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. . 0215 HE~10RANDUM TO: Secretary FROM: Solicitor SUBJECT: Acquisition of water rights by the United States on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Water and POIver Resources Service, the National Park Service and the Fish and wildlife Service I. INTRODUCTION The Solicitor's opinion No. M-36914 of June 25, 1979 1:/ (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinion") sets forth an analysis as to the extent of federal water rights for the National Park Service, the Fish and wildlife Servi~e, the Bureau of Reclamation (now the \Vater and Power Resources Service) and the Bureau of Land Management. In addition to its conclusions concerning reserved rights, the Opinion asserts the existence of so-called non-reserved federal water rights to fulfill Congressional purposes on federal- owned lands which are initiated by application of water to beneficial use and which can be acquired without reference to state substantive law. The Opinion states that, since the federal government has never granted away its right to make use of unappropri- ated water on federal lands, ",..the United States has retained its power to vest in itself water rights in un- appropriated waters and may exercise such power independent of substantive state law." 2/ Such water rights are availa- ble to fulfill authorized congressional purposes on the public domain, reserved and acquired lands, according to the Opinion. Such uses may be consumptive or non-consumptive uses such as for "fish and wildlife, scenic values, and areas of critical environmental concern." 3/ The priority date is said to be the date of initial use,-and the quantity of the right determined by the requirements necessary to carry out "congressionally authorized management objectives on federal lands." i/ 1:/ 86 Interior Dec. 553 (1979) (hereinafter cited as Opinion). ~/ Opinion at 571. '}/ Id. at 615. if Id. at 574.