[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        FOREST SERVICE GROUNDWATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT DIRECTIVE

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, recently I joined fellow 
lawmakers in sending a letter to the U.S. Agriculture Secretary 
concerning the U.S. Forest Service's proposed groundwater resource 
management directive.
  Similar to a large number of other proposals stemming from this 
administration, the directive seeks to further federalize water 
resources at the expense of State authority and private property 
rights. Additionally, it will unnecessarily interfere with State and 
private water rights, along with other activities.
  Furthermore, the directive was proposed without State or local input, 
which will encourage litigation and potentially interfere with the 
adjacent State, local, and private land and water rights.
  In Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest, 93 percent of the 
subsurface rights are privately owned, which means the consequence of 
this directive could even be more complicated and threatening to 
private property and water rights.
  Mr. Speaker, the mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the 
health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests. 
Unfortunately, this policy will achieve little or no environmental 
benefit while it, at the same time, undermines the agency's statutory 
obligation to manage these lands.
  The Forest Service should withdraw this ill-timed and punitive 
directive.

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