[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 87 (Monday, July 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H5678-H5679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GRIFFITH PROJECT PREPAYMENT AND CONVEYANCE ACT
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the Senate bill (S. 986) to direct the Secretary of the Interior
to convey the Griffith Project to the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 986
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 ``Griffith Project Prepayment
and Conveyance Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``Authority'' means the Southern Nevada Water
Authority, organized under the laws of the State of Nevada.
(2) The term ``Griffith Project'' means the Robert B.
Griffith Water Project, authorized by and constructed
pursuant to the Southern Nevada Water Project Act, Public Law
89-292, as amended, (commonly known as the ``Southern Nevada
Water Project Act'') (79 Stat. 1068), including pipelines,
conduits, pumping plants, intake facilities, aqueducts,
laterals, water storage and regulatory facilities, electric
substations, and related works and improvements listed
pursuant to ``Robert B. Griffith Water Project (Formerly
Southern Nevada Water Project), Nevada: Southern Clark
County, Lower Colorado Region Bureau of Reclamation'', on
file at the Bureau of Reclamation and all interests in land
acquired under Public Law 89-292, as amended.
(3) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Interior.
(4) The term ``Acquired Land(s)'' means all interests in
land, including fee title, right(s)-of-way, and easement(s),
acquired by the United States from non-Federal sources by
purchase, donation, exchange, or condemnation pursuant to
Public Law 89-292, as amended for the Griffith Project.
(5) The term ``Public Land'' means lands which have never
left Federal ownership and are under the jurisdiction of the
Bureau of Land Management.
(6) The term ``Withdrawn Land'' means Federal lands which
are withdrawn from settlement, sale, location of minerals, or
entry under some or all of the general land laws and are
reserved for a particular public purpose pursuant to Public
Law 89-292, as amended, under the jurisdiction of the Bureau
of Reclamation, or are reserved pursuant to Public Law 88-639
under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF GRIFFITH PROJECT.
(a) In General.--In consideration of the Authority assuming
from the United States all liability for administration,
operation, maintenance, and replacement of the Griffith
Project and subject to the prepayment by the Authority of the
Federal repayment amount of $121,204,348 (which amount shall
be increased to reflect any accrued unpaid interest and shall
be decreased by the amount of any additional principal
payments made by the Authority after September 15, 1999,
prior to the date on which prepayment occurs), the Secretary
shall, pursuant to the provisions of this Act--
(1) convey and assign to the Authority all of the right,
title, and interest of the United States in and to
improvements and facilities of the Griffith Project in
existence as of the date of this Act;
(2) convey and assign to the Authority all of the right,
title, and interest of the United States to Acquired Lands
that were acquired for the Griffith Project; and
(3) convey and assign to the Authority all interests
reserved and developed as of the date of this Act for the
Griffith Project in lands patented by the United States.
(b) Pursuant to the authority of this section, from the
effective date of conveyance of the Griffith Project, the
Authority shall have a right of way at no cost across all
Public Land and Withdrawn Land--
(1) on which the Griffith Project is situated; and
(2) across any Federal lands as reasonably necessary for
the operation, maintenance, replacement, and repair of the
Griffith Project, including existing access routes.
Rights of way established by this section shall be valid for
as long as they are needed for municipal water supply
purposes and shall not require payment of rental or other
fee.
(c) Within twelve months after the effective date of this
Act--
(1) the Secretary and the Authority shall agree upon a
description of the land subject to the rights of way
established by subsection (b) of this section; and
(2) the Secretary shall deliver to the Authority a document
memorializing such rights of way.
(d) Report.--If the conveyance under subsection (a) has not
occurred within twelve months after the effective date of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on
the status of the conveyance.
SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING CONTRACTS.
The Secretary and the Authority may modify Contract No. 7-
07-30-W0004 and other contracts and land permits as necessary
to conform to the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS AND FUTURE BENEFITS.
(a) If the Authority changes the use or operation of the
Griffith Project, the Authority shall comply with all
applicable laws and regulations governing the changes at that
time.
(b) On conveyance of the Griffith Project under section 3
of this Act, the Act of June 17, 1902 (43 U.S.C. 391 et
seq.), and all Acts amendatory thereof or supplemental
thereto shall not apply to the Griffith Project. Effective
upon transfer, the lands and facilities transferred pursuant
to this Act shall not be entitled to receive any further
Reclamation benefits pursuant to the Act of June 17, 1902,
and all Acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto
attributable to their status as a Federal Reclamation
Project, and the Griffith Project shall no longer be a
Federal Reclamation Project.
(c) Nothing in this Act shall transfer or affect Federal
ownership, rights, or interests in Lake Mead National
Recreation Area associated lands, nor affect the authorities
of the National Park Service to manage Lake Mead National
Recreation Area including lands on which the Griffith Project
is located consistent with the Act of August 25, 1916 (39
Stat. 535), Public Law 88-639, October 8, 1964 (78 Stat.
