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I I 14 TRIBAL WATER MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK I I I I I I ~ I I I I I I I I I the management of water between federal. state and tribal governments is destined to be a pennanent pan of the western waterscape. While federal, state and tribal governments possess great legal authority over water, much of the real political and economic control over water resides in local water entities. Irrigation districts. water districts, mutual water companies. and so forth fonn the "grass lOOts" level where the future of water management primarily is shaped.ll Plans v. Reactions: MeanderingOpinion Water resource development and management have been the subjects of varying degrees of forethought or "planning" in the United States. Large-scale water developments inescapably involve developmental planning, such as the selection of sites and the investigation of economic and engineering feasibility. Coordinated basin-wide planning of water resources arose during the New Deal era with the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TV A) in the southeastern United States. Public suppon for centralized political planning of resources probably peaked in that period. In the mid-1960s comprehensive basin-wide planning of water development and management received new interest at the federal level. This was illustrated by the creation of the United States Water Resources Council and several river basin commissions.12 Rising concern over water pollution next led to federal requirements and funding for state water quality planning and for the delegation of water quality authority to the states. The advent of environmental planning was a parallel and broader development during this period. This planning is based on the notion that foreseeable adverse impacts from publicly sponsored or approved development ought to be identified and disclosed in advance so that alternatives and mitigation measures could be considered. Environmental impact statements (EISs) , opinions and requirements became commonplace and added a new dimension to water development and management.13 Largely unresolved is the issue of how all of the federal environmental regulations relate to, or will be administered in. Indian Country. At the inception of the Reagan presidency, a strong reaction to federal water planning requirements occurred. As a result. most river basin commissions. the United States Water Resources Council. funds for area-wide waste treatment planning. and numerous other water programs have been eliminated. It is possible more coordination of localized planning in the water management field may be the response. When. if ever. the pendulum will swing back toward more comprehensive basin-level planning is not known. Recent amendments to the federal Clean Water Act may mean that the pendulum has begun to swing back toward water>hed planning.14 Privatizotion v. Public Trust: Fundamentals Collide From the outset of the Union the principle was accepted that private propeny rights could be created in the use of water. Both the eastern riparian law and the western prior appropriation law allowed the reasonable use of water to be I