43 USC 1551 – Construction of Colorado River Basin Act
(a) Effect on other laws
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter, amend, repeal, modify, or be in conflict with the provisions of the Colorado River Compact (45 Stat. 1057), the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact (63 Stat. 31), the Water Treaty of 1944 with the United Mexican States (Treaty Series 994; 59 Stat. 1219), the decree entered by the Supreme Court of the United States in Arizona against California and others (376 U.S. 340), or, except as otherwise provided herein, the Boulder Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057) [43 U.S.C. 617 et seq.], the Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act (54 Stat. 774), [43 U.S.C. 618 et seq.], or the Colorado River Storage Project Act (70 Stat. 105) [43 U.S.C. 620 et seq.].
(b) Reports to Congress
Terms Used In 43 USC 1551
- augmentation: when used herein with reference to water, means to increase the supply of the Colorado River or its tributaries by the introduction of water into the Colorado River system, which is in addition to the natural supply of the system. See 43 USC 1556
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
The Secretary is directed to—
(1) make reports as to the annual consumptive uses and losses of water from the Colorado River system after each successive five-year period, beginning with the five-year period starting on October 1, 1970. Such reports shall include a detailed breakdown of the beneficial consumptive use of water on a State-by-State basis. Specific figures on quantities consumptively used from the major tributary streams flowing into the Colorado River shall also be included on a State-by-State basis. Such reports shall be prepared in consultation with the States of the lower basin individually and with the Upper Colorado River Commission, and shall be transmitted to the President, the Congress, and to the Governors of each State signatory to the Colorado River Compact; and
(2) condition all contracts for the delivery of water originating in the drainage basin of the Colorado River system upon the availability of water under the Colorado River Compact.
(c) Compliance of Federal officers and agencies
All Federal officers and agencies are directed to comply with the applicable provisions of this chapter, and of the laws, treaty, compacts, and decree referred to in subsection (a) of this section, in the storage and release of water from all reservoirs and in the operation and maintenance of all facilities in the Colorado River system under the jurisdiction and supervision of the Secretary, and in the operation and maintenance of all works which may be authorized hereafter for the augmentation of the water supply of the Colorado River system. In the event of failure of any such officer or agency to so comply, any affected State may maintain an action to enforce the provisions of this section in the Supreme Court of the United States and consent is given to the joinder of the United States as a party in such suit or suits, as a defendant or otherwise.