Wayne Allard: “Mr. Chairman, I want to rise in favor of the Tauzin amendment. I think it is a good amendment. I think it moves us in…”

“Mr. Chairman, I want to rise in favor of the Tauzin amendment. I think it is a good amendment. I think it moves us in the right direction as far as protecting private property rights. I think it is vital to the interests of the State of Colorado, because by recognizing water as a private property right, as the States do, we are saying to the Federal agencies that the States are in a better position to determine where one person's right begins and where another one ends, and we have, through Colorado water law and the doctrine of prior appropriations that has been adopted by most of the Western States, I think all of the Western States, and it recognizes there is a property right, and that that property right is going to be measured in a court. They take it to a water court in the States, and they determine exactly where one person's right begins and the other one ends. And if nothing else, this amendment not only preserves private property ownership, but also recognizes the State's role, which is very important when we get into private property issues, particularly as they apply to water.”