LETTER: Corps of Engineers Surplus Water rulemaking
August 21, 2013 -- WGA Executive Director Jim Ogsbury sends letter to Jo-Ellen Darcy Assistant Secretary of the Army expressing Western Governors' interest and concerns related to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s pending rulemaking on the definition and treatment of surplus water in Corps reservoirs.
Dear Assistant Secretary Darcy:
On behalf of the Western Governors’ Association (WGA), I am writing to express interest and concerns related to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s pending rulemaking on the definition and treatment of surplus water in Corps reservoirs. It is critical that this important undertaking recognize the West’s unique hydrology and legal doctrines, as well as Congress’ longstanding deference to state law with respect to the allocation and use of water. Water belongs to the states, which have exclusive and Constitutional authority over its consumptive use and the allocation and adjudication of water rights.