[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2389 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2389

  To provide for the compensation of persons of the Klamath Basin who 
   were economically harmed as a result of the implementation of the 
                    Endangered Species Act of 1973.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2001

Mr. Herger (for himself and Mr. Walden) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the compensation of persons of the Klamath Basin who 
   were economically harmed as a result of the implementation of the 
                    Endangered Species Act of 1973.

    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 ``Compensation for Klamath Basin 
Government-Caused Disaster Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Klamath Reclamation Project is a water storage and 
        irrigation project serving more than 200,000 acres of land in 
        southern Oregon and northern California.
            (2) The Klamath Reclamation Project was authorized in 1905 
        pursuant to the Reclamation Act of 1902 (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.) 
        and is operated by the Bureau of Reclamation.
            (3) On April 6, 2001, the Bureau of Reclamation issued the 
        Klamath Reclamation Project 2001 Annual Operations Plan, which 
        provides for the delivery of no water to most of the lands 
        served by the Klamath Reclamation Project, and instead 
        implements an alternative plan developed pursuant to the 
        Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
            (4) As a result of the Klamath Reclamation Project 2001 
        Annual Operations Plan, nearly 1,500 family farms and many 
        local agriculture-related businesses will sustain severe 
        economic harm, and many could be forced into bankruptcy, 
        causing severe harm to the entire economy of the Klamath Basin.
            (5) The situation in the Klamath Basin amounts to a 
        Government-caused disaster.
            (6) The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in this Act 
        referred to as the ``Secretary'') should fully compensate the 
        persons of the Klamath Basin for the economic harm caused as a 
        result of the implementation of the Klamath Reclamation Project 
        2001 Annual Operations Plan.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure that persons of 
the Klamath Basin are fully compensated for economic losses suffered by 
such persons as a result of the implementation of the Klamath 
Reclamation Project 2001 Annual Operations Plan.

SEC. 3. COMPENSATION FOR THE GOVERNMENT-CAUSED DISASTER IN THE KLAMATH 
              BASIN.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall pay compensation to each 
person of the Klamath Basin for all economic harm suffered by such 
person as a result of the implementation of the Klamath Reclamation 
Project 2001 Annual Operations Plan, which was issued by the Bureau of 
Reclamation on April 6, 2001.
    (b) Amount of Compensation.--The amount of compensation paid by the 
Secretary under subsection (a) shall be sufficient to place each person 
of the Klamath Basin in the economic position in which such person 
would have been had the Secretary delivered water from the Klamath 
Reclamation Project without regard to the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
    (c) Offset for Multiple Payments.--The amount of any compensation 
that would, in the absence of this subsection, be paid to a person of 
the Klamath Basin under this section shall be reduced by any amounts 
received by such person pursuant to any other Federal law for 
compensation of economic harm suffered by such person as a result of 
the implementation of the Klamath Reclamation Project 2001 Annual 
Operations Plan.
    (d) Person of the Klamath Basin Defined.--For purposes of this 
section, the term ``person of the Klamath Basin'' means any individual 
who lives, works, or owns real property in the area served by the 
Klamath Reclamation Project, and any municipality or political 
subdivision of a State that has jurisdiction over all or part of the 
area served by the Klamath Reclamation Project, and is not limited to 
persons who were denied delivery of water as a result of the 
implementation of the Klamath Reclamation Project 2001 Annual 
Operations Plan.

SEC. 4. BUDGET ACT COMPLIANCE.

    Any spending authority provided under this Act shall be effective 
only to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts.
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