Western Governors protest U.S. Forest Service water directive

CARSON CITY - In a letter signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval, the Western Governors Association is criticizing a proposed U.S. Forest Service directive that seeks significant changes to water policy without their involvement.

The agency says the proposed directive would create a more consistent approach in its evaluation and monitoring of the impact on groundwater from actions on national forest system land.

The Western Governors say the agency is over-reaching.

“This proposed directive was developed without any state consultation of which the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) is aware,” the letter dated Oct. 2 notes. “We invite the USFS to work through WGA, Western States Water Council, and individual states to facilitate dialogue on ways to improve this (and any future) proposed directive.”

The seven-page letter, signed by Sandoval and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, lists several concerns.

The USFS has said the directive is needed to establish a consistent approach for addressing both surface and groundwater issues that appropriately protects water resources, recognizes existing water use, and responds to the growing societal need for high-quality water supplies.

But Sections of the directive “assume that the service has some type of authority over the management of groundwater, which it does not,” the governors counter in their letter. “The proposed directive should clearly state that state issued water rights for allocations of water must be recognized. The USFS does not have the authority to limit the amount of withdrawals authorized by a state. Limiting the quantity of groundwater withdrawals through special use authorizations would, in effect, amount to superseding states’ authority to issue water rights.”

Sandoval and other governors also express concern about the “rebuttable presumption” that surface water and groundwater are hydraulically connected, regardless of whether state law treats these resources separately.

“The directive should defer to the laws of individual states in recognition of their authority over water management,” the letter says.

The governors also say the directive requires the federal agency to evaluate water right applications on adjacent land that could adversely affect Forest Service groundwater, which oversteps the agency’s authority.

The comment period on the proposed directive ended Oct. 3.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801.