[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2603 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2603

To impose limitations on the authority of the Secretary of the Interior 
 to claim title or other rights to water absent specific direction of 
law or to abrogate, injure, or otherwise impair any right to the use of 
                         any quantity of water.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2003

  Mr. Pearce introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

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                                 A BILL


 
To impose limitations on the authority of the Secretary of the Interior 
 to claim title or other rights to water absent specific direction of 
law or to abrogate, injure, or otherwise impair any right to the use of 
                         any quantity of water.

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

SECTION 1. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND WATER RIGHTS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall not--
            (1) claim title or other rights to water in a State, other 
        than for Indian reservation lands, absent specific direction of 
        law; or
            (2) exercise authority so as to abrogate, injure or 
        otherwise impair any right to the use of any quantity of 
        water--
                    (A) that has been allocated--
                            (i) in conformance with subsections (a) 
                        through (c) of section 208 of the Department of 
                        Justice Appropriations Act, 1953 (43 U.S.C. 
                        666);
                            (ii) by or pursuant to interstate compact; 
                        and
                            (iii) by a decision of the United States 
                        Supreme Court;
                    (B) by requiring a change in the nature of use or 
                the transfer of any right to use water or creating a 
                limitation on the exercise of any right to use water; 
                or
                    (C) by modifying the delivery, diversion, 
                nondiversion, allocation, or storage of any water to be 
                delivered by contract.
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