A New Path for Western Water Issues

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in the state House and Senate Center ana tine rCnnagvi =, wasilres protect homeland seen- al wisdom within some law- enforcement Navarrette Jr. o (rnavar Morning le" Joanne Ditmer has written on environ that they were suggested by law agencies, and the anti - immigrant lobby, com) works for The Dalllas las M Morrning lent, specifically the Texas De- was that noncitizens were less trustwor- News. mental and urban issues for The Post since 1962. • iew the federal government owns in places like Black Canyon. The usual approach to resolving these disputes is for states and the federal gov- ernment to hire experts and lawyers to battle against each other in court. This liti- gation can cost millions of dollars — with taxpayers funding both sides. The new direction we hope to take in- volves communication, consultation and cooperation between federal agencies and the states rather than decades of litiga- tion. In the case of Black Canyon, the Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation worked diligently with each other and then with the state to answer the question of "how much." The first priority was to ensure the con- servation of Black Canyon National Park. Under a filing with the Colorado Water Court in January 2000, the department had asked for 300 cfs plus the entire spring rise of the Gunnison River as part of the park's reserve water. This is far more water than the park has received in recent memory or will ever S need. In fact, it would require of Reclamation to spend hundreds of mil- lions. of dollars to retrofit its upstream fa- cilities simply to deliver that amount of water. The result potentially would have been the periodic flooding of down -river cities such as Delta, and uncertain water supplies for many towns and ranches. Instead, the Park Service and Reclama- tion examined exactly how the needs of the park would be met, then found a way to protect park needs in cooperation with the state. A key innovation is using a state "in- stream flow" right to protect the park, which avoids the turf battle that some- times blocks settlements. The Park Ser- vice knows it will get the amount of water necessary to protect the park. Reclama- tion knows how to manage its water facili- ties. Local communities and citizens know their water rights are secure. The certainty provided by this., agree- ment will help both the local econ&ny and natural resource conservation, since both function better when everyone under- kr „ 'ra same time, the agree - meat provides certain - t� ty to nearby commum- r ' h ties upstream regard - ing their water rights under state law. ” Our hope is this agreement represents a new direction in dealing with Western ;> water disputes that in- volve federal areas A, such as Black Canyon. in Over the past three r --- decades, these dis- c putes often have cen- nentary tered on how much water the federal gov- gtonas ernment has a right to as "reserve" . water. States have opposed ifederal. claims, since large federal can disrupt state systems for allo- water. Courts have ruled that the it right to water exists but have sel- clearly identified how much water stands exactly what their water rights are:,' .., While water issues vary and one size .,, does not fit all, the collaborative process o , the department and the state engaged m -- - to reach this agreement holds great prom ise for untangling many water - rights dis =t , putes involving federal lands. The Interior Department plans to look for other places to reach similar agree-" ments in Colorado and throughout the West. a We will bring states that are directlya` affected by the federal government's claim of water rights into the process, rec- ognizing they are responsible for manag- ing their water rights systems and can„ share the responsibility for protecting wa Y ter resources on some federal lands. Working together, we can chart a new path through the quagmire of Western wa ter rights, providing both certainty for, communities and protection for our natu -' ral resources. 4 Gale A. Norton is the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. path for Western water issue