WSPC00167

• File Number: 8040.950
• Description: Section D General Studies - General Water Studies
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 7/1/1974
• Title: Report on Water for Energy in the Upper Colorado River Basin
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

001575

I. LEGAL PARAMETERS

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It is. apparent that the legal right to utilize water will be perhaps
the most important factor in the consideration of the question of
water for energy development in the Upper Colorado Basin.

In the Western States, the Congress and the courts have recognized
different procedures for handling questions as to the use of water
than are utilized in other parts of the country. Generally, these
have been founded upon the theory of priority and appropriative use,
i.e., application of water to a beneficial purpose. Historically,
developers of energy and other mineral resources have provided their
own water supplies for this purpose. The Government in the past has
not sought to supply water rights to mineral or other energy resource
lessees, claimants, permittees, etc. Accordingly, it is anticipated
that non-Federal entities obtaining leases, permits or other rights
to develop Federal energy resources will obtain the water necessary
for development of such resources under state procedures. Exceptions
to this will be instances where Federal water projects have water
available for marketing for energy resource development purposes
(e.g., existing contracts out of Navajo and Glen Canyon Reservoirs
and pending proposals to buy water out of Green Mountain and Ruedi
Reservoirs) or cases where other Federal rights are involved. To
understand the ramifications of this basic policy, it is therefore
necessary to consider a complex and interrelated framework of
interstate compacts and state water law requirements. These will
be discussed in separage sections below.

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From the available data, it is obvious that the water supply exceeds
that which is presently being utilized in the Basin. However, it is
also apparent that the supply is in turn exceeded by the presently
recognized rights to utilize water which have been granted by most of
the states in the Basin. The obvious conclusion is that many appropri-
ative rights granted to private parties by the various states are not
being fully utilized. However, these appropriative rights remain as
charges against the use of water in the Basin. Potential developers
of energy resources also seem to understand that they must so proceed
and that they have, for some time, been obtaining water rights in the
Basin for the development of their particular oil shale or coal projects
with earlier priority dates than could be obtained by current filings.
In fact, there has been considerable speculative activity in some
states in buying and selling water rights and much of this speculation
has involved the purchase of land as well as the pertinent water
rights, with the intention of transferring water rights to energy
development sites (sometimes some distance away).

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Summarizing, it must be understood that the legal right to utilize
water in accordance with state law is one of the key elements of future

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