[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H2064-H2065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO AMEND THE DEFINITE PLAN
REPORT FOR THE SEEDSKADEE PROJECT
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 648) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to amend the
Definite Plan Report for the Seedskadee Project to enable the use of
the active capacity of the Fontenelle Reservoir.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 648
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO MAKE ENTIRE ACTIVE CAPACITY OF
FONTENELLE RESERVOIR AVAILABLE FOR USE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, in
cooperation with the State of Wyoming, may amend the Definite
Plan Report for the Seedskadee Project authorized under the
first section of the Act of April 11, 1956 (commonly known as
the ``Colorado River Storage Project Act'' (43 U.S.C. 620))
to provide for the study, design, planning, and construction
activities that will enable the use of all active storage
capacity (as may be defined or limited by legal, hydrologic,
structural, engineering, economic, and environmental
considerations) of Fontenelle Dam and Reservoir, including
the placement of sufficient riprap on the upstream face of
Fontenelle Dam to allow the active storage capacity of
Fontenelle Reservoir to be used for those purposes for which
the Seedskadee Project was authorized.
(b) Cooperative Agreements.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may enter
into any contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other
agreement that is necessary to carry out subsection (a).
(2) State of wyoming.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall enter
into a cooperative agreement with the State of Wyoming to
work in cooperation and collaboratively with the State of
Wyoming for planning, design, related preconstruction
activities, and construction of any modification of the
Fontenelle Dam under subsection (a).
(B) Requirements.--The cooperative agreement under
subparagraph (A) shall, at a minimum, specify the
responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior and the
State of Wyoming with respect to--
(i) completing the planning and final design of the
modification of the Fontenelle Dam under subsection (a);
(ii) any environmental and cultural resource compliance
activities required for the modification of the Fontenelle
Dam under subsection (a) including compliance with--
(I) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
(II) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.); and
(III) subdivision 2 of division A of subtitle III of title
54, United States Code; and
(iii) the construction of the modification of the
Fontenelle Dam under subsection (a).
(c) Funding by State of Wyoming.--Pursuant to the Act of
March 4, 1921 (41 Stat. 1404, chapter 161; 43 U.S.C. 395),
and as a condition of providing any additional storage under
subsection (a), the State of Wyoming shall provide to the
Secretary of the Interior funds for any work carried out
under subsection (a).
(d) Other Contracting Authority.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may enter
into contracts with the State of Wyoming, on such terms and
conditions as the Secretary of the Interior and the State of
Wyoming may agree, for division of any additional active
capacity made available under subsection (a).
(2) Terms and conditions.--Unless otherwise agreed to by
the Secretary of the Interior and the State of Wyoming, a
contract entered into under paragraph (1) shall be subject to
the terms and conditions of Bureau of Reclamation Contract
No. 14-06-400-2474 and Bureau of Reclamation Contract No. 14-
06-400-6193.
SEC. 2. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.
Unless expressly provided in this Act, nothing in this Act
modifies, conflicts with, preempts, or otherwise affects--
(1) the Act of December 31, 1928 (43 U.S.C. 617 et seq.)
(commonly known as the ``Boulder Canyon Project Act'');
(2) the Colorado River Compact of 1922, as approved by the
Presidential Proclamation of June 25, 1929 (46 Stat. 3000);
(3) the Act of July 19, 1940 (43 U.S.C. 618 et seq.)
(commonly known as the ``Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment
Act'');
(4) the Treaty between the United States of America and
Mexico relating to the utilization of waters of the Colorado
and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, and supplementary
protocol signed November 14, 1944, signed at Washington
February 3, 1944 (59 Stat. 1219);
(5) the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact as consented to
by the Act of April 6, 1949 (63 Stat. 31);
(6) the Act of April 11, 1956 (commonly known as the
``Colorado River Storage Project Act'') (43 U.S.C. 620 et
seq.);
(7) the Colorado River Basin Project Act (Public Law 90-
537; 82 Stat. 885); or
(8) any State of Wyoming or other State water law.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tipton) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Brown) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.
General Leave
Mr. TIPTON. 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. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 648, sponsored by the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms.
Cheney), allows the State of Wyoming to increase the active storage
capacity for the Fontenelle Dam and Reservoir located in southwest
Wyoming. The bill allows the State to enter into agreements with the
Federal Government to study, design, plan, and perform construction
activities to accomplish this goal. Wyoming will pay for any and all
costs associated with these activities.
This bill, which passed the House without objection in the last
Congress when it was sponsored by our former colleague Cynthia Lummis,
simply empowers Wyoming to better utilize its Colorado River water
allocation through improved water storage at no cost to the Federal
Government. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 648 would increase the amount of water that can be
stored in the Fontenelle Reservoir in Lincoln County, Wyoming, by
allowing the active storage capacity of the reservoir to be used. This
bill has been written in a balanced manner that respects existing laws,
compacts, and treaties, and does not attempt to expand Wyoming's
entitlement to Colorado River supplies at the expense of other Colorado
River Basin States.
H.R. 648 is a straightforward, noncontroversial piece of legislation
that is identical to a bill that was unanimously passed by the
Committee on Natural Resources last Congress. I support H.R. 648 and
urge its adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney).
Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Colorado and my
colleague from Maryland for their support of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I introduced H.R. 648 so that we could begin the work
necessary to increase the active storage capacity of the Fontenelle
Reservoir. As a headwater State, Wyoming takes care of its water, and
we know that water is our most important natural resource. Water uses
currently at this dam span the gamut from irrigation, domestic,
industrial, municipal, fish and wildlife, and recreation. Power
generation is a secondary purpose at the dam, and current uses also
include industrial capacity for our trona miners, fertilizer producers,
and fulfillment of a range of energy needs.
Mr. Speaker, this bill would simply authorize the Bureau of
Reclamation to enter into a cooperative agreement with the State of
Wyoming so that we could begin the process to study, design, and
construct increased capacity for the reservoir. This is a process, Mr.
Speaker, that has been held up previously by onerous NEPA requirements,
and we need to move quickly so that we can begin to increase this
capacity.
Currently the reservoir has 265,000 acre-feet to accommodate water as
active capacity. This legislation would potentially add an additional
80,000 acre-feet of existing reservoir space. This bill would provide
an affordable and efficient way to add more usable storage in the
Colorado River Basin
[[Page H2065]]
and would accomplish these goals without contemplating the construction
of a new dam. The bill has the support of the Wyoming Water Development
Office and the Wyoming Water Development Commission, which develops our
State's water resources for conservation, storage, distribution,
recreation, and other public interests. Our Governor Matt Mead included
this concept in the 2015 Wyoming water strategy.
Mr. Speaker, this bill will empower Wyoming to better utilize our
water allocation and improve our water storage, and I urge my
colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, 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. Tipton) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 648.
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. TIPTON. 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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