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<br />FEDERAL WATER RIGHTS LEGISLATION
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<br />corned be complied wit.h? Does it ",ake any difTerenee, eit.her to the
<br />States or to the Federal Government, whet.her tho congressIOnal act
<br />makes clear I hat. t lie illtcnt bchilHI it is to promote COIllity \\'iLh the
<br />Sta.t("~r.; 1:\1 or whether it is collched in langnage which ma,y lend force
<br />to a contention that it. is an irrevocable quitclaim of whatever rights
<br />the Unitcd States now has?
<br />Numerous other questions of this nature could be n.sked,138 but those
<br />that have just been set. out are enough to make clear that the problem
<br />is susceptible to something other than an n.ll-or-notlung answer. In~
<br />deed there are sirrns that all but the most ardent. Fedcmlists and t.he
<br />most' fir-dent ach'~'ates of State cont.rol arc beg-inning' to realize this.
<br />The Administ.rat.ion's preparation of and il. willingness to back most.
<br />of lI.H. 4;)(i7 is cvidl'l\ce of t.his 011 the Fedelill side and t.he cxccp-
<br />t.ions contained in various of the alllp.r bjl1s that go n lot furt.her than
<br />H,f{, 4"G7 arc a sufiieiently far cry from t.l,e days of ILK 07~;, of the
<br />~2d Congress to indicate a willingness on the part. of State advocates
<br />to compromise a bit.,
<br />If this is so and if I am right in believing that t.he problem should
<br />be looked at primarily as one of working out a rat.junnl system. for
<br />administerin" the water supplies which are available to us from rIver
<br />systems that." pay lit.t.le or no attention to State boundaries and ,of
<br />reconciling conflicting interests in a governmental ~:;y.stem whlch ,In-
<br />dudes Loth the Kation and the States, t.he task of fralllll1g appropriate
<br />legislation boils down to that of balancing the equities .of bot.h and
<br />the needs of both against each other and thus of at.temptmg to alTIVe
<br />at a. workable and not. too controversial solution. The outcome may
<br />l' be Ie.gislat.ion which is not c,ompletely sati:;factory to anyone but
<br />which will, ne..\'ertheless, proVIde a more ratIOnal approach than we
<br />have at. pre.seut. . .
<br />There :lppears to bn reasonably g-eneral ngre~lTye.nt tha~ t.he ]~gIslfl,-
<br />t~on nerd not 01" ~hol1ld not. t.o\1ch Federal nct.lvltles whIch ftflSe out
<br />of t.he United Statl's' relat.ions with Canada and Mexico and thaL,
<br />in spite of the wide implications of t.he Winters doctrllle, the IndInn
<br />activities of t.he United Stat.e.s can also be left nneovered, There would
<br />probably also be fairly general agreement tll.at the improvement of
<br />nn\'irrallOn and the control of (lood-s do not. lIlvolve. n. use of .water .
<br />will;iTl f\ny 11S-1l:1l 1l1ld('.J"stnnding of t.he word when lt IS lIsen. III t.he
<br />, I' ')' f t" 1
<br />phra~tl "approl'l'i,d.ioll, ('0111.)"01, liSP, or ( I!-;II'} llll.~on 0 W:\ .CI' :l}l(
<br />t.hat nn\' reqlliJ'(~l1Ielll, with rcspcd to pro<'c{'dJ1~g- 1Il acconl:t~H'e With
<br />Stat.e law for these purposes-except, perhaps, llIsofar as th,e, l' ,fuJnI!-
<br />mcnt toncll('s on t.he "w'stcd rights" problem discussed earher ill thlS
<br />panel'-eau be omitted, , ' '
<br />It is beyond these relat,vely noncontr,?versral areas that the dls-
<br />pllte beg-ins. Subject, hO'IXevcr, to COl'l'('.~'t.Ion from. those whose p~'ac~
<br />ti<~al experience may cause them to arrive a~ a. dlf"ercnt conclUSIOn,
<br />I believe that, legislat,ion can be drafted whIch Will ~~ n long way
<br />t.oward meet.ing the day-by-day nee,ds of State ad~lll1'strat~''S and
<br />will f;crve to make more nearly uniform the pract.lces reqUIred of
<br />
<br />Ul' "Tn th~lntere'lIt nt comity between the United 8totel'l ot Amf'rlcll And thp Stnte nt
<br />Cllllrnr"'"'' 4.. t"P nll~""'p t"'" -..... """'I In 11l'C. 2 of the oct nf ,July 23,10:;4 (63 8tll.t. ~7tl)
<br />re'nt1nr: to tllt! ~nntll Mnrll'or1tn proJcet, b d t
<br />.1.,.O....e thllt mny h... very lmporlnnt IA tblll: Oug-ht n dl8tln("lIon to e mR e, '-00 ar OB
<br />rp IIlrl....l! Prdrrlll nfflCl'!rA' compllrmC"e ll'OeA. betwpen tho!'le StAte Inw8 whIch vel'lt merel,.
