[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 24, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5731-H5733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UPPER COLORADO AND SAN JUAN RIVER BASINS ENDANGERED FISH RECOVERY
PROGRAMS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2024
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4596) to reauthorize the Bureau of Reclamation to provide
cost-shared funding to implement the endangered and threatened fish
recovery programs for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4596
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 ``Upper Colorado and San Juan
River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs
Reauthorization Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF UPPER COLORADO AND SAN JUAN RIVER
BASINS ENDANGERED FISH AND THREATENED FISH
RECOVERY IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS.
(a) Purpose.--Section 1 of Public Law 106-392 (114 Stat.
1602) is amended by inserting ``and threatened'' after
``endangered''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 2 of Public Law 106-392 (114
Stat. 1602; 116 Stat. 3113) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``to implement the
Recovery Implementation Program for the Endangered Fish
Species in the Upper Colorado River dated September 29, 1987,
and extended by the Extension of the Cooperative Agreement
dated December 6, 2001, and the 1992 Cooperative Agreement to
implement the San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program
dated October 21, 1992, and as they may be amended'' and
inserting ``for the Recovery Implementation Program for
Endangered Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin dated
September 29, 1987, and the 1992 Cooperative Agreement for
the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program
dated October 21, 1992, as the agreements may be amended and
extended'';
(2) in paragraph (6)--
(A) by inserting ``or threatened'' after ``endangered'';
and
(B) by striking ``removal or translocation'' and inserting
``control'';
(3) in paragraph (7), by striking ``long-term'' each place
it appears;
(4) in paragraph (8), in the second sentence, by striking
``1988 Cooperative Agreement and the 1992 Cooperative
Agreement'' and inserting ``Recovery Implementation
Programs'';
(5) in paragraph (9)--
(A) by striking ``leases and agreements'' and inserting
``acquisitions'';
(B) by inserting ``or threatened'' after ``endangered'';
and
(C) by inserting ``, as approved under the Recovery
Implementation Programs'' after ``nonnative fishes''; and
(6) in paragraph (10), by inserting ``pursuant to the
Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Species in the
Upper Colorado River Basin'' after ``Service''.
(c) Authorization to Fund Recovery Programs.--Section 3 of
Public Law 106-392 (114 Stat. 1603; 116 Stat. 3113; 120 Stat.
290; 123 Stat 1310; 126 Stat. 2444; 133 Stat. 809) (as
amended by section 101 of division CC of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328)) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``(1) There is hereby
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, $88,000,000
to undertake capital projects to carry out the purposes of
this Act. Such funds'' and inserting the following:
``(1) Authorization.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), there is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for use by the
Bureau of Reclamation to undertake capital projects to carry
out the purposes of this Act $50,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2024 through 2031.
``(B) Annual adjustment.--For each of fiscal years 2025
through 2031, the amount authorized to be appropriated under
subparagraph (A) shall be annually adjusted to reflect widely
available engineering cost indices applicable to relevant
construction activities.
``(C) Nonreimbursable funds.--Amounts made available
pursuant to subparagraph (A)'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Program for Endangered
Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin shall expire
in fiscal year 2024'' and inserting ``Programs shall expire
in fiscal year 2031''; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3);
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the
following:
``(b) Non-federal Contributions to Capital Projects.--The
Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, may
accept contributed funds, interests in land and water, or
other contributions from the Upper Division States, political
subdivisions of the Upper Division States, or individuals,
entities, or organizations within the Upper Division States,
pursuant to agreements that provide for the contributions to
be used for capital projects costs.'';
(3) by redesignating subsections (d) through (j) as
subsections (c) through (i), respectively;
(4) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``$10,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2020 through 2024'' and inserting
``$80,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through
2031'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in the first sentence, by striking ``$4,000,000 per
year'' and inserting ``$52,914,285 for the period of fiscal
years 2024 through 2031'';
(ii) in the second sentence--
(I) by inserting ``Basin'' after ``San Juan River''; and
(II) by striking ``$2,000,000 per year'' and inserting
``$27,085,715 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through
2031''; and
(iii) in the third sentence, by striking ``in fiscal years
commencing after the enactment of this Act'' and inserting
``for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter''; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) Federal contributions to annual base funding.--
[[Page H5732]]
``(A) In general.--For each of fiscal years 2024 through
2031, the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of
Reclamation, may accept funds from other Federal agencies,
including power revenues collected pursuant to the Act of
April 11, 1956 (commonly known as the `Colorado River Storage
Project Act') (43 U.S.C. 620 et seq.).
``(B) Availability of funds.--Funds made available under
subparagraph (A) shall be available for expenditure by the
Secretary, as determined by the contributing agency in
consultation with the Secretary.
``(C) Treatment of funds.--Funds made available under
subparagraph (A) shall be treated as nonreimbursable Federal
expenditures.
``(D) Treatment of power revenues.--Not more than $499,000
in power revenues over the period of fiscal years 2024
through 2031 shall be accepted under subparagraph (A) and
treated as having been repaid and returned to the general
fund of the Treasury.
``(4) Non-federal contributions to annual base funding.--
The Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, may
accept contributed funds from the Upper Division States,
political subdivisions of the Upper Division States, or
individuals, entities, or organizations within the Upper
Division States, pursuant to agreements that provide for the
contributions to be used for annual base funding.
