[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 5, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H3437-H3438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LAKE THUNDERBIRD EFFICIENT USE ACT OF 2011
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 3263) to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of nonproject water at the
Norman project in Oklahoma, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3263
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 ``Lake Thunderbird Efficient
Use Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. NORMAN PROJECT, OKLAHOMA.
Public Law 86 529 (74 Stat. 225) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``SEC. 10. LAKE THUNDERBIRD.
``(a) In General.--If the Secretary of the Interior
determines that there is enough excess capacity in the
reservoir on the Little River known as `Lake Thunderbird'
that nonproject water can be stored in Lake Thunderbird, the
Secretary of the Interior may, in accordance with the
reclamation laws, amend an existing contract, or enter into 1
or more new contracts, with the Central Oklahoma Master
Conservancy District for the storage and conveyance of
nonproject water in Norman project facilities to augment
municipal and industrial supplies for the cities served by
the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District.
``(b) Costs.--If any additional infrastructure is needed to
enable the storage and conveyance of non-project water in
Norman project facilities under subsection (a) or any other
provision of this Act, the costs of constructing, operating,
and maintaining the infrastructure shall be the
responsibility of the non-Federal entity contracting with the
Secretary of the Interior for storage and conveyance
rights.''.
SEC. 3. EFFECT.
Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act
authorizes any expansion of the storage capacity of Lake
Thunderbird.
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 materials 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. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
H.R. 3263, introduced by our colleague from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole),
allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to store water
purchased from Oklahoma City in Lake Thunderbird. This legislation is
necessary since Federal regulations do not allow water transfers from
out-of-basin areas unless Congress expressly authorizes such a
transfer.
This bill specifically states that any cost associated with its
enactment will be borne by the project beneficiary. It is a no-nonsense
bill that will provide additional water storage during times of
drought. I thank Congressman Cole for sponsoring this commonsense bill,
and I urge adoption of the measure.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As my colleague stated, H.R. 3263 authorizes storage of nonproject
water in Lake Thunderbird Reservoir. The ability to store water at Lake
Thunderbird Reservoir will provide reclamation and the managers with
flexibility in managing the system.
The administration supports H.R. 3263, and we have heard from the
tribes around the region who do not object to this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield such
time as he may consume to the sponsor of this legislation, the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).
Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I
thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey for their help in
moving this legislation and also the staff of the Natural Resources
Committee who have been very supportive and helpful.
I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 3263, the Lake
Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011. Lake Thunderbird is a Bureau of
Reclamation project which provides municipal water to Norman, Del City,
and Midwest City, all major municipalities in the Oklahoma City
metropolitan area.
In recent years, the watershed that feeds Lake Thunderbird has not
been able to keep that lake full. The water that remains is of poor
quality and ill-suited for drinking water and recreation. Lake
Thunderbird was built to provide water to a water-starved region, and
this legislation would help the Bureau of Reclamation meet the original
goals of this project.
The bill allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to
acquire and store water from outside of the Bureau of Reclamation
system in Lake Thunderbird. Any cost associated with this action would
be paid for by the conservancy district. This legislation costs Federal
taxpayers nothing.
{time} 1730
Frankly, Mr. Speaker, in my view, this is the type of action that we
should be able to take administratively; however, under current law, it
requires congressional consent.
Mr. Speaker, I first initiated this legislation in the 110th Congress
when central Oklahoma was in the midst of a significant drought. In
July of 2011, Oklahoma recorded the driest month ever recorded by any
of the 50 States since records have been kept. Central Oklahoma remains
in a drought that is forecast to continue and worsen this summer.
H.R. 3263 is important to the economic growth of central Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma City metropolitan area has seen tremendous growth over the
past decade and has been a positive economic force at a time of great
challenges to the national economy. Water must be available to support
the continued growth of this region. This straightforward and
commonsense legislation is an important tool to support further growth
in central Oklahoma.
Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking
member for their cooperation, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes''
on this legislation.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, if I might inquire of the chairman if he
has any additional speakers.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I have one more speaker.
Mr. GRIJALVA. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield
such time as he may consume to another Member from Oklahoma, the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford).
Mr. LANKFORD. I would like to, as well, thank my colleague, Tom Cole,
for his work on this. He is the one who has really sponsored this, has
focused on it, has driven it through to completion. It is a very
important thing for communities that are both in his district and in my
district as well.
H.R. 3263 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to simply amend an
existing contract with the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District
for the storage of nonproject water in Lake Thunderbird. It's very
simple and straightforward. This bill would allow the district to
augment water if the Secretary determines that there is enough excess
capacity in the reservoir.
Since the summer of 2010, Oklahoma has been in a severe drought. This
has seriously endangered the quality and supply of our drinking water.
To address this devastating shortage, the Central Oklahoma Master
Conservancy District could purchase water from Oklahoma City to supply
high-quality water through the Atoka pipeline to Midwest City, Del
City, and Norman. Regrettably, Congress must act before this resource
can be tapped. It is imperative that we remedy the storage issues faced
by these cities, and Congress shouldn't stand in the way of this.
It is amazing that it takes an act of Congress for an Oklahoma lake
to buy water from another Oklahoma lake. No
[[Page H3438]]
Federal funds are needed, only Congress giving the permission to allow
Oklahomans the flexibility to use their own water as needed. I am
strongly in support of this. This is the type of thing that should be
widely bipartisan. It is a simple fix, and hopefully we can fix this
legislatively in the future to not have to have an act of Congress just
for us to use our own water in each State.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of
my time and urge adoption of the measure.
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. 3263.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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