<br />mPnll'ltPrlnl power8 1n the 10co.I omecrs and those that permit tbem to exerciBe eODetderable
<br />dlfilcretlon't '. .
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<br />FEDERAL WATER RIGHTS LEGISLATION
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<br />Federal 3,O'cncics which serve the public without intcrfcrin,g with
<br />their wurlrin other cases where t,ho advant.ag-c~ of preserving' Fedel':\l
<br />frre<lom of act.ion may outweig-h the advant.ages of re(p~irillg com-
<br />pliance wit.h State law or iu which t.he need of the latter IS not. fully
<br />dClllOllstl'a.tcd.
<br />Such legisht.ion can begin wit.h aeeeptancc of nearly all '" the
<br />provisions of JI,R, 45G7, It. can recognize that t.here arc rights to t.he
<br />lISe of water wnlch are sufficiently "ve!St.ed" that they ollght to be
<br />paid for if t.hey are taken, It c'!n pl'Occed on the assumption that the
<br />answers to t.he first three questlOlls st.ated abo\.e arc 111 t.he ncg:ltI\"e
<br />and that. the answer t.o the fourth is in the allirmative, Aud, in order
<br />to overcome t.he obvionsly legitimate complaint on the part. of t.ho
<br />St.ates :1n(l their administrators that t.hey frequently do !lot know what
<br />Federal claims there are or what their eA-tellt. is and thlls arc !lot in
<br />a posit.ion t.o advise would-be appropriators, it. can supplement all of
<br />tho above by pl'Oviding for the muinteuunce of a public eatulo!!; of all
<br />claims of rlght to store, divert. or use water on the part of Federal
<br />agencies whet.her t.hey are required by ot.her parts of the legislat.ion to
<br />follow State law or nol.'"
<br />Such leg-islat.ion would, of course, have to be coupled wit.h an under-
<br />standin~ that it is not. t.he last. word, thnt. except.ions may have to be
<br />grafted'-onto it from time to time uy the Congress, and that it may
<br />also have to he supplement.ed by nets dealing with specific projects.
<br />in cases whe.re the need become-s apparent or even by g-eneral laws
<br />de3,lin~ with areas of COIlCl'l'n which it lea\'es unco\'ered if, as~ nnd
<br />when the picture is clearer than it now is. But with such an under-
<br />st.anding, legislat.ion along the lines just. ~et, out. ought,.", has illrea~ly
<br />been said, to 0"0 a long way toward provldmg fl pl'nctIcnl reconC'Ilm-
<br />tion of the p;;sently conflicting clnims of the Stntes :lnd the Federal
<br />ilO'encies in n. field 'for which it. is impossible to provide n. p:ln<1CCtl..
<br />T11is, at least, is the spirit in which these suggestions are made,
<br />t-The douhtful phrase hNe t!'l "nor ~hnll It n(fl"ct the rl.c:ht or nny Stntr co f':(f'r('\"e
<br />jurl<alll'lion U'i'l'r wilter rl;..:hts eonfl'rr(>fl h." Iht' Ad ndmittin;..: F:l1eh Stllt~ Into tllp l1nl,)n
<br />or ~lIdl Stlllf"!'! ("nl1.~tltlltlolt, nil IIrrppt"d Ilnd ratint'lI IIv !llll'll Art of IHI11Ii,.;!lllln." 011 t1Jl!l,
<br />!':N' As,:l!'t:l1Lt Atlornl"\" Gcollf'rnl MQrton.'~ rrll1nrks, infr/l, pp. :;6 r. See nl!lo Sh/lnnon v.
<br />Ullited .~t'lte.~, lr.O P~,1. 870, Ri-l {C.C.A. fHh. lfl031. 10. v.lildl thc C'<Il1rt. r,IC('(\ with thl':
<br />.Ilrgllmrllt thllt till' Ilru\'j<:i"'n nf tIle M,lllt:lllll n,1I1li",dnn net 1l1l,1 thl' Stlltl" ("llL~titlltl"n b~. ..
<br />wllkh l'o!nlll;ll\:1 \\';1.. rf'f(llln'll to n:,::r('(', nllll ditl :t::r,''', thllt ;11] II\ll1l1n liPid..: ~llI)"ld r"lIl11ln
<br />1I11l1.'r fllt' .'I1J'S"IIlI,' jlll'j..:.ljrli,'1I nnd cOlltwl ,If tll4' 1.'lIl1g,.,,~..: (If tI,l' lJllltl'll Sf:lt".~" Wll~ IIn
<br />11111,11".1 :1.lll1ls~I"1L 11"'1 "llw( 1,"1>\10- lall,l.. \1"1"1' !lot .;Il ..trio-II.,. i-:,'\"l'rll,'.I. 1"111<1: .'. . . It I:!
