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<br />of the State Engineer's office' to allow the transfer of
<br />unperfected water rights. The court said. 'Despite
<br />[t]his contention...nothing in the record. or in the
<br />briefs submitted by the State Engineer..,supports [the
<br />assertion]. '
<br />
<br />Regarding a separate issue, the State Engineer
<br />denied in proceedings before the court that he
<br />adjudicated the Indian tribe's claim to reserved
<br />ground water rights. However, one of the findings of
<br />fact in his decision contained the statement, 'The
<br />State of Nevada does not recognize the reserved
<br />right to ground water for the..,tribe..," The court said
<br />the finding was, 'ambiguous and necessitate[d] a
<br />remand of this case.' The court continued. "If the
<br />State Engineer chooses not to adjudicate the
<br />existence of the tribe's reserved ground water rights,
<br />he should refrain from offering any opinion as to the
<br />validity of those asserted rights, Moreover. if he
<br />chooses to permit the possible development of [water
<br />that may conflict with tribal reserved rights claims to
<br />ground water], he should indicate that the right to
<br />develop this water may depend upon the existence of
<br />the reserved ground water rights claimed by the
<br />tribe."
<br />
<br />WATER QUALITY
<br />
<br />Environmental Protection Agency-FY93 Appropriations
<br />
<br />The Senate and House have approved a
<br />conference committee version of HR 5679 to provide
<br />EPA funding of $6.89B in FY93. The bill was passed
<br />September 25 by large margins in both houses, The
<br />conference committee struck a compromise between
<br />House and Senate proposals for construction grant
<br />and state revolving loan funds for sewage treatment
<br />projects, The conference provided $2,55B in funding,
<br />$150M more than the House amount and $100M less
<br />than the Senate amount. The conference report
<br />instructs EPA to award some $305M in construction
<br />grant funds to municipalities as 55% matching grants
<br />under Clean Water Act Titie II. EPA will regulate
<br />combined sewer overflows by using site-specific
<br />standards, and balancing economic and
<br />environmental considerations under the bill. The
<br />legislation will also require EPA to perform risk
<br />analysis of the health effects of radon exposure. and
<br />to publish a study of the results by July of next year,
<br />Further. a provision was approved to allow change of
<br />some requirements for monitoring drinking water
<br />
<br />supplies for small systems (those serving 3300 people '-
<br />or less). The conference bill also provides a
<br />$400.000 grant for a study on wetiands values and
<br />delineation factors to be carried out by the National
<br />Academy of Sciences,
<br />
<br />WATER RIGHTSJWATER RESOURCES
<br />
<br />Indian Reserved Rights/Negotiated Settlements
<br />
<br />The House passed S. 1607, the Northern
<br />Cheyenne Indian Tribe Reserved Water Rights
<br />Settiement Act of 1981, on September 22, The
<br />Senate passed the bill on August 7 0NSW #954).
<br />The settlement includes rehabilitation and slight
<br />enlargement of the Tongue River Dam, which is
<br />owned and operated by the State of Montana. The
<br />Department of Interior would be directed to allocate
<br />30,000 acre-feet of stored water for use by the tribe.
<br />The bill creates a development fund for the Northern
<br />Cheyenne Tribe, authorizing $21.5M over three years
<br />to be used for natural resources administration,
<br />planning and development. land acquisition within the
<br />reservation, and for other purposes. Another $31.5M
<br />is authorized over five years for work on the dam.
<br />President Bush is expected to sign the bill.
<br />
<br />The Administration has expressed opposition to ....
<br />proviSions of H,R, 429, authorizing $240M to fund the ."
<br />Ute Indian water rights settlement as part of
<br />completion of the Central Utah Project. At press time,
<br />the fate of H,R, 429, the omnibus reclamation
<br />package, was uncertain. Secretary Lujan said in a
<br />letter to conferees on the bill, 'This amount far
<br />exceeds the federal government's maximum potential
<br />legal liability for an alleged breech by the United
<br />States of a 1965 water deferral agreement. The
<br />federal government did not participate in the
<br />development of this settlement."
<br />
<br />PEOPLE
<br />
<br />Steven K Hall has been chosen as the successor
<br />to John P. Fraser as Executive Director of the 410-
<br />member Association of California Water Agencies. He
<br />will assume the position December 31, Hall has been
<br />Executive Director of the Fresno-based California
<br />Farm Water Coalition and played a key role in the
<br />negotiations aimed at reaching consensus on
<br />California water policy among urban, agricultural and
<br />environmental interests,
<br />
<br />The WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL is an organization of representatives appointed by the Governors _
<br />of member states - Alaska, Arizona, Calnornia, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North
<br />Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and associate member state Oklahoma
<br />
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