997).,
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<br />4See,e.g., Muys, Interstate Water Compacts (July 1971), U.S. Dep't of Commerce, National
<br />Technical Information Service (PB 202998), a study prepared for the National Water Commission;
<br />Allocation and Management of Interstate Water Resources: The Emergence of the Federal-Interstate
<br />Compact, 6 Denver Jour. of Int. Law and Policy 307 (1976); Approaches and Considerations for
<br />Allocation of Interstate Waters, ABA Section of Natural Res., Energy, and Env. Law, Water Law:
<br />(Footnote Continued)
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