Statement on Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to HR 1837 (House Committee on Natural Resources)

Congressman McClintock offered an amendment to HR 1837 (Nunes) during a hearing on the bill in the Natural Resources Committee. Congressman McClintock's statement on the amendment is below. The amendment was approved by the committee on a bipartisan vote.

Statement on Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
House Committee on Natural Resources
February 16, 2012

Mr. Chairman,

As I said in my opening statement, this amendment has been painstakingly negotiated and crafted over a period of eight months, in response to the concerns raised over the security of senior water rights in Northern California.

The concern, which we took very seriously, involves the interaction of California’s tangled state and federal jurisdictions. The concern was that a change in federal law could trigger adverse state actions affecting those senior water rights holders. And California is notorious for abridging the property rights of its citizens.

As I said during the hearing on June 13th, “no legislation will clear this subcommittee that in any way undermines local area of origin water rights as long as (I) have anything to say about it.” This amendment not only makes good on that promise, but materially strengthens those rights.

During those eight months, we consulted and negotiated with over 60 Northern and Central California water agencies and actually achieved a peaceful settlement of longstanding disputes that have simmered too long among them.

In fact, a joint statement was issued yesterday that included the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority in Northern California and the Westlands Water District in Central California that have been bitter adversaries for many years. It reads in part, “Water agencies in northern California areas of origin and the export service areas of the federal Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project are now speaking with one voice concerning the benefits of this legislation.”

I ask unanimous consent to enter the full statement into the record.

Very simply stated, this amendment brings the full force of federal law to defend the rights of all water users throughout the system.

The Northern California Water Association – speaking as the umbrella group for all the water districts in Northern California -- writes in part:

“The bill, if enacted, now contains provisions that would not only protect the interests of senior water rights holders in the Sacramento Valley, but would also provide significant, material water policy improvements to current federal law. The bill, if enacted, would provide an unprecedented federal statutory express recognition of, and commitment to, California’s state water rights priority system and area of origin protections. This is important for the region to provide sustainable water supplies for productive farmlands, wildlife refuges, and managed wetlands, cities and rural communities, recreation, and meandering rivers that support important fisheries.”

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to enter the full statement into the record.

The assertion of federal supremacy in this matter is firmly rooted in the Constitution. Indeed, in 1978 the United States Supreme Court clearly stated in California v. United States that a “clear Congressional directive” would have invoked federal supremacy over any conflicting state law governing operations of a federal reclamation project. This measure does precisely that.

More importantly, the 14th Amendment provides Congress with both the authority and the duty to protect the property rights -- including the water rights -- of every citizen against encroachments by state governments. This measure clearly and unambiguously does so.

This bill initially arose because contracted water that was desperately needed to support the prosperity of an entire region – and had already been paid for -- was instead expropriated and blissfully and cavalierly dumped into the Pacific Ocean.

This bill still protects against a repetition of this tragedy, but with this amendment, it has grown into a measure that may not end California’s notorious water wars, but at least calms the troubled waters among all those communities and families who depend on this precious resource. It places senior water rights holders in a more safe and secure position, treats our water as the precious resource it is, and restores balance between human and environmental uses of that resource.

I want to thank the many legislative offices and our sub-committee staff, for countless hours spent in shuttle diplomacy among these many diverse agencies. And I want to thank the many staffs and officials within these agencies for their good will, their earnest efforts, their honest compromises and their professional dedication to the residents, families and businesses that depend upon them.

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