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<br />,'. <br />~~,.- " <br /> <br />( <br />.' <br /> <br />(( <br />.' <br /> <br />cc <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />., <br /> <br />REMARKS BY MICHAEL J. CLINTON <br />SPECrAL ASSISTANT TO THE <br />ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR WATER <br />AND SCIENCE, DEPARTMENT OF THE <br />I1HERIO?" BEFORE !\NNUP.L MEETING <br />OF COLORADO RIVER WATER USERS <br />ASSOCIATlOI~, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA <br />ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1985 <br /> <br />Needs Versus Rights <br />Settling Indian Water Disputes Through Consensus Negotiations <br /> <br />It is a pleasure to here with so many good friends and to be a part of <br />the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association. <br /> <br />I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today on the important use <br />of Consensus Negotiations in the settlement of Indian water disputes, <br />and how it relates to you as water users. Why are we negotiating? vlhat <br />. <br />can we expect to come from the negotiations? What is the status of the <br />negotiations? These are some of the questions I hope to answer for you <br />t od ay . <br /> <br />I'm sure you are all familiar with the Winters Doctrine which <br />establishes Indian water rights. Under these concepts, sufficient water <br />tc meet the needs of the reservations was reserved from the public <br />dcmain at the time the reservation was established. However since the <br />Winters Doctrine did not quantify or specify how much water was due the <br />Indians, and the normal avenue for quantification lies through the <br />courts, it results in a great deal of unc.ertainty. Settlement through <br />litigation claSSically take 10 to 15 years. If sufficient data are <br />available, negotiations can be completed in less than one year. <br />Therefore, if the parties really want to settle their differences, the <br />certainty of water-entitlements needed for security in planning can be <br />achieved through negotiations at far less cost than through the courts. <br /> <br />The, Tribes, through these settlements, can often become more self- <br />sufficient. Where affected non-Indians agree, they can sell the water, <br />to other users, bringing revenues back to the Tribe. They can use the <br />water for energy development such as (coal mining) or for farming on <br /> <br />0212 <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />- <br /> <br /> <br />I <br />- <br />