[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3557 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3557

     To subject the United States to payment of fees and costs in 
       proceedings relating to State water rights adjudications.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 25, 1998

    Mr. Smith of Oregon (for himself, Mr. Skeen, Mr. Crapo, and Mr. 
   Hastings of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To subject the United States to payment of fees and costs in 
       proceedings relating to State water rights adjudications.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Water Adjudication Fee Fairness Act 
of 1998.''

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Generally, water allocation in the United States is 
        based upon an appropriation system, under which water users' 
        rights are quantified under State law. These rights carry 
        designated priority dates which establish the relative right to 
        water from a source. Most States, especially in the West, have 
        developed judicial proceedings, known as general stream 
        adjudications, to quantify and document these relative rights, 
        including the rights to water claimed by the United States 
        Government.
            (2) State general stream adjudications are typically 
        complicated, expensive civil court actions that can involve 
        hundreds or even thousands of claimants. However, such 
        adjudications give certainty to water rights, provide direction 
        for water administration, and reduce conflict over water 
        allocation and water usage. Those claiming and establishing 
        rights to water, including Federal agencies, are the primary 
        beneficiaries of State general stream adjudication proceedings.
            (3) The Congress recognized the benefits of the State 
        general stream adjudication system, and by adoption of section 
        208 of the Department of Justice Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 
        U.S.C. 666, popularly known as the ``McCarran Amendment''), 
        required the United States to submit to State court 
        jurisdiction and to file claims in State general stream 
        adjudication proceedings.
            (4) Water rights claims by Federal agencies are typically 
        the largest and most complex claims in State general stream 
        adjudications. However, the United States Supreme Court, in the 
        case United States v. Idaho, 508 U.S. 1 (1992), determined that 
        under the McCarran Amendment the United States is not required 
        to pay administrative fees or judicial costs in State general 
        stream adjudication proceedings.
            (5) Some Federal agencies, realizing they are not required 
        to pay State fees, may file numerous water rights claims to 
        either improve their negotiating position or to so increase the 
        adjudication burden that the State must terminate its 
        adjudication rather than attempt to deal with the avalanche of 
        United States claims.
            (6) Since Federal agency water rights claims are among the 
        most difficult to adjudicate, and since the United States is 
        not required to pay the fees paid by non-Federal claimants, the 
        burden of funding these proceedings unfairly shifts to the 
        private water users and State taxpayers. The requirement that 
        States process Federal Government water rights claims without 
        reimbursement constitutes an unfunded mandate on States.
            (7) The lack of Federal Government funding to support State 
        water rights adjudications in relation to the complexity of the 
        claims involved has produced significant delays in completion 
        of State general stream adjudications. These delays inhibit the 
        ability of both the States and Federal agencies to protect 
        private and public property interests. Also, failure to 
        complete the final adjudication of claims to water restricts 
        the ability of resource managers to determine how much 
        unappropriated water is available to satisfy environmental and 
        economic development demands.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF FEES AND COSTS FOR FEDERAL WATER CLAIMS IN WATER 
              USE RIGHTS PROCEEDINGS.

    (a) In General.--In any administrative or judicial proceeding for 
the adjudication or administration of rights to the use of water in 
which the United States is a party, the United States shall be subject 
to administrative fees, claiming fees, and the imposition of judicial 
costs to the same extent as a private party to the proceeding.
    (b) Application.--Subsection (a) shall apply to proceedings pending 
on, or initiated after, the date of enactment of this Act.
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