IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3189 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 24, 2014 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To prohibit the conditioning of any permit, lease, or other 

use agreement on the transfer of any water right to 

the United States by the Secretaries of the Interior and 

Agriculture. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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HR 3189 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Rights Protec3 tion Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF WATER RIGHTS. 

5 The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

6 Agriculture— 

7 (1) shall not condition the issuance, renewal, 

8 amendment, or extension of any permit, approval, li9 cense, lease, allotment, easement, right-of-way, or 

10 other land use or occupancy agreement on the trans11 fer of any water right (including joint and sole own12 ership) directly to the United States, or any impair13 ment of title, in whole or in part, granted or other14 wise recognized under State law, by Federal or State 

15 adjudication, decree, or other judgment, or pursuant 

16 to any interstate water compact; and 

17 (2) shall not require any water user (including 

18 any federally recognized Indian tribe) to apply for or 

19 acquire a water right in the name of the United 

20 States under State law as a condition of the 

21 issuance, renewal, amendment, or extension of any 

22 permit, approval, license, lease, allotment, easement, 

23 right-of-way, or other land use or occupancy agree24 ment. 


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HR 3189 RFS

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITION. 

2 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘water right’’ 

3 means any surface, groundwater, or storage use filed, per4 mitted, certificated, confirmed, decreed, adjudicated, or 

5 otherwise recognized by a judicial proceeding or by the 

6 State in which the user acquires possession of the water 

7 or puts it to beneficial use. Such term shall include water 

8 rights for federally recognized Indian tribes. 

9 SEC. 4. IMPACT ON EXISTING AUTHORITY. 

10 Nothing in this Act limits or expands any existing 

11 legally recognized authority of the Secretaries to issue, 

12 grant, or condition any permit, approval, license, lease, al13 lotment, easement, right-of-way, or other land use or occu14 pancy agreement on Federal lands subject to their respec15 tive jurisdictions. 

16 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON RECLAMATION CONTRACTS. 

17 Nothing in this Act shall in any way interfere with 

18 existing or future Bureau of Reclamation contracts en19 tered into pursuant to Federal reclamation law (the Act 

20 of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and Acts 

21 supplemental to and amendatory of that Act). 

22 SEC. 6. EFFECT ON ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT. 

23 Nothing in this Act shall affect the implementation 

24 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 

25 et seq.). 


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HR 3189 RFS

1 SEC. 7. EFFECT ON FEDERAL RESERVED WATER RIGHTS. 

2 Nothing in this Act limits or expands any existing 

3 reserved water rights of the Federal Government on lands 

4 administered by the Secretary of the Interior or the Sec5 retary of Agriculture. 

6 SEC. 8. EFFECT ON FEDERAL POWER ACT. 

7 Nothing in this Act limits or expands authorities pur8 suant to sections 4(e), 10(j), or 18 of the Federal Power 

9 Act (16 U.S.C. 797(e), 803(j), and 811). 

10 SEC. 9. EFFECT ON INDIAN WATER RIGHTS. 

11 Nothing in this Act limits or expands any existing 

12 reserved water right or treaty right of any federally recog13 nized Indian tribe. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 13, 

2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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