[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1749 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1749

 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide funding for the 
implementation of the endangered fish recovery implementation programs 
           for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 1998

 Mr. Allard (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide funding for the 
implementation of the endangered fish recovery implementation programs 
           for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Upper Colorado River and San Juan 
River Endangered Fish Recovery Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of the ``Upper Colorado River and the San Juan River 
Endangered Fish Recovery Act of 1998'' is to authorize and provide 
funding for the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to continue implementation of the 
endangered fish recovery implementation programs for the Upper Colorado 
and San Juan River Basins in order to accomplish the objectives of 
these programs within a currently established time schedule.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``Recovery Implementation Programs'' means the 
        intergovernmental programs established pursuant to the 1988 
        Cooperative Agreement to implement the Recovery Implementation 
        Program for the Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado 
        River dated September 29, 1987, and the 1992 Cooperative 
        Agreement to implement the San Juan River Recovery 
        Implementation Program dated October 21, 1992, and as they may 
        be amended by the parties thereto;
            (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior;
            (3) the term ``Upper Division States'' means the States of 
        Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming;
            (4) the term ``Endangered Species Act'' means the 
        Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and any 
        Federal regulation implementing the Endangered Species Act;
            (5) the term ``Reclamation'' means the U.S. Bureau of 
        Reclamation;
            (6) the term ``Service'' means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
        Service;
            (7) the term ``Indian Affairs'' means the U.S. Bureau of 
        Indian Affairs;
            (8) the term ``Bureau'' means the U.S. Bureau of Land 
        Management;
            (9) the term ``capital projects'' means planning, design, 
        permitting or other compliance, construction, construction 
        management, and replacement of facilities, and the acquisition 
        of interests in land or water, as necessary to carry out the 
        Recovery Implementation Programs;
            (10) the term ``facilities'' includes facilities for the 
        genetic conservation or propagation of the endangered fishes, 
        those for the restoration of floodplain habitat or fish 
        passage, those for regulation or supply of instream flows, and 
        those for the removal or translocation of nonnative fishes;
            (11) the term ``interests in land and water'' includes 
        long-term leases and easements, and long-term enforcement or 
        other agreements protecting instream flows;
            (12) the term ``base funding'' means funding for operation 
        and maintenance of capital projects, implementation of recovery 
        actions other than capital projects, monitoring and research to 
        evaluate the need for or effectiveness of any recovery action, 
        and program management, as necessary to carry out the Recovery 
        Implementation Programs. Base funding also includes annual 
        funding provided under the terms of the 1988 Cooperative 
        Agreement and the 1992 Cooperative Agreement; and
            (13) the term ``recovery actions other than capital 
        projects'' includes short-term leases and agreements for 
        interests in land, water, and facilities; the reintroduction or 
        augmentation of endangered fish stocks; and the removal, 
        translocation, or other control of nonnative fishes.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO FUND RECOVERY PROGRAMS.

