Laserfiche WebLink
The diversion and delivery of water for beneficial use through a water conveyance system from one stream or <br />water body to another, without subjecting the water to intervening industrial, municipal or commercial use, shall <br />not require an NPDES permit under Section 402 of the CWA. States shall determine the best method to control, if <br />necessary, pollutants contained in water transported by water conveyance structures, including non -point source <br />control methods. <br />Federal Mandates: <br />1. The CWA shall allow for adequate phase -in time for new limitations or standards so as not to impose unnecessary <br />or substantial hardships on regulated entities or their constituents unless dictated by substantiated societal health <br />and safety considerations. <br />2. Actions required by the CWA shall be supported by adequate federal funding. <br />3. No action shall be taken under the CWA until a peer- reviewed benefit cost analysis demonstrates that the benefits <br />of the proposed action are clearly greater than the costs. <br />4. No private property shall be taken under the CWA without just compensation to the owner, as required by the <br />Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. <br />Position Statement - -- Clean Water Act - -- (Resolution 2006 -2) <br />The issue addressed in item 3 of the " NPDES Permits" section of Resolution 2006 -2 is exemplified by the decision <br />of the United States Supreme Court in South Florida Water Management District vs. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, where <br />the Supreme Court held that a point source need not be the original source of a pollutant as long as it conveys the pollutant <br />to waters of the United States, and the appeal pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in City of New <br />York vs. Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Both of these cases involve the transfer of water from one water <br />body to another without altering the transported water in any way. <br />Numerous national and regional groups, including numerous Western states and their agencies, have supported the <br />South Florida Water Management District and the City of New York, whose authority concerning water conveyance is <br />being challenged. The U.S. Congress and the Supreme Court have supported the rights of states in matters of state water <br />allocation and use, including transfers for beneficial consumptive use. In addition, EPA has adopted an agency <br />interpretation dated August 5, 2005, stating that water transfers — that is, activities that convey or connect navigable waters <br />without subjecting the water to intervening industrial, municipal or commercial use — are not subject to NPDES permitting <br />requirements under the CWA. The negative economic and social implications of imposing an NPDES permit on these <br />transfers could be enormous and could be extremely disruptive to the tens of millions of Western residents who depend <br />upon the extensive water infrastructure conveying water resources across the vast distances of the West. <br />Resolution No. 2006 -3 - -- RECLAMATION <br />The Colorado River Water Users Association urges that Reclamation honor commitments made in the past relative to <br />maintenance of project infrastructure and to the storage and release of water on behalf of contract holders: <br />Reallocation of Project Purposes and Project Operation Changes. <br />Project benefits shall not be reallocated without the consent of project beneficiaries. Beneficiaries shall not pay <br />for project benefits reallocated to another use. Changes in project operations shall not impair existing contracts or <br />water rights under state law. <br />2. Environmental Mitigation <br />The federal government shall pay for environmental enhancement and mitigation. Existing contracts shall not be <br />surcharged for environmental enhancement or mitigation. <br />Water Conservation <br />"Conserved water" shall not be reallocated in violation or derogation of existing contracts or water rights. <br />7 <br />