[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 120 (Monday, July 14, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H3225-H3226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BOLTS DITCH ACT
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1729) to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation,
Management, and Recreation Act to allow for additional entities to be
eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts
Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1729
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 Act''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL ENTITIES ALLOWED TO MAINTAIN BOLTS DITCH
AND THE BOLTS DITCH HEADGATE.
Section 1101(a) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation,
Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9) is amended
by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``,
the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, a Colorado
Special District, or the Upper Eagle Regional Water
Authority, an authority organized under the laws of the State
of Colorado''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle)
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 to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 1729, 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 today in support of H.R. 1729, the Bolts Ditch
Act, sponsored by Representative Neguse.
This straightforward legislation allows additional entities to
conduct routine maintenance activities on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts
Ditch Headgate in Colorado.
Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate are water facilities located
near the town of Minturn, Colorado, that divert water into Bolts Lake.
In 1980, Congress established the Holy Cross Wilderness in the White
River and San Isabel National Forests but inadvertently failed to
include Bolts Ditch among a list of existing water facilities excluded
from the designation.
This has prevented the structure from being rebuilt or repaired for
more than three decades. The inability to rehabilitate and rebuild the
Bolts Ditch Headgate prevented new development in the area, which would
have required the expansion of Bolts Lake to provide a water supply for
surrounding homes.
Congress corrected this error in 2019 by allowing the town of Minturn
to access Bolts Ditch for maintenance and repairs. H.R. 1729 builds on
this legislation by allowing additional local entities, including the
Eagle River Water and Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional
Water Authority, to maintain this vital infrastructure near Bolts Lake.
This is commonsense legislation that will help local Coloradans and
improve the operational efficiency of this important water
infrastructure.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1729, the Bolts Ditch Act,
introduced by my colleague and good friend from Colorado (Mr. Neguse).
Mr. Speaker, the Bolts Ditch Headgate and ditch segment are located
within the Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado's White River National
Forest. This infrastructure is essential for delivering water to the
Bolts Lake Reservoir, supporting water supply needs and economic
development in Eagle County.
Mr. Speaker, to balance the protection of the wilderness area with
the continued operation of Bolts Ditch, Congress previously authorized
the town of Minturn access to use, maintain, and repair the headgate
and ditch under the John Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and
Recreation Act.
The Bolts Ditch Act would expand this authority to the Eagle River
Water and Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional Water
Authority as eligible entities.
Under this new authority, they would be eligible to receive a permit
from the Secretary of Agriculture for nonmotorized access to use,
maintain, and repair Bolts Ditch Headgate and 450 feet of Bolts Ditch.
Representative Neguse's legislation would ensure continued access to
critical water infrastructure, and promote efficient regional water
supply management while protecting the wilderness area.
It would also support higher in-stream flows for Cross Creek, reduce
energy consumption, and foster long-term economic benefits for Eagle
County. This is a priority for this community, and I thank
Representative Neguse for his hard work and leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am
prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume
to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), the sponsor of the bill.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I thank the gentlewoman
from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle), my colleague and the ranking member. I also
thank Chairman Westerman for his support and his team and his staff for
giving us the opportunity here to consider a number of bills that are
bipartisan, common sense, and certainly mean a lot to the folks who I
represent out West.
Mr. Speaker, as you may know, I represent Colorado's Second
Congressional District. It is an incredibly large geographical
district. It is a district that spans across more than 8,000 square
miles. It is larger than eight States on the eastern seaboard and spans
12 counties and over 55 towns.
I have the privilege of representing this incredible district each
and every day back home in Colorado. When you represent a district of
that size and scale, you learn early on how important it is to be
present in your communities to be able to listen directly to
constituents, local leaders, the folks on the ground, about problems
that you can ultimately help to solve.
This bill is a perfect example. It is a bill that has been described
well by the chairman and the ranking member that, in effect, would
ensure that a number of different water authorities--specifically, the
Eagle River Water and Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional
Water Authority--would have access, as the town of Minturn already
does, to the Bolts Ditch structure.
{time} 1640
It builds on legislation that we successfully got across the finish
line several years ago. It is common sense. It is bipartisan, and it
means a great deal to the folks that I represent in western Colorado.
I hope that my colleagues can support this measure. I look forward to
doing everything that needs to be done to get it to the President's
desk.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, again, Mr. Neguse's bill is a
straightforward bill that will improve the maintenance of Bolts Ditch
and the Bolts Ditch Headgate near Minturn, Colorado.
Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 1729, and 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. 1729.
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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