[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 20 (Monday, February 6, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H984-H985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     BOLTS DITCH ACCESS AND USE ACT

  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 689) to insure adequate use and access to the existing Bolts 
Ditch headgate and ditch segment within the Holy Cross Wilderness in 
Eagle County, Colorado, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 689

       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 ``Bolts Ditch Access and Use 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. BOLTS DITCH ACCESS.

       (a) Access Granted.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
     permit by special use authorization nonmotorized access and 
     use, in accordance with section 293.6 of title 36, Code of 
     Federal Regulations, of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the 
     Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado, as 
     designated by Public Law 96-560, for the purposes of the 
     diversion of water and use, maintenance, and repair of such 
     ditch and headgate by the Town of Minturn, Colorado, a 
     Colorado Home Rule Municipality.
       (b) Location of Facilities.--The Bolts Ditch headgate and 
     ditch segment referenced in subsection (a) are as generally 
     depicted on the map entitled ``Bolts Ditch headgate and Ditch 
     Segment'', dated November 2015.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).


                             General Leave

  Mr. LAMBORN. 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 Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Since 1882, the town of Minturn, Colorado, has used Bolts Ditch to 
fill Bolts Lake, a place of recreation for the town and an important 
source of water for the surrounding community. When Congress passed the 
Colorado Wilderness Act in 1980, 450 feet of Bolts Ditch was 
inadvertently included in the Holy Cross Wilderness area, leading to 
questions and the town's ability to access this important 
infrastructure. After a discussion amongst stakeholders, the town 
agreed to seek a legislative solution to address this access issue.
  This bipartisan bill, sponsored by Congressman Jared Polis and 
cosponsored by Congressman Tipton and myself, simply allows the Forest 
Service to issue a special use permit to the town of Minturn to allow 
nonmotorized access to maintain a headgate and water ditch in the Holy 
Cross Wilderness. This bill ensures the town will have access to Bolts 
Ditch for basic maintenance needs.
  H.R. 689 was developed in consultation with the community and the 
Forest Service and enjoys support from a wide range of groups in the 
region. I urge adoption of the measure.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduced H.R. 689, the Bolts Ditch Access and Use 
Act, at the request of our local community in my district, Minturn, 
Colorado. In Eagle County, Minturn really needs this legislation 
because it improves

[[Page H985]]

public land and water management in my district.
  The bill has bipartisan support. I thank Mr. Tipton and Mr. Lamborn 
for collaborating with me on this bill here in the House. I am thankful 
that Senator Gardner and Senator Bennet have partnered to pass this 
bill as well.
  This legislation passed the House last session, but once again was 
held up in the Senate. I call upon the Senate, after House passage, to 
act expeditiously to put this matter to rest. I am very hopeful we can 
get it across the finish line soon.
  I am grateful to the town of Minturn, to the conservation community, 
and to water utilities for working together for a commonsense solution 
that I am proud to support. This is an example of how we can truly 
solve any problem when everybody comes together and works together to 
solve it.
  The need for this bill is to solve a vital local problem for the 
people of Minturn, Colorado, a town of about 1,000 people in Eagle 
County. The problem it fixes results from a mistake, an error, in the 
1980 Wilderness Act, which inadvertently left Bolts Ditch off of the 
list of existing water facilities, where it should have been included.
  This legislation would simply authorize the special use of the Bolts 
Ditch headgate and the segment of the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross 
Wilderness area, allowing Minturn to use rights that it already has, 
existing water rights, to fill Bolts Lake.
  The residents of Minturn, including the mayor, whom I have met with, 
who brought this bill to me, as well as Coloradans across the central 
mountains, have long relied on water infrastructure like Bolts Ditch to 
access clean and affordable drinking water for our growing communities. 
This bill will ensure that the town of Minturn is able to utilize a 
crucial resource, and do so without compromising the sanctity of the 
surrounding wilderness areas.
  I thank the Republican and Democratic staffs on the committee for 
working with us on this bill.
  It is very important for the people of Minturn and for our central 
mountain region in Colorado to pass this bill into law. I urge its 
passage.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that this body is moving 
forward on the Bolts Ditch land boundary adjustment bill. I am hopeful 
that, after passage, the Senate will bring this bill up and pass it on 
until it becomes law to remove any encumbrances that Minturn has in 
accessing its preexisting water rights due to a clerical error from the 
1980s. I urge a ``yes'' vote.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LAMBORN. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 689.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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