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WESTERN STATES WATER . 00165:' April 24, 1992 Issue No. 936 ~ THE WEEKLY NEWSIETIER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER Creekview Plaza, Suite A-201 I 942 East 7145 So. I Midvale, Utah 84047 I (801) 561-5300 I FAX (801) 255-9642 editor - Tony Willardson typist - carrie curvin UTIGATlON/WATER RIGHTS Snake River Svstem/General Adjudication . The Idaho Supreme Court has affirmed an Idaho district court opinion and held that the McCarran Amendment waived the United States' sovereign immunity for the purpose of adjudicating water rights, which u subjects it to Idaho laws in this regard, including those governing the payment of filing fees. The Idaho Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA) began in 1987, when claimants were required to file with the Idaho Department of Water Resources notices of claim to a water right, with accompanying filing fees. The fee schedule was variable depending on the size of the rights claimed. The United States attempted to file its claims without accompanying fees, contending that the McCarran Amendment did not waive its immunity from paying the filing fees. Idaho asserted that the language of the amendment waived any obstruction to the payment of filing fees by the federal government, and that the issue had been previously, adjudicated in favor of states collecting fees. An Idaho district court decision that the United States is subject to the fees (see WSW #885), was appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court. . The court's opinion deals first with the wording of the McCarran Amendment, which states ....no judgement for costs shall be entered against the United States in any [general adjudication] suit.' The United States argued filing fees were a disguised judgement for costs, but the court found that 'each term has a peculiar and separate meaning in the law,' and that the term 'costs' does not mean 'filing fees.' The court also dismissed a United States' argument concerning an asserted conflict within the Idaho code, and noted that its decision was in harmony with the U.S. Supreme Court's in U,S. v Nordic Villaoe. Inc. chairman - William H. Young executive director - Craig Bell Two justices dissented. The first equated the filing fees, which exceed $10M, with the 'costs' prohibited by the McCarran amendment. The second found that the majority reached 'a conclusion that is at odds with the Supreme Court's pronouncements,' especially U.S. v. Nordic Villaoe. The decision is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. WATER RESOURCES Omnibus Reclamation BilVCentral Utah Project On April 10, by unanimous consent, the Senate passed H,R, 429, an omnibus package of reclamation bills. It passed as reported by the Senate Energy Committee IYJSW #931; H.Rpt. 102-267), with the addition of a title authorizing the Sonoma Baylands Wetlands Demonstration Project, to utilize and dispose of dredged materials from San Francisco Bay by expanding tidal wetlands. Titles II through V cover the Central Utah Project, which will provide municipal and industrial water for up to 1.4 million people, as well as a reliable supplemental irrigation system for much of rural central Utah. It was authorized in 1956, and was to be completed in 1972. The cost of the project has risen with construction delays. Senator Jake Garn (R-UT) explained the bill raises the authorized ceiling for the entire Colorado River Storage Project from $2.1 B to nearly $3B, adding, 'This bill solves many, many problems, creates many new opportunities, and prepares Utah so it can face the future confidently.' Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) explained, 'There is no questions that we are asking for a substantial increase in our spending ceiling.... We are asking that the federal government fulfill the promise that was made to the people of Utah over 40 years ago.... I want to make it very clear that this bill is not a gift....