§ 11.11 - Federal Statutory Impacts on State Water Rights

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§11.11 FEDERAL STATUTORY IMPACTS ON STATE WATER RIGHTS

At the outset of this chapter, the federal deference policy emphasizing state primacy in the water rights law was noted. Over the years, almost all western states have responded to this policy by enacting comprehensive unitary water rights programs administered by a single person or board.

During the 1970s and 1980s, however, several federal environmental protection and natural resource management laws were enacted that have impacted negatively on the successful future implementation of these comprehensive unitary state water right management law systems. These enactments placed clouds not only over the "certainty" benefits of the unitary state programs associated with the exercise of water rights, but also over the ability to successfully establish and administer water planning programs. Although a description of this impact is beyond the scope of this chapter, practitioners should be aware that, to a considerable extent, Washington's longstanding, and...