quantified under State law. Appropriative rights
carry designated priority dates that establish the rel-
ative right of priority to use water from a source.
Most States in the West have developed judicial and
administrative proceedings, often called general ad-
judications, to quantify and document these relative
rights, including the rights to water claimed by the
United States Government under either State or
Federal law.
(2) State general adjudications are typically
complicated, expensive civil court and administrative
actions that can involve hundreds or even thousands
of claimants. Such adjudications give certainty to
water rights, provide direction for water administra-
tion, and reduce conflict over water allocation and
water usage. Those claiming and establishing rights
to water are the primary beneficiaries of State gen-
eral adjudication proceedings.
(3) The Congress has recognized the benefits of
the State general adjudication system, and by enact-
ment of section 208 of the Department of Justice
Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 U.S.C. 666; commonly
referred to as the ‘‘McCarran Amendment’’), re-
quired the United States to submit to State court
jurisdiction and to file claims in State general adju-
dication proceedings.
(4) Water rights claims by Federal agencies
under either State or Federal law are often the larg-
est or most complex claims in State general adju-
dications. However, the United States Supreme
Court, in the case United States v. Idaho, 508 U.S.
1 (1992), determined that the McCarran Amend-
ment does not require the United States to pay some
filing fees simply because they were misconstrued or
perceived to be the same as costs taxed against all
parties.
(5) Since Federal agency water rights claims
are among the most difficult to adjudicate, and since
the United States is not required to pay some fees
and costs paid by non-Federal claimants, the burden
of funding adjudication proceedings unfairly shifts
to private water users and State taxpayers.
(6) The lack of Federal Government funding to
support State water rights adjudications in relation
to the complexity of the claims involved has pro-
duced significant delays in completion of State gen-
eral adjudications. These delays inhibit the ability of
both the States and Federal agencies to protect pri-
vate and public property interests. Also, failure to
complete the final adjudication of claims to water re-
stricts the ability of resource managers to determine
how much unappropriated water is available to sat-
isfy environmental and economic development de-
mands.
SEC. 3. LIABILITY OF UNITED STATES FOR FEES AND
COSTS IN WATER USE RIGHTS PROCEEDINGS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In any State administrative or ju-
dicial proceeding for the adjudication or administration of
rights to the use of water in which the United States is
a party, the United States shall be subject to the imposi-
tion of fees and costs on its claims to water rights under
either State or Federal law to the same extent as a private
party to the proceeding.
(b) APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) shall apply to pro-
ceedings pending on or initiated after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, including with respect to fees and costs
imposed in such a proceeding before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The head of any Fed-
eral agency that files or has pending any water rights
claim shall prepare and submit to the Congress, within
90 days after the end of each fiscal year, a report that
identifies—
(1) each such claim filed by the agency that has
not yet been decreed;
(2) all fees and costs imposed on the United
States for each claim identified under paragraph (1);
(3) any portion of such fees and costs that has
not been paid; and
(4) the source of funds used to pay such fees
and costs.
(d) FEES AND COSTS DEFINED.—In this section, the
term ‘‘fees and costs’’ means any administrative fee, ad-
ministrative cost, claim fee, judicial fee, or judicial cost
imposed by a State on a party claiming a right to the
use of water under either State or Federal law in a State
proceeding referred to in subsection (a).
Æ