[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 124 (Monday, July 21, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H3497-H3498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FINISH THE ARKANSAS VALLEY CONDUIT ACT
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 131) to make certain modifications to the repayment for the
Arkansas Valley Conduit in the State of Colorado, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 131
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 ``Finish the Arkansas Valley
Conduit Act''.
SEC. 2. ARKANSAS VALLEY CONDUIT, COLORADO.
Public Law 87-590 (76 Stat. 389; 123 Stat. 1320) is
amended--
(1) in the first section--
(A) in subsection (c), in the second sentence, by striking
``or in the case of the Arkansas Valley Conduit, payment in
an amount equal to 35 percent of the cost of the conduit that
is comprised of revenue generated by payments pursuant to a
repayment contract and revenue that may be derived from
contracts for the use of Fryingpan-Arkansas project excess
capacity or exchange contracts using Fryingpan-Arkansas
project facilities,''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Arkansas Valley Conduit.--
``(1) Repayment contract.--To provide domestic water
supplies to communities and households that do not have
reliable access to domestic water supplies, the contract for
the Arkansas Valley Conduit shall provide for payment in an
amount equal to 35 percent of the cost of the conduit,
notwithstanding the reclamation laws or any other provision
of this Act. The contract payments shall consist of--
``(A) funding provided during construction from any entity
other than the Secretary; and
``(B) based on a demonstration of financial hardship, as
determined by the Secretary, repayment of the balance not
covered under subparagraph (A) for a period of not more than
75 years with simple interest at a rate that is equal to 50
percent of the interest rate determined by the Secretary of
the Treasury under section 2(c), including revenue derived
from contracts for the use of excess capacity or exchange
contracts using Fryingpan-Arkansas project facilities.
``(2) Operations and maintenance.--The contract for the
Arkansas Valley Conduit shall provide for the assumption by
the contracting parties of the care, operation, maintenance,
and replacement of the conduit.''; and
[[Page H3498]]
(2) in section 2(b)(3)(A), by striking ``this section'' and
inserting ``subsection (d) of the first section''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Gosar) and the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
General Leave
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on H.R. 131, the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 131, the Finish the Arkansas
Valley Conduit Act, sponsored by Representative Boebert of Colorado.
The Arkansas Valley Conduit, or AVC is a 130-mile pipeline that
serves 39 communities and 50,000 people east of Pueblo, Colorado. Once
completed, it will deliver water to an area of the State that faces
severe water quality issues.
The AVC was authorized by Congress as part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas
Project in 1962. Over 60 years later, construction on this project has
barely started, largely due to cost increases that have outpaced the
community's ability to pay.
In 2009, Congress amended the original legislation to help address
the project's increasing price tag. Unfortunately, rising construction
costs over the past few years have continued to delay this critical
water project.
The legislation before us today would further modify the repayment
contract to ensure that these communities have reliable access to
domestic water supplies. These communities have been waiting for over
six decades for a reliable water source. H.R. 131 will ensure this
project can finally be completed.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
H.R. 131 seeks to address a longstanding water challenge in
southeastern Colorado. The Arkansas Valley Conduit is a 130-mile
pipeline first authorized in 1962 to deliver water from the Pueblo
Reservoir to communities facing ongoing water supply and quality
issues. Despite decades of work, the project remains unfinished,
primarily due to financial constraints.
This bill would revise certain repayment terms to provide additional
flexibility for local stakeholders to help finance the project and
begin delivering clean, reliable water to rural communities.
My Democratic colleagues and I are committed to addressing the
barrier that rural communities face in securing clean water. That is
why we passed historic water infrastructure investments under the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Since 2022, the IIJA has provided $500 million for the Arkansas
Valley Conduit. These investments are critical for ensuring communities
across the West have reliable access to clean drinking water,
especially as climate change is continuing to make drought conditions
worse.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative Boebert, for
bringing this forward. I urge support for H.R. 131, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. GOSAR. 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 chairman for his support on
this bill.
I rise to speak in favor of my bill, H.R. 131, Finish the Arkansas
Valley Conduit Act, to help complete construction of a critical
infrastructure project that will provide tens of thousands of southeast
Colorado residents with access to clean water.
Southeast Coloradans have waited decades for the completion of the
Arkansas Valley Conduit. While we have made a lot of progress in the
recent years and the first two segments of the project are under
construction, we still have a long way to go.
This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will help the Bureau of
Reclamation and local governments finally complete this major water
project. Rural communities in southeastern Colorado need and deserve
access to clean, reliable, and affordable water they can utilize on a
daily basis.
Once completed, the Arkansas Valley Conduit will provide 7,500-acre-
feet of water per year to as many as 50,000 Coloradans across 40
different communities in Pueblo, Otero, Bent, Kiowa, Prowers, and Baca
Counties.
The Arkansas Valley Conduit was originally approved for construction
as a part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project that was signed into law by
President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Congress amended this law in 2009 to
tackle water quality concerns and make clear that 35 percent of total
project costs would be repaid with interest from miscellaneous
revenues.
The original 1962 law also made clear that the costs of annual
operation and maintenance for this important project would be paid for
by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District.
Radium, uranium, and other naturally occurring elements are found in
the surface and groundwater in southeastern Colorado, and the water
quality is problematic year-round because of its salinity, selenium,
sulfate, hