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Tipton criticizes Forest Service

At issue are water rights
Tipton

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, slammed the federal government for what he described as an attempt to interfere with long-standing state laws and takeover private water rights.

Testifying before the House Natural Resources Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee oversight hearing on Tuesday, Tipton criticized a directive proposed by the U.S. Forest Service aimed at establishing direction for management of groundwater resources on National Forest System lands.

There have been several battles throughout Colorado between ski resorts that lease federal land and the Forest Service over private water rights.

“In recent years, the federal government has repeatedly attempted to circumvent long-established state water law in order to hijack water rights,” Tipton said. “These efforts constitute a gross federal overreach and a violation of private-property rights.

“Although the Forest Service has announced its intention not to require transfer of ownership of water rights in a ski area special-use permit, outside of the ski area permit context, the agency is keeping the policy on the books that requires permittees to transfer their water rights to the U.S. and apply for new water rights in the name of the U.S.”

According to the Forest Service’s website, the rule would provide for consideration of groundwater resources in agency activities, establish procedures for reviewing new proposals for groundwater withdrawals on Forest Service land and require the evaluation of potential impacts from groundwater withdrawals on Forest Service natural resources.

The agency also says the directive will not impose any new conditions on state-issued water rights, and it will not give the agency any new authorities.

Tipton also announced his plans to reintroduce the Water Rights Protection Act this week. The measure seeks to protect those that rely on privately held water rights for their livelihood from losing those rights to federal agencies. Protected parties would include communities, businesses, recreational operations, farmers and ranchers.

The proposed legislation would prohibit these agencies from extorting water rights through the use of permits and leases.

“The purpose of this legislation is to be able to address what we continue to see out of the federal government,” Tipton told The Durango Herald. “The overreach by the government now stems beyond the ski areas, beyond our farm and ranch communities and now potentially having an impact on our municipalities as well.”

Tipton introduced the bill in March 2014, but it died in the Senate after passing the House.

Others at the hearing, however, refuted the notion that the Forest Service’s proposed directive was a “federal water grab.”

Ranking Member Jared Huffman, D-Calif., described the opposition to the directive as “partisan hysteria.” He said the rule would not allow the Obama administration to expand its authority over water rights, and that it does not contain any new permit rules.

“Is it a matter of the substance of the rule, or who is in the White House?” Huffman asked.

William Buzbee, a professor of law at Georgetown University who testified at the hearing, concurred that the rule does not expand federal jurisdiction over privately held water rights.

Michael Cipriano is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.



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