[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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