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002991 Estimated work days: 9 Time frame: Ongoing 3. AMICUS SUPPORT Work to date: The Western Attorneys General have assumed the principal role in providing amicus suppon for litigation. However the Committee remains able to assist where needed, particularly helping to circulate amicus briefs to key stale officials. 2002: The Committee will work in association with the Western Attorneys General to provide appropriate support for amicus briefs to facilitate expression by western states of consensus legal positions. Expected work days: As needed Time Frame: Ongoing 4. FEDERAL NON-INDIAN WATER RIGHTS CLAIMS Work to date: This topic has been of concern 10 the Council and has become increasingly imponant as federal agencies look for means to maintain instream flows on federal lands, and as state stream adjudications progress. During the March, 1996 Council meetings in Washington, DC, a discussion was held with John Leshy, Solicitor for the Department of the Interior. The topic of non-Indian reserved water rights claims played a large part in that discussion. States voiced their concern that federal agencies appear to have substantial claims for non-Indian reservation purposes, but are reluctant to quantify those claims. States are faced with the prospect of launching expensive general adjudications to quantify these claims so that other water rights applications may be processed. The Federal Water Rights Task Force, which concluded in August of 1997, addressed an issue of federal non-Indian reserved water rights claims associated with claims of the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service has historically sought instream flows for a number of purposes on Foresl Service lands and sought to require certain bypass flows on Forest Service lands for the protection of fishery values downstream., The Task Force was unable to reach a consensus conclusion, again indicating the difficulty in identifying the bases for such claims. In any event, federal government agencies are looking, and will continue to look for means to acquire water to fulfill federal purposes. The Council addressed these issues in an extended Committee meeting held in Sparks, Nevada in November 1998. WSWC suff prepared a repon on federal claims in early 1999. The report presents the results of a survey of western States, conducted by Council staff, regarding the prevalence of federal agency claims to water, the types of claims, the burden placed upon western States by federal claims, and agency motives in making claims to water. The report also examines western water law in relation to these claims, looking at the arguments relied upon by federal agencies in support of their claims to water in the westem U.S. In 2000, the Committee, with the assistance of the Reserved Rights Subcommittee, convened a workshop in conjunction with members of the Conference of Western Attorneys General as part of its summer meetings in South Dakota to continue discussion of these issues and to explore the need for further action. 3