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<br />2'122 <br /> <br />FOREWORD <br /> <br />The recent action by the u.s. Justice Department in drafting legislation <br />on federal water rights called for a decisive and unified state response. This <br />final report of the Interstate Conference on Water Problems (ICWP) Special Task <br />Force is evidence of the overwhelming concern of the States and their unanimous <br />opposition to the draft bill. ICWP, as the Standing State Advisory Committee <br />to the u.S. Water Resources Council, will carry this message to the Council and <br />other appropriate Congressional and federal entities. <br /> <br />In the past years, problems and issues relative to federal reserved rights <br />were generally viewed as a "western" problem. States in the east and south felt <br />secure in the knowledge that application of a federal reserved right in a state <br />which followed the riparian doctrine was incongruous. That this situation no <br />longer exists is apparent by: (1) the decision of the Supreme Court in <br />California v. Arizona wherein reserved rights were recognized in a state (Cali- <br />fornia) which holds riparian rights as superior to appropriative rights, and <br />(2) the type of legislation drafted by the U.S. Justice Department. <br /> <br />ICWP will assist in drafting legislation which will include, insofar as <br />possible, those elements which the states identified as being required in any <br />bill prepared on this subject. A draft bill, or bills, will be completed this <br />fall and sent to all states for their review and comment. <br /> <br />i <br />