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Show 217 Section 18 of the Project Act provides: "Nothing herein shall be construed as interfering with such rights as the states now have either to the waters within their borders or to adopt such policies or enact such laws as they may deem necessary with respect to the appropriation, control, and use of waters within their borders, except as modified by the Colorado River compact or other interstate agreement." Under this section, Congress has specifically declined to give the Secretary of the Interior authority to deliver water to users within a state in disregard of the state's water law. Although a contract with the Secretary is necessary under Section 5 of the Project Act for a user to receive mainstream water, the user must also, under Section 18, be under no disability to receive such water under the applicable state law. And, state law governs priorities between various users within a state who have delivery contracts with the Secretary.83 This is apparent from the language of Section 18 and is corroborated by the legislative history. See page 155, supra. This scheme is similar to the one employed by Congress in the federal reclamation laws, to which the Project Act is specifically stated to be supplementary. Section 8 of the Reclamation Act of 1902 provides: ". . . that nothing in this act shall be construed as affecting or intended to affect or to in any way interfere with the laws of any state or territory relating to the control, appropriation, use, or distribution of water used in irrigation . . . and the Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the provisions of this act, shall proceed in conformity with such laws. . . ." 83All I hold is that under the Project Act state law governs intra-state water rights; I do not pass on whether other federal statutes such as the Gila Project Reauthorization Act, 61 Stat. 628 (1947), supersede state law in particular cases. |
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Original Report: State of Arizona, complainant v. State of California, Palo Verde Irrigation District, Imperial Irrigation District, Coachella Valley County Water District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, City of Los Angeles, California, City of San Diego, California, and County of San Diego, California |