Political Quotes

“section 389 comes as a result of many hours of negotiations involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and various Members of Congress. The language agreed to by the conference committee is a step forward in an effort to ensure that the Forest Service does not take water from existing users without providing proper compensation. My amendment, as modified by the conference committee, provides for an 18-month moratorium on any U.S. Forest Service decision to require bypass flows or any other relinquishment of the unimpaired use of a decreed water right as a condition of renewal or reissuance of a land use permit. Nothing in this section changes current law regarding the allocation of water or rights to the use of water, and the expiration of the moratorium is not intended to be a recognition or grant of authority to the Forest Service for imposition of bypass flows. The amendment also creates a water rights task force to study, make recommendations, and report back to the Congress and the administration on questions of: First, whether, and the manner in which, a Federal water right should be acquired by the U.S.…”