[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 115 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            WATER-RELATED TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN T. DOOLITTLE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 4, 1997

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the ``Water-
Related Technical Corrections Act of 1997.'' This bill is a 
noncontroversial bill designed to correct and update certain provisions 
of law that affect the Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the 
Department of the Interior.
  Perhaps the most substantive policy issue addressed in the bill is 
the section to amend the Warren Act of 1911. The 1911 Act was passed at 
a time when Bureau of Reclamation facilities were all single-purpose 
projects for the delivery of irrigation water. Therefore, the Warren 
Act authorized moving water surplus to the project's needs and 
nonproject water through Reclamation facilities only for irrigation 
purposes.
  Much has happened in the arid West since 1911. In 1939, Congress 
enacted legislation to authorize multi-purpose Bureau of Reclamation 
projects. Today, many Reclamation projects in the West do serve many 
purposes, including delivery of irrigation and municipal water 
supplies, hydroelectric power generation, fish and wildlife purposes, 
recreation and flood control. The Warren Act needs to be updated to 
enable surplus and nonproject water to be moved through federal 
facilities for various beneficial purposes.
  As water supplies in the West tighten, efficient water management is 
needed. An updated Warren Act can help water managers achieve that 
goal. In fact, legislation to enable surplus and nonproject water to be 
moved through Reclamation facilities has already been enacted for 
certain Reclamation projects in the West, including most projects in 
California and the Central Utah Project. There are pending requests 
before the Subcommittee on Water and Power to make this modification 
for two additional projects. The time has come to deal with this 
subject in a comprehensive manner, and not continue piece-meal efforts 
to provide water users, including urban water districts, with the tools 
they need for effective water management.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this provision, and 
the other provisions to clarify provisions of Reclamation law.

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