Lawmakers Fight Forest Service Directive to Seize State Waters
Washington, DC,
June 24, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Senate Western Caucus Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), Congressional Western Caucus co-chairs Stevan Pearce (R-NM) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) as well as House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) and House Water and Power Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA), joined 38 other lawmakers in sending a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warning that the U.S. Forest Service’s recently proposed Groundwater Resource Management Directive (Directive) will restrict access to public lands and interfere with state and private water rights.
Today, Senate Western Caucus Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), Congressional Western Caucus co-chairs Stevan Pearce (R-NM) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) as well as House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) and House Water and Power Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA), joined 38 other lawmakers in sending a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warning that the U.S. Forest Service’s recently proposed Groundwater Resource Management Directive (Directive) will restrict access to public lands and interfere with state and private water rights. The Directive would initiate the Forest Service’s authority over state-managed groundwater resources claiming that surface water and groundwater is “hydraulically interconnected” and that the agency could object to state-regulated projects on “adjacent” land that purportedly harm groundwater. In their letter, the lawmakers warn that this Directive, which was proposed without state or local input, will encourage litigation, restrict Americans’ access to our public lands and potentially interfere with adjacent state, local and private land and water rights. “Like other proposals stemming from this Administration, including the Forest Service Planning Rule, the Interim Directive on Ski Area Special Use Permits, the Blueways Secretarial Order and the proposed Clean Water Act Jurisdictional rule, this Directive seeks to further federalize water resources at the expense of state authority. This sweeping proposal additionally seeks to impose water use restrictions and deny agricultural, recreational, and other economic activity in 155 National Forests and their adjacent state, local and private neighbors in 40 states. The end result could be lost jobs and reduced recreational access to public lands, with little or no environmental benefit,”Caucus Members wrote. In addition to Barrasso, Pearce, Lummis, Hastings and McClintock, the letter was signed by Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Thune (R-SD), James Risch (R-ID), David Vitter (R-LA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representatives Trent Franks (R-AZ), Mark Amodei (R-NV), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Walter Jones (R-NC), Don Young (R-AK), Rob Bishop (R-UT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Scott Tipton (R-CO), Chris Stewart (R-UT), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Paul Broun (R-GA), Jason Smith (R-MO), Mike Simpson (R-ID), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Eric Crawford (R-AR), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Raul Labrador (R-ID), Billy Long (R-MO) and Adrian Smith (R-NE). The full text of the letter:
|
|
Stay Connected
Use the following link to sign up for our newsletter and get the latest news and updates directly to your inbox.