[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 5, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H3432-H3434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CENTRAL OREGON JOBS AND WATER SECURITY ACT
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 2060) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
to adjust the Crooked River boundary, to provide water certainty for
the City of Prineville, Oregon, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2060
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 ``Central Oregon Jobs and
Water Security Act''.
SEC. 2. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER; CROOKED, OREGON.
Section 3(a)(72) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16
U.S.C. 1274(a)(72)) is amended as follows:
(1) By striking ``15-mile'' and inserting ``14.75-mile''.
[[Page H3433]]
(2) In subparagraph (B)--
(A) by striking ``8-mile'' and all that follows through
``Bowman Dam'' and inserting ``7.75-mile segment from a point
one-quarter mile downstream from the toe of Bowman Dam''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following: ``The developer for
any hydropower development, including turbines and
appurtenant facilities, at Bowman Dam, in consultation with
the Bureau of Land Management, shall analyze any impacts to
the Outstandingly Remarkable Values of the Wild and Scenic
River that may be caused by such development, including the
future need to undertake routine and emergency repairs, and
shall propose mitigation for any impacts as part of any
license application submitted to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission.''.
SEC. 3. CITY OF PRINEVILLE WATER SUPPLY.
Section 4 of the Act of August 6, 1956 (70 Stat. 1058), (as
amended by the Acts of September 14, 1959 (73 Stat. 554), and
September 18, 1964 (78 Stat. 954)) is further amended as
follows:
(1) By striking ``ten cubic feet'' the first place it
appears and inserting ``17 cubic feet''.
(2) By striking ``during those months when there is no
other discharge therefrom, but this release may be reduced
for brief temporary periods by the Secretary whenever he may
find that release of the full ten cubic feet per second is
harmful to the primary purpose of the project''.
(3) By adding at the end the following: ``Without further
action by the Secretary, and as determined necessary for any
given year by the City of Prineville, up to seven of the 17
cubic feet per second minimum release shall also serve as
mitigation for City of Prineville groundwater pumping,
pursuant to and in a manner consistent with Oregon State law,
including any shaping of the release of the up to seven cubic
feet per second to coincide with City of Prineville
groundwater pumping as may be required by the State of
Oregon. As such, the Secretary is authorized to make
applications to the State of Oregon in conjunction with the
City to protect these supplies instream. The City shall make
payment to the Secretary for that portion of the minimum
release that actually serves as mitigation pursuant to Oregon
State law for the City in any given year, with the payment
for any given year equal to the amount of mitigation in acre
feet required to offset actual City groundwater pumping for
that year in accordance with Reclamation `Water and Related
Contract and Repayment Principles and Requirements',
Reclamation Manual Directives and Standards PEC 05 01, dated
09/12/2006, and guided by `Economic and Environmental
Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land
Resources Implementation Studies', dated March 10, 1983. The
Secretary is authorized to contract exclusively with the City
for additional amounts in the future at the request of the
City.''.
SEC. 4. FIRST FILL PROTECTION.
The Act of August 6, 1956 (70 Stat. 1058), as amended by
the Acts of September 14, 1959 (73 Stat. 554), and September
18, 1964 (78 Stat. 954), is further amended by adding at the
end the following:
``Sec. 6. Other than the 17 cubic feet per second release
provided for in section 4, and subject to compliance with the
Army Corps of Engineers' flood curve requirements, the
Secretary shall, on a `first fill' priority basis, store in
and release from Prineville Reservoir, whether from
carryover, infill, or a combination thereof, the following:
``(1) 68,273 acre feet of water annually to fulfill all 16
Bureau of Reclamation contracts existing as of January 1,
2011, and up to 2,740 acre feet of water annually to supply
the McKay Creek lands as provided for in section 5 of this
Act.
``(2) Not more than 10,000 acre feet of water annually, to
be made available to the North Unit Irrigation District
pursuant to a Temporary Water Service Contract, upon the
request of the North Unit Irrigation District, consistent
with the same terms and conditions as prior such contracts
between the District and the Bureau of Reclamation.
``Sec. 7. Except as otherwise provided in this Act,
nothing in this Act--
``(1) modifies contractual rights that may exist between
contractors and the United States under Reclamation
contracts;
``(2) amends or reopens contracts referred to in paragraph
(1); or
``(3) modifies any rights, obligations, or requirements
that may be provided or governed by Oregon State law.''.
SEC. 5. OCHOCO IRRIGATION DISTRICT.