``(5) Replacement power.--Contributions of funds made
pursuant to this subsection shall not include the cost of
replacement power purchased to offset modifications to the
operation of the Colorado River Storage Project to benefit
threatened or endangered fish species under the Recovery
Implementation Programs.'';
(5) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated), in the first
sentence, by inserting ``or threatened'' after
``endangered'';
(6) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated), by striking
``unless the time period for the respective Cooperative
Agreement is extended to conform with this Act'' and
inserting ``, as amended or extended'';
(7) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated), in the first
sentence, by striking ``Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish
Recovery Program or the San Juan River Basin Recovery
Implementation Program'' and inserting ``Recovery
Implementation Programs''; and
(8) in subsection (i)(1) (as so redesignated)--
(A) by striking ``2022'' each place it appears and
inserting ``2030'';
(B) by striking ``2024'' each place it appears and
inserting ``2031''; and
(C) in subparagraph (C)(ii)(III), by striking
``contributions by the States, power customers, Tribes, water
users, and environmental organizations'' and inserting ``non-
Federal contributions''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-
Cortez) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 4596, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Representative Boebert's bill, the
Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery
Programs Reauthorization Act of 2024.
The Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins endangered fish recovery
programs provide Endangered Species Act compliance for over 2,500 water
and hydroelectric power projects.
Without these recovery programs, projects would be open to litigation
and disruptions to operations that would negatively impact millions of
Americans' water and power supplies.
These programs have been a conservation success story. Their goal is
to recover four ESA-listed fish species: the Colorado pikeminnow, the
razorback sucker, the humpback chub, and the bonytail. Yet, they also
allow for the continuation of operations to meet current and future
needs.
In recent years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recognized
the program's success by reclassifying the humpback chump from an
endangered species to a threatened species.
{time} 2000
This service has also proposed to reclassify the razorback sucker
from an endangered species to a threatened species.
In a report submitted to Congress in March of 2023, the service
stated: ``When the recovery programs were initiated in 1988 and 1992,
the trajectory of all four listed species was toward extinction. The
implementation of these recovery elements not only prevented
extinctions, but substantially improved the prospect for recovering the
listed fishes.'' This is a rare occurrence and should be celebrated.
I urge my colleagues to allow this success to continue by supporting
this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4596, the Upper Colorado and
San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization
Act.
This bill would reauthorize two fish recovery programs in the
Colorado River Basin: the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery
Program, and the San Juan River Basin Implementation Program.
The Colorado River is known as the hardest working river in the West,
supporting a multitude of uses, including irrigation, municipal water
use, recreation, and sustaining numerous fish and wildlife species.
Established in the late eighties and early nineties, these two fish
recovery programs allowed the Bureau of Reclamation to partner with
other Federal agencies, States, Tribes, and hydropower customers, water
users, and conservation groups to work collaboratively on species
recovery and ensure water-related projects are in compliance with the
Endangered Species Act.
Without this reauthorization, these two programs will expire, and we
risk the long history of collaboration and successful recovery of four
native fish species. We need to get this done as soon as possible.
Mr. Speaker, I support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Colorado (Ms. Boebert), the lead sponsor of this bill.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his support, and
I appreciate the bipartisan support here in the House.
I rise in support of H.R. 4596, the Upper Colorado and San Juan River
Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2024.
This bicameral bill, which passed through the House Natural Resources
Committee with unanimous bipartisan support, provides a clean, 7-year
reauthorization of the Upper Colorado and San Juan Recovery Programs
that protect four threatened and endangered native fish species in the
Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins by extending conservation
programs at current funding levels for 7 additional fiscal years.
These programs provide Endangered Species Act compliance to ensure
2,500 water projects continue to function and provide legal certainty
for water users throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
These projects, including 1,200 in Colorado alone, include major
water reservoirs, agricultural water users, ski areas, and power-
generation facilities that use more than 3.7 million acre-feet of water
per year.
The Upper Colorado and San Juan Recovery Programs were established in
1988 to achieve full recovery for four federally listed endangered fish
species, including the humpback chub, bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow,
and razorback sucker.
Those designations led to the threat of significant water- and power-
use restrictions. For over three decades, States, Tribes, local
communities, environmental groups, energy users, and water users have
partnered to help recover four threatened and endangered fish species
while continuing water and power facility development and operations in
the Upper Colorado River Basin and the San Juan River Basin.
Without these programs, these 2,500 water and power users would have
to perform extremely burdensome Section 7 consultations for all 2,500
individual projects. Because of the success of these programs, the
humpback chub and the razorback sucker are success stories and have
been downlisted from endangered to threatened under the Endangered
Species Act.
Last Congress, I worked on a short-term extension to reauthorize
these programs until September 30 of 2024. I
[[Page H5733]]
am proud to report that this bill today is the result of months of hard
work with local stakeholders, the Bureau of Reclamation, and Senators
Hickenlooper and Romney to provide a long-term solution by
reauthorizing these vital programs until 2031.
My bill has significant support from more than 30 Colorado and
Western stakeholder organizations, including Denver Water, Pueblo
Water, both of the Colorado Indian Tribes, Utah Water Users
Association, and many more.
I urge the passage of this critical bipartisan and bicameral
legislation.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I am
prepared to close, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, the Upper Colorado and San Juan River
Endangered Fish Recovery Programs are essential to the region's future.
These programs have been successful in conserving and recovering
endangered species, which is the goal of the Endangered Species Act.
Mr. Speaker, as an Arkansas Razorback, I rise in strong support of
this legislation that will continue to help recover the razorback
sucker.
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 Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4596, 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.
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