[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 141 (Thursday, October 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12280-S12281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             S. 1986, UMATILLA BASIN PROJECT COMPLETION ACT

  Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, for two decades, I have worked to 
resolve the fishery and irrigation conflicts in the Umatilla River 
Basin in the northeastern region of my State of Oregon. In 1988, with 
the passage of the Umatilla Basin Project Act, we brought all interests 
together behind a project which advanced the goal of restoring 
anadromous fish runs in the Umatilla River. The act authorized pumping 
facilities to allow three irrigation districts, which previously 
withdrew their water from the Umatilla River, to receive an equal 
volume of water from the adjacent Columbia River to irrigate their 
crops and, in return, leave their water in the river for fish. The 
project, which has had no negative impact on the Columbia River, 
enabled the reintroduction of salmon stocks in the Umatilla River

[[Page S12281]]

that had been lost since the 1960's. Benefits of the project have been 
felt by both the fish and the irrigators in the basin, whose water 
supply is much more stable today than it was in the 1980's.
  The Umatilla Basin Project has been a product of years of debate and 
grassroots consensus building. I had hoped to build on that spirit this 
year and reach an agreement which would have allowed the fourth, and 
final, Umatilla Basin irrigation district, the Westland Irrigation 
District, to also exchange Umatilla River for Columbia River water. The 
potential for such an agreement to finally solve a number of remaining 
and long-standing water issues in the basin was very promising, and, 
last July, I introduced a bill to complete the project, address the 
Federal Government's treaty fishery obligations to the Umatilla Tribes, 
adjust the boundaries of the four irrigation districts to formally 
incorporate lands that had long been irrigated with project water, and 
resolve water supply concerns jointly held by the Umatilla Indian 
Reservation and the City of Pendleton, OR.
  I commend the Umatilla Tribes, Umatilla Basin Irrigation Districts, 
the State of Oregon, Water Watch of Oregon and the City of Pendleton 
for their diligent efforts to attempt to resolve this complex and 
difficult array of issues. Since last April, my staff has worked 
virtually nonstop with all of these local interests, Congressman 
Cooley, the House Resources Committee staff, the Senate Energy and 
Natural Resources Committee staff, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the 
Clinton administration in an effort to forge a consensus agreement. 
Unfortunately, the consensus I had hoped for was not achieved. While 
the parties agreed on the need to construct facilities to allow the 
final Columbia River exchange, referred to as Phase III, and other 
efforts to improve the Umatilla fishery, they could not agree on the 
terms and timing of the irrigation district boundary adjustment.
  The four irrigation districts agreed to an environmental review of 
their boundary adjustment proposal. They also agreed to provide 
significant mitigation water for fish until the year 2003, or until a 
substantial portion of the Phase III exchange was on line, whichever 
came first. They could not agree, however, to give the Secretary of the 
Interior the authority to act on the information obtained in connection 
with a National Environmental Policy Act review, which was a condition 
of the boundary adjustment decision. Unfortunately, this discretion 
was, in the eyes of the Clinton administration, an essential element of 
any agreement. In addition, the irrigation districts insisted that the 
authorization of the Columbia River exchange facilities and other 
facilities intended to improve the fishery be conditioned upon the 
satisfaction of their boundary adjustment request. At this late date in 
the congressional session, these differences of opinion proved to be 
insurmountable.
  Though my desire to complete the Umatilla Basin Project is great, I 
could not allow myself or others to forget the overriding objective of 
the 1988 Umatilla Basin Project Act. That act states that the decision 
to adjust the irrigation districts' boundaries ``shall be considered as 
secondary to the purpose of providing water for fishery purposes.'' 
While it is understood that the Umatilla Basin Project should not 
necessarily disadvantage irrigation districts, restoration of the 
anadromous fish runs must continue to be its predominant mission.
  I regret that the parties failed to reach consensus on this most 
important issue, and I hope that the Oregon Delegation will work 
together with the affected parties in the 105th Congress to reach 
consensus on the issues that remain.

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