    (a) Cost of Capital Projects.--The costs of the capital projects 
undertaken for the Recovery Implementation Programs shall not exceed 
$100,000,000.
            (1) For the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered 
        Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin through the year 
        2003, such costs shall not exceed $82,000,000.
            (2) For the San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program 
        through the year 2007, such costs shall not exceed $18,000,000.
            (3) These costs will be adjusted for inflation.
    (b) Authorization for Appropriations for Federal Participation in 
Capital Projects.--There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary, acting through Reclamation, $46,000,000 to undertake capital 
projects pursuant to this Act. Such funds shall be considered a 
nonreimbursable Federal expenditure.
            (1) The authority of the Secretary to request 
        appropriations to implement capital projects for the Recovery 
        Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper 
        Colorado River Basin shall expire in the year 2003 unless 
        reauthorized by an Act of Congress.
            (2) The authority of the Secretary to request 
        appropriations to implement the capital projects for the San 
        Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program shall expire 
        in the year 2007 unless reauthorized by an Act of Congress.
    (c) Non-Federal Contributions to Capital Projects.--(1) The 
Secretary, acting through Reclamation, may enter into agreements with 
the Upper Division States, political subdivisions or organizations 
within the Upper Division States which contribute to the payment of 
capital project costs. Such non-Federal contributions shall not exceed 
$17,000,000.
    (2) In addition to the contribution described in 4(c)(1), the 
Secretary may utilize power revenues collected pursuant to the Colorado 
River Storage Project Act to carry out the purposes of this Act. Such 
funds shall be treated as reimbursable costs assigned to power for 
repayment under section 5 of the Colorado River Storage Project Act. 
This additional contribution shall not exceed $17,000,000. Such funds 
shall be considered a non-Federal contribution for the purposes of this 
Act. The additional funding provided pursuant to this provision may be 
provided through a loan or loans from the Colorado Water Conservation 
Board Construction Fund (37-60-121 C.R.S.) to the Secretary of Energy 
to replace revenues which would otherwise be used for project 
repayments. The Secretary is authorized to repay such loan or loans 
from power revenues, subject to an agreement between the Colorado Water 
Conservation Board and the Secretary of Energy. The agreement shall 
include provisions designed to minimize future increases in electrical 
power rates and ensure that a lump-sum repayment, which includes 
principal and interest, is paid to the Colorado Water Conservation 
Board no later than October 31, 2057.
    (3) All contributions made pursuant to subsection (c)(1) and (c)(2) 
shall be in addition to the cost of replacement power purchased due to 
modifying the operation of the Colorado River Storage Project and the 
capital value of water from Wolford Mountain Reservoir in Colorado. 
Such contributions shall not exceed $20,000,000.
    (d) Base Funding.--The Secretary may utilize power revenues 
collected pursuant to the Colorado River Storage Project Act for the 
annual base funding contributions to the Recovery Implementation 
Programs by Reclamation. Such funding will be treated as being 
nonreimbursable and as having been repaid and returned to the general 
fund of the Treasury as costs assigned to power for repayment under 
section 5 of the Colorado River Storage Project Act.
            (1) For the Recovery Implementation Program for the 
        Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin, such 
        contributions shall not exceed $4,000,000 per year.
            (2) For the San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program, 
        such contributions shall not exceed $2,000,000 per year.
These limits on the annual contributions to base funding will be 
adjusted for inflation. Any transfer of funds within these limits to 
the Service shall not be subject to transfer fees. No later than 
December 31, 2010, the Secretary shall submit a report on the 
utilization of power revenues to the Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development for the Senate and House Committee on Appropriations. The 
Secretary shall also make a recommendation regarding the need for 
additional funding that may be required to fulfill the goals of the 
Recovery Implementation Programs. Nothing in this Act shall otherwise 
modify or amend existing agreements among participants regarding base 
funding and depletion fees for the Recovery Implementation Programs. 
The Secretary of Energy and Reclamation shall maintain sufficient 
revenues in the Colorado River Basin Fund to meet their obligations to 
provide base funding in accordance with this provision.
    (e) Authority To Retain Appropriated Funds.--At the end of each 
fiscal year any unexpended appropriated funds for capital projects 
shall be retained for use in future fiscal years. Unexpended funds 
which are carried over shall continue to be used to implement the 
capital projects needed for the Recovery Implementation Programs.
    (f) Additional Authority.--The Secretary may enter into agreements 
and contracts with Federal and non-Federal entities; acquire and 
transfer interests in land, water and facilities; and accept or give 
grants in order to carry out the purposes of this Act.
    (g) Indian Trust Assets.--As much of the potential water 
development in the San Juan River Basin is for the benefit of Indian 
tribes and most of the federally designated critical habitat for the 
endangered fish species in the basin is on Indian trust lands, nothing 
in this Act shall be construed to restrict the Secretary from funding 
activities or capital items in accordance with the Federal Government's 
Indian trust responsibility.

SEC. 5. EFFECT ON RECLAMATION LAW.

    Construction of facilities and acquisition of land and water 
interests as contemplated herein shall not render these facilities or 
land and water interests or associated processes and procedures subject 
to the Reclamation Act of 1902, as amended.
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