<br />",11<.11\' ""I"""'~~l1n t.. ,'''1,.1' 111(.. 'l .Il,u:II'<...luII u( 1111' ""lI"(rll,'II,,n lOr 1],1-< I'r"d,..l"ll "t Ihl'
<br />(',,"~I'I(lItl"ll "I' (I,;, Sill I,' "f :'1.1"111'11111. CUlI;.:re<:.. hll.1 nut Ihf' l'"w.'r to J"t'llrll,"l.;h 1I11~' "r 1I!'1
<br />,lllrb11lr'tlull (".,'r tlll~ IllIhll(' l1unl:1ln h.\. :lilY Cllmpnct with tllIl! Stntc, nur had thnt SUIte
<br />till' 110Wf'r to rl'':rrH' any ~Ilch control,"
<br />140 ~II' h n Ilrn\j,..jnn wnll Incll11lf'llln s. 1R, 8~ll CnllJ:"., nil rrl'ortpol tl~. thf' ~rl1ntf' ,Judlc1nr,v
<br />Committe,.. \\'h('n the Illnln. portion or thi'l111l1 wn!'ll'll"k,',lul' /lnd Illc.-,n.nrnt"f! In ""e. 203
<br />nf Ill<' .rll~tlf'(' 11"1':lrtm"llt Apr,roprlntlnn Art. lO:-i:l ((if; ~tnt, :;t;O, 4:1 U.~.C. G(i(j). the
<br />prc.\"l!"lr'll \\"ll!l rlrnpPl'<i. Itllt.; rl"Hlrt on S. IS (S. n.rpt. No. 7J::i, 82(1 Con.!:,), the commlUee
<br />sp(.I{I' of Ihl.. l'ro\"j"llln /IS fullllw",:
<br />"~f'n:lt"r 1\1:';:;-1111"'1111 nl:.;o ,"lIlllnltte,J /In IImrll(lm","nt to th{' hili whlC'h :IT'llPnr~ 11'1 s","e. :2 ot
<br />th" hill. It r"q'Ii,.,'s thp h..."d ot {':\eh .j.'pnrtlll,'nt or nr:"II",\. ot th... l:n!t,'r! Stat{'~ n....d
<br />l"\','r~. ("nrr.orat!on wlllr1l Is wholl.\. own."J h.v thf' !;nlt,,(l ~tntf';t to ~\1hmtt \\"llhi'l " ~..\"f'nr
<br />pPrIOlI nf lim~ to th"," Srerelnr,v of tilf' Interior n enmllll'tp- lI"t or nll elnlm~ Q( rlt'ht to \I!<e
<br />n/l\' I'rrf'nm or Iindl' or "llrrllf'f' wnter III IlIn l;lllt,'ll ~tllt.,!'I, This Il!<t ..hllll Ilr :'<lIl'pl"llH'lItf'll
<br />prnpf'rl,v 1111 new ~lnlms und rlA"htfl nre m/ldl" or othrr clnlm!\ nre nhamlntlPll nr "thf'rwi~".
<br />r1\"I,n"",1 or. ^ f'nlnlo!,: ot f'lIch ("lniulI' I!' to h,' mnlntnln,'tl tl\. thp ~.'crl'tar.\", whlr-h >'lInU
<br />be open tn the puh\le In.!lpf'etlon, pX("f'pt whe'n thr.)' mny bc hnrrp(\ trOUl slIch ill~llecthlh by
<br />ren:oo/l or ~rl'rf'f'\' rr'1ulrPfll'). national dr,rf'lI:<:f'.
<br />"Th{' f'Ommlttf'f' Is or the nflllllon thilt dto\.p!npmf'nt nt n e.ltnlng- or thl'l nntnrf' would
<br />bf' m.."t !<:Illlt:lr~. 111111 thnt th"'rc I'lhnll!rl hI' n ,,111(:,]1' II..pn,"ltor;v wIH'rf' tIll' Wllff'r rll!ht.. dnim!'l
<br />ot the TTnltf'tl Rtnt";t "I\ollld hp. nvnill1!llp tnr whntr\"\'r Tlllrlln,.,r mnY h... 1If'f',I...(1. Thl>' nro-
<br />vision I.. not only helprul to nil of thl'! 11Inr!ownrr:o who mil,'. bf' Inl,'r"~t",1 In thf' wntrr
<br />rll::-ht.. nt n pnrt\('1I1nr AtrMm but IfI cxcf'f'dll1l::l.v h"lrorlll to the Unlt!',1 ~tnt"!I In Irnowlnll'
<br />wher,' Ilnd how It ellll, on Jolhort m,Ucf', rlf'tf'rmlnc It.;! hnlrllnJ::!l In tht.. rf'<:pf'rt. Thl,. I" n
<br />]'lrovllllon thr eomm]Uec b('IIp.\'('8 "hnl11d hn\'"!' hr,'n In forc!' nnd e(fpct Inne hrofnr" nn..... nnd
<br />bl"Heves thnt It "-'Ill prove mOllt hcJpt"') In tbl" future ndmln111trlltlon nnd flll.lllrllC'nt!i'n on
<br />QU"lItlnnR nr wntr.r rights. to !loy notbIllG' of the Incll1cntnl UIIC!3 to whIch 8t1ch n c:lralog
<br />Ulny he mnrt(',"
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