Dear HCN,
Those who simply scanned
Paul Koberstein’s Nov. 28, 1994, headline, “BuRec to allow water
thefts to continue,” may have assumed that Reclamation is not
addressing the problem of unauthorized use of water. That’s not the
case. Reclamation is actively seeking to eliminate the unauthorized
use of water, sometimes referred to as water spreading. We are
currently developing regulations for resolving any use of
Reclamation project water not in compliance with federal law or
Reclamation water contracts. These regulations will be published in
the Federal Register for public comment in the spring, to be
followed by public hearings.
Unauthorized use of
water occurs in many forms, ranging from unavoidable irrigation of
small pieces of unclassified land within a farmer’s field to
flagrant diversion of water without a federal contract. To resolve
unauthorized use, we must consider the circumstances and history
related to each case, specific water contract provisions,
applicable state water law, and the consequences for the public and
the environment.
As the article indicates, we
drafted a policy last June to address unauthorized use in
Reclamation’s Pacific Northwest Region. This draft has not been
adopted as it did not address the diversity of unauthorized use
throughout the West. The proposed regulations will provide a
framework for addressing the many types of unauthorized use in a
fair, prompt fashion. Affected third parties and the public will
have an opportunity to contribute to the resolution of these cases.
At a time when demands on water resources in the West are
multiplying, your readers can be confident that I am committed to
ensuring the legal use of federal
water.
Daniel P.
Beard
Washington,
D.C.
Dan Beard is commissioner
of the Bureau of Reclamation.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline BuRec will halt water spreading.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