1039), or any other applicable legislation, regulation, or
policy.
(d) Nothing in this Act shall affect the application of
Federal reclamation law to water delivered to the Authority
pursuant to any contract with the Secretary under section 5
of the Boulder Canyon Project Act.
(e) Effective upon conveyance of the Griffith Project and
acquired interests in land under section 3 of 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 of the conveyed property.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).
General Leave
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 986.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Oregon?
There was no objection.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, S. 986 was introduced by Senator Reid of Nevada and a
companion bill was introduced by our friend and colleague, the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) on May 5 of 1999.
This legislation provides for the Southern Nevada Water Authority to
accept responsibility for administration, operation and maintenance of
the Griffith Project and to pay the net present value of the remaining
repayment obligation. In addition, the bill directs the Secretary to
convey and assign to the authority all right, title and interest of the
United States in and to the Griffith Project.
[[Page H5679]]
The Griffith Project forms an integral part of a much larger water
delivery system built separately by the Southern Nevada Water Authority
and its constituent agencies. It consists of the intake facilities,
pumping plants, et cetera required to provide water from Lake Meade for
distribution.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I fully support the passage of S.
986. I note that the Department of the Interior has raised concerns
regarding the effect of the bill on the Lake Meade National Recreation
area. It is my understanding that the rights of way provisions in S.
986, while generous, are intended to provide the Southern Nevada Water
Authority with reasonable access to project facilities across Federal
lands.
The Secretary of the Interior has responsibility for protecting and
managing the Lake Mead National Recreation area, and I would expect the
Secretary's participation in negotiations involving rights of way over
Federal lands which provide ample opportunities to ensure that those
resources are fully protected.
Madam Speaker, I would like to say that I want to commend the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), my good friend, and the good
senator from Nevada for his bipartisan support of this legislation, and
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), the author of the
House companion bill to S. 986.
(Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased today to rise in support of
S. 986, the Griffith Project Prepayment and Conveyance Act.
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague, the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) for yielding me the time with which
to speak and to thank the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from
Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Doolittle)
for their leadership and assistance with this bill and also to thank my
friend and colleague, the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) for his courtesies and assistance in this bill as well.
The Griffith Project, formerly known as the Southern Nevada Project,
was first authorized in 1965, and directed to Secretary of Interior to
construct, operate and maintain the project in order to deliver water
to Clark County, Nevada.
With the phenomenal growth of the Las Vegas Valley over the past
several decades, and the associated need for additional water, the
Griffith Project has become but a small part of the overall system used
to deliver water to the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
With the strong support of the State and local government to increase
and improve the water delivery and treatment system for the Las Vegas
Valley, it is projected that the federally funded share of the overall
system will decrease to approximately 6 percent when completed.
The time has come, Madam Speaker, for the title of the Griffith
Project to be transferred to the local ownership, and this is the goal
of S. 986. S. 986 will convey to the Southern Nevada Water Authority
all right, title and interest of the United States in and to the
Griffith Project.
This conveyance is subject to the payment by the Southern Nevada
Water Authority of the net present value of the remaining repayment
obligation.
This repayment obligation will be determined under financial terms
and conditions that are similar to other title transfer laws which have
been enacted on other projects.
The repayment obligation will also be governed by the guidance from
the Department of Interior and the office of Management and Budget.
This conveyance will simplify the overall operation of the system for
the Southern Nevada Water Authority by removing some of the duplicative
efforts required by having dual owners.
For example, a pump station in the Griffith Project portion of the
system requires repairs or maintenance, then Project employees must
notify the Bureau of Reclamation that a repair is needed.
Madam Speaker, then they must describe the exact nature of the work
to be performed, obtain permission for a crew to perform the work and
schedule the work to be done at such a time when the Bureau of
Reclamation employees can be present just to watch or oversee the
repair or maintenance being performed by the Project employees.
When the Project work is completed, the Bureau of Reclamation then
sends a local bill to the water authority for the time spent by its
personnel simply watching the work being done by the Project employees.
Madam Speaker, we should note that this could be as simple as
replacing just a valve handle, even though there are no leaks or any
technical problems with the system. Truly, Madam Speaker, this is a
tremendous waste of Bureau of Reclamation time and an unnecessary and
expensive cost burden for the people of Las Vegas.
In summary, this is a rather straightforward bill which will result
in a much simplified and improved operation of the water supply and
treatment facility for the Las Vegas Valley.
Madam Speaker, I, along with the senior Senator from Nevada, have
worked with the Bureau of Reclamation to resolve their concerns, and we
believe this is the right approach for Southern Nevada.
I do understand the right of way issues that remain and will work
with the administration and those concerned with that right of way
issue to resolve those problems, and I would ask my colleagues to
support this bipartisan bill and pass S. 986.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and
I yield back the balance of my time as well.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the Senate bill, S. 986.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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