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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ACT
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speech of
HON. PAUL COOK
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I rise along with my colleagues, Congressman
Ruiz and Congressman Calvert to speak to S. 47, the Natural Resources
Management Act and a provision that I introduced as part of the
California Desert Protection and Recreation Act of 2019, specifically
Section 1457 as it relates to the designation of the Whitewater River
as a Wild and Recreational River.
The City of Banning and the Community of Banning Heights, which are
in the district of Mr. Ruiz, receive a vital source of water from a
flume that conveys water from the headwaters of the Whitewater River,
which is located in my district.
In 1913, the State of California recognized the appropriative state
water rights that the City of Banning and Banning Heights Mutual Water
Company use to divert water from the headwaters of the Whitewater River
into the San Gorgonio watershed. In 1918, the U.S. Secretary of the
Interior approved the right-of-way for the diversion structures and the
flume that carries the water to the City and to Banning Heights. These
communities have relied on this water for over a century--water that is
critical for drinking, cooking, washing, and fire control. The two
communities own the water rights, which provide 100 percent of the
water for the community of Banning Heights and approximately 30 percent
of the water for the City of Banning.
In designating the Whitewater River as a Wild and Recreational River,
we speak with one voice in saying that we do not wish in any way to
interfere with these historic rights. We recognize that the downstream
portions of the Whitewater River already have the necessary flows for
the Wild and Recreational designations and that additional flows are
not needed to maintain or enhance these designations. As the primary
sponsor of the legislation containing the Whitewater designation in the
House, I in particular, wish to underscore this as a matter of
legislative history and Congressional intent. We ask that the Forest
Service and the BLM in implementing the Wild and Recreational River
designations heed this Congressional intent and incorporate it into any
land management plan amendment and other implementing documents.
We also want to be sure that the United States Forest Service--
specifically the San Bernardino National Forest--heeds the instructions
from the FY19 Interior Appropriations bill (P.L. 116-6) that reminds
the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service of the states'
jurisdiction over water law and expect that all applicable laws will be
followed when considering a request for a permit or permit renewal.
The U.S. Forest Service, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Bureau
of Land Management, and other agencies should not now, or in the
future, point to the designation of the Whitewater River as a Wild and
Recreational River as a justification to require the City of Banning or
the Banning Heights Mutual Water Company to relinquish their state-
granted water rights nor should such agencies require the removal of
diversions at the headwaters of the Whitewater River and the flume that
are necessary for these communities to receive water appropriated to
them by the State of California.
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