Title 43, Public LandsRelease 119-73not60
§485h–4 Application of State Laws
Title 43 › Chapter 12— RECLAMATION AND IRRIGATION OF LANDS BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT › Subchapter X— PAYMENT OF CONSTRUCTION CHARGES › § 485h–4
Summary
Federal rules here must not change state laws about controlling, using, or dividing water for irrigation, or take away rights people already have under those state laws. The federal official who applies these rules must follow state law. Any water right gained under the federal rules stays with the land being irrigated and is limited by its actual beneficial use.
Full Legal Text
Title 43, §485h–4
Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Nothing in sections 485h–1 to 485h–5 of this title shall be construed as affecting or intended to affect or to in any way interfere with the laws of any State relating to the control, appropriation, use, or distribution of water used in irrigation, or any vested right acquired thereunder, and the Secretary in carrying out the provisions of such sections, shall proceed in conformity with such laws, and nothing herein shall in any way affect any right of any State or of the Federal Government or of any landowner, appropriator, or user of water in, to, or from any interstate stream or the waters thereof: Provided, That the right to the use of water acquired under the provisions of such sections shall be appurtenant to the land irrigated and beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Section was not enacted as part of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 which comprises this subchapter.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
43 U.S.C. § 485h–4
Title 43, Public Lands
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60