Today, Congressman Scott Tipton's (R-CO) bill to protect Colorado and Western water rights from federal takings received a legislative hearing in the House Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee. H.R. 3189, which Tipton introduced earlier this month with bipartisan support from Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), has received strong support from a broad coalition of local, state and national stakeholders concerned with recent federal attempts to hijack privately held water rights.
"Recent federal attempts to manipulate the federal permit, lease, and land management process to circumvent long-established state water law and hijack privately-held water rights have sounded the alarm for all non-federal water users that rely on these water rights for their livelihood, and have already hurt stakeholders in Colorado and in other Western states," said Tipton. "The bipartisan Water Rights Protection Act seeks to protect local water rights from federal government overreach and takings by prohibiting federal agencies from pilfering water rights through the use of permits, leases, and other land management arrangements as well as by upholding longstanding federal deference to state water law on which countless water users rely."