(a) Early Repayment.--Notwithstanding section 213 of the
Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390mm), any
landowner within Ochoco Irrigation District in Oregon, may
repay, at any time, the construction costs of the project
facilities allocated to that landowner's lands within the
district. Upon discharge, in full, of the obligation for
repayment of the construction costs allocated to all lands
the landowner owns in the district, those lands shall not be
subject to the ownership and full-cost pricing limitations of
the Act of June 17, 1902 (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.), and Acts
supplemental to and amendatory of that Act, including the
Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390aa et seq.).
(b) Certification.--Upon the request of a landowner who has
repaid, in full, the construction costs of the project
facilities allocated to that landowner's lands owned within
the district, the Secretary of the Interior shall provide the
certification provided for in subsection (b)(1) of section
213 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C.
390mm(b)(1)).
(c) Contract Amendment.--On approval of the district
directors and notwithstanding project authorizing legislation
to the contrary, the district's reclamation contracts are
modified, without further action by the Secretary of the
Interior, to--
(1) authorize the use of water for instream purposes,
including fish or wildlife purposes, in order for the
district to engage in, or take advantage of, conserved water
projects and temporary instream leasing as authorized by
Oregon State law;
(2) include within the district boundary approximately
2,742 acres in the vicinity of McKay Creek, resulting in a
total of approximately 44,937 acres within the district
boundary;
(3) classify as irrigable approximately 685 acres within
the approximately 2,742 acres of included lands in the
vicinity of McKay Creek, where the approximately 685 acres
are authorized to receive irrigation water pursuant to water
rights issued by the State of Oregon and have in the past
received water pursuant to such State water rights; and
(4) provide the district with stored water from Prineville
Reservoir for purposes of supplying up to the approximately
685 acres of lands added within the district boundary and
classified as irrigable under paragraphs (2) and (3), with
such stored water to be supplied on an acre-per-acre basis
contingent on the transfer of existing appurtenant McKay
Creek water rights to instream use and the State's issuance
of water rights for the use of stored water.
(d) Limitation.--Except as otherwise provided in
subsections (a) and (c), nothing in this section shall be
construed to--
(1) modify contractual rights that may exist between the
district and the United States under the district's
Reclamation contracts;
(2) amend or reopen the contracts referred to in paragraph
(1); or
(3) modify any rights, obligations or relationships that
may exist between the district and its landowners as may be
provided or governed by Oregon State law.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.
General Leave
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2060, sponsored by our colleague from Oregon (Mr.
Walden), is an important step towards restoring water and power
abundance and jobs to a rural area that has been devastated by Federal
logging restrictions.
This bill is a reflection of years of negotiation. Its supporters
include those who would normally be water adversaries in most parts of
the West. Municipalities, irrigators, the Warm Spring Tribes utilities,
organized labor, and environmental organizations have come together to
support this legislation.
I commend my colleague from Oregon for working hard to bring these
many parties together, and I urge adoption of this commonsense
legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GRIJALVA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2060, as my colleague described, does
several things, including providing water and economic certainty to the
city of Prineville and the Ochoco Irrigation District. It does so in a
way, however, that provides certainty for the city and agriculture, but
not the future needs of the environment.
The legislation also mandates how Reclamation is to operate and
manage the Prineville Reservoir through the first-fill provision and
removes some flexibility on Reclamation's part to mitigate and adapt to
changing conditions.
We still do not fully support the first-fill provision but understand
that there are ongoing negotiations that look at providing the
certainty that the city needs while protecting the environment.
Stakeholder-driven processes are the best way to answer our community's
needs, and we look forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate
and on the other side of the aisle to ensure that all needs are met and
protected.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he
may consume to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden).
[[Page H3434]]
Mr. WALDEN. Thank you, Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Grijalva,
for your support for the commonsense Central Oregon Jobs and Water
Security Act.
This bill we have before us today will create jobs in central Oregon,
remove government red tape. It will protect family farmers and improve
both water flows and quality of water for fish and for wildlife, all
without costing taxpayers one cent. We made it completely cost-neutral.
Now the city of Prineville is the county seat of Crook County. It's
located in the heart of Oregon's central Oregon, and it's along the
Crooked River. Crook County was among the hardest hit in the economic
downturn that we have all suffered, where unemployment even today--even
today--is at over 14 percent, one of the highest rates, if not the
highest, in the State of Oregon.
Nonetheless, jobs and economic growth are on the rise in Crook
County. Facebook recently built their first custom data center in
Prineville and is currently expanding that project. Apple recently
announced that it is going to build a data center there and has
actually already begun construction.
