[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 151 (Monday, November 1, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H11160-H11161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SLY PARK UNIT CONVEYANCE ACT
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 992) to convey the Sly Park Dam and Reservoir to the El
Dorado Irrigation District, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 992
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of this Act, the term--
(1) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior;
(2) ``Sly Park Unit'' means the Sly Park Dam and Reservoir,
Camp Creek Diversion Dam and Tunnel, and conduits and canals
as authorized under the American River Act of October 14,
1949 (63 Stat. 853), including those used to convey, treat,
and store water delivered from Sly Park, as well as all
recreation facilities thereto; and
(3) ``District'' means the El Dorado Irrigation District.-
SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF SLY PARK UNIT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall, as soon as
practicable after date of enactment of this Act and in
accordance with all applicable law, transfer all right,
title, and interest in and to the Sly Park Unit to the
District.
(b) Sale Price.--The Secretary is authorized to receive
from the District $2,000,000 to relieve payment obligations
and extinguish the debt under contract number 14-06-200-
949IR2, and $9,500,000 to relieve payment obligations and
extinguish all debts associated with contracts numbered 14-
06-200-7734, as amended by contracts numbered 14-06-200-4282A
and 14-06-200-8536A. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence,
the District shall continue to make payments required by
section 3407(c) of Public Law 102-575 through year 2029.
(c) Credit Revenue to Project Repayment.--Upon payment
authorized under subsection (b), the amount paid shall be
credited toward repayment of capital costs of the Central
Valley Project in an amount equal to the associated
undiscounted obligation.
SEC. 3. FUTURE BENEFITS.
Upon payment, the Sly Park Unit shall no longer be a
Federal reclamation project or a unit of the Central Valley
Project, and the District shall not be entitled to receive
any further reclamation benefits.
SEC. 4. LIABILITY.
Except as otherwise provided by law, effective on the date
of conveyance of the Sly Park Unit under this Act, the United
States shall not be liable for damages of any kind arising
out of any act, omission, or occurrence based on its prior
ownership or operation of the conveyed property.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Doolittle) and the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Doolittle).
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, for more than 14 years the Sly Park Unit conveyance has
been a legislative proposal before the Congress. It has passed both the
House and Senate several times in various forms.
Today we have before us what I consider a fair proposal to all
interested parties in the legislation. The Sly Park Unit in California
was originally authorized under the American River Act of October 14,
1949. Since the project was completed in 1955, the district has
operated and maintained the facilities.
Additionally, the district has played a major role in providing a
safe, clean, and community-oriented recreation area that offers
camping, boating, swimming, picnicking, and fishing.
Since I became the chairman of the Subcommittee on Water and Power,
it has been my intent to pursue legislation to shrink the size and
scope of the Federal government through the defederalization of these
assets.
This defederalization should be done for two reasons. First, in the
case of Sly Park, the unit will be completely paid for prior to
conveyance.
Second, the district has demonstrated for more than four decades
their expertise and financial capability in managing this project more
efficiently than the Federal government.
During the 105th Congress two congressionally-initiated Bureau of
Reclamation transfer bills were signed into law that directed the
Secretary of the Interior to convey all right, title, and
[[Page H11161]]
interest to the United States in and to specified project facilities.
It is contemplated that the Sly Park Unit will be maintained and
managed after the transfer so that there would be no significant
changes in operation and maintenance or in land and water use in the
reasonably foreseeable future.
Once transfer takes place, the future management of the facility will
be the responsibility of the new owners, with any changes made pursuant
to all then applicable laws. It is the committee's expectation that the
completion of the conveyance should take no longer than 18 months from
the date of enactment.
To accomplish this end, we have received assurances from the Bureau
of Reclamation that they will complete as expeditiously as possible the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.
Furthermore, it is the committee's expectation that the district will
cooperate with the Bureau of Reclamation in the environmental process
and in the administrative tasks necessary to complete the transfer. If
the conveyance is not completed within 18 months from the date of
enactment, the Secretary can be expected to pay 100 percent of the
costs of complying with the requirements of NEPA incurred as a direct
result of executing this title transfer.
If the conveyance occurs within 18 months, the Bureau of Reclamation
should be expected to pay up to 50 percent of the costs of complying
with the requirements of NEPA incurred as a direct result of executing
this title transfer.
Again, I would like to thank my colleagues, especially the gentleman
from California (Mr. Miller), and the Bureau of Reclamation for their
work in assuring the passage of this important legislation. I would
urge an aye vote on the the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. UNDERWOOD asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, the committee has for more than a decade
been considering various proposals to transfer ownership of the Sly
Park Unit of the Central Valley Project. Many of the proposals we have
seen have been so controversial that it has been impossible to secure
passage of a bill.
We finally have a bill that resolves the most contentious issues, and
the majority has worked with the administration to reach agreement on
language that ensures the environmental review process will not be
waived.
{time} 1500
The bill provides a financial solution that reflects agreement with
the Office of Management and Budget. The manager's amendment to H.R.
992 under consideration today no longer includes authority for the El
Dorado Irrigation District to use tax exempt financing to pay off their
remaining repayment obligations.
Under the bill as reported, Federal funds could be used to pay off
this Federal debt. This inappropriate use of tax advantage funds
municipal bond financing was opposed in dissenting views filed with the
committee report, and it is appropriate that the offending language be
removed from the bill.
Mr. Speaker, there have been significant and positive modifications
to this legislation, and I understand that the administration now
supports the bill, and we are prepared to support this legislation,
H.R. 992, which is important for the gentleman from California (Mr.
Doolittle) in his district.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I, too, am pleased to confirm that the
administration is now officially on record in support of this
legislation. I urge an aye vote.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Doolittle) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 992, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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