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<br />required to create a site remediation plan, with the goal of attaining Clean Water Act standards, A permit,
<br />available to state, tribal, and federal govemments, would require compliance with water quality laws, but it
<br />would provide some protection against liability for water quality violations, Permittees would be held liable
<br />for any water quality degradation resulting from their efforts, For example, an agency cleaning up a mine
<br />would be liable for their actions that adversely affect water quality at the site, but the agency would not be
<br />liable for preexisting water quality violations,
<br />
<br />Corps To Conduct Review Of Projects: On April 30 the U.S, Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced
<br />it was reviewing certain projects authorized but not yet under construction, The announcement came as a
<br />result of recent questions about the Corps processes, The Corps will take another look at projects falling into
<br />two categories:
<br />
<br />. Those with an economic assessment older than 1999 must have a new economic analysis before they
<br />can proceed,
<br />. Those where there are indications of significant changes in economic conditions, engineering, or
<br />scientific or environmental information since authorization,
<br />
<br />A preliminary assessment indicates that approximately 150 projects nationwide will be reviewed,
<br />
<br />Property Rights Decision: On April 24 the D,S, Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not require
<br />govemments to pay compensation to landowners when agencies temporarily prohibit them from building on
<br />their land, By a vote of 6 to 3, the court rej ected the argument of a group of Califomia property owners that
<br />govemment freezes on development are tantamount to official seizures -- known as "takings" -- of private
<br />property and require compensation, Rather, the court held that such claims must be considered case by case,
<br />balanced against other factors such as the duration of a development moratorium and the govemment's
<br />reasons for it.
<br />
<br />The case emerged out of a decades-long legal battle between several hundred families that bought property
<br />during the 1970s around Lake Tahoe, which straddles the Califomia-Nevada border, and the Tahoe Regional
<br />Planning Agency (TRPA), a bi-state body responsible for protecting the lake's environment, In 1981, the
<br />TRP A ordered the fust of two moratoriums on development. The agency said it needed time to draw up a
<br />long-term policy for managing building-related runoff that threatened to cloud the lake's transparent water.
<br />
<br />Invest In the West Coalition Claims Victory: The Senate Budget Committee has approved new budget
<br />authority totaling $888 million in FY 2003 for Reclamation (a $79 million increase above the
<br />Administration's request) based on the support of a bipartisan group of eight western Senators,
<br />
<br />Water groups participating in an "Invest in the West" campaign to increase the Bureau's budget hailed the
<br />move, The Senator's receiving the credit include Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), Tim Johnson (D-
<br />SD), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ron
<br />Wyden (D-OR) and Daniel Akaka (D-HI),
<br />
<br />Westem states served by Reclamation experienced a 19 percent population growth during the 1990s,
<br />Sponsors of the Invest in the West campaign will continue to urge investment in Reclamation's budget with
<br />the goal of moving it to $1 billion by fiscal year 2005,
<br />
<br />Campbell to Leave Environment Committee: On April 1 0 Sen, Campbell confmned he will step down
<br />from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee as soon as Senate GOP leaders can fl11d a
<br />replacement, Staff explained that time constraints led to Campbell's decision,
<br />
<br />Water Exchanges: Attached is an article about water exchanges and leases in California for your
<br />information,
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