Chairman Hastings knows well how important the technology sector can
be to rural communities. Prineville is on the verge of becoming another
Quincy, Washington, which is home to Yahoo, Microsoft, Dell, and
others.
To pursue new economic development, however, Prineville needs more
water. Roughly 20 miles upriver from Prineville sits Bowman Dam and
Prineville Reservoir, a Bureau of Reclamation project, which holds
80,000 acre feet of uncontracted water, 80,000 acre feet that is just
sitting there uncontracted.
This bill would allow Prineville to access roughly 6 percent of that
water, or 5,100 acre feet, and the city would pay a fair market value
for the water. That extra water would allow the city to tell
prospective companies, hey, you can bring your business and jobs to
Prineville. We now have the water that you need. That's certainty in
the job market.
It would also allow the city to provide water to an additional 500
homes within the city limits, which currently the city of Prineville
can't do because it has maxed out its mitigation credits. You're
talking about 500 homes inside the city limits that don't have access
to city water that this bill now will allow them to have access to.
Because the city would access the water through the ground and not
from directly behind the dam, that extra allocation of water would
increase the minimum release of water from Bowman Dam by up to 7 cubic
feet per second. Now, that's a lot.
{time} 1710
In dry years, particularly in the winter, this higher release
requirement could benefit fish and wildlife, including the blue-ribbon
trout fishery below Bowman Dam.
This legislation also fixes a BLM error regarding the exact location
of the Crooked River wild and scenic boundary line. Currently, the
wildlife and scenic line runs directly over the crest of Bowman Dam.
Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Grijalva, let me assure there's nothing
wild or scenic about the top of a dam unless you're falling over the
edge of it. This is a picture of where that is. If you follow the
center line of this road, that's where the current law says the wild
and scenic boundary starts. We move it downriver, where it really
belongs.
As a result, we create another economic opportunity for the region--
development of small-scale renewable hydropower that would create
roughly 50 construction jobs over the course of 2 years. This dam
doesn't have hydro on it today. Adding the hydro actually improves the
release of the water, making it better for the fish, and it creates new
hydroenergy and construction jobs. My legislation also protects the
Ochoco Irrigation District farmers and assures they will continue to
operate their family-run farms for generations to come.
Finally, this bill expedites the McKay Creek project, which will
result in increased water flows for redband trout and summer steelhead.
This project has long been supported by the Warm Springs Tribe and the
Deschutes River Conservancy. So I want to thank and commend the Warm
Springs tribal leaders and tribal members for their hard work and
working in partnership with me on this legislation. Their collaborative
approach has really made a difference in issues in the Deschutes Basin,
and we appreciate the partnership and leadership that the tribal
leaders have shown.
This is a good, commonsense, job-creating bill. It's a culmination of
years of collaboration between the City of Prineville, Crook County,
farmers, the Warm Springs Tribes, and the Deschutes River Conservancy.
I want to thank Mayor Roppe and County Judge McCabe for their
leadership in working through this process. Mayor Roppe has testified
before the House Natural Resources Committee and has done an excellent
job advocating for the City of Prineville. Judge McCabe has worked
tirelessly on these issues to attract tech companies like Facebook and
Apple to Crook County. Hopefully, with positive steps like the passage
of this legislation, more companies will soon bring their jobs to
Prineville and central Oregon.
So I appreciate the assistance of Ranking Member Ed Markey, along
with Ranking Member Grace Napolitano and, of course, Mr. Grijalva, as
well as Chairman Hastings. Thank you again for your help in moving
forward on the Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act. I look
forward to this legislation finally becoming law.
Mr. GRIJALVA. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests
for time, so if the gentleman is prepared to yield back.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, in many respects, this bill epitomizes the problems that
those of us have in the West. This is a simple boundary change to
something that was designated here on the Federal level. It has taken a
great deal of time, and the impacts will be great for the economy in
that area.
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, this has broad support from all
of the local groups and local environmental groups, as the gentleman
from Oregon said. Sadly, the frustration that we continue to have when
we're trying to move legislation like this to help the local job
economy in these areas is that you have national groups that don't live
in those areas opposing it. And that's what frustrates us, because when
you get people, especially on the local level, that support this, it's
frustrating when have you a national group that says, Just because
we're dealing with national land, we want to have a say in all of this.
A big sense of frustration for us.
So I commend my friend from Oregon for moving this legislation, and I
urge my colleagues to support it.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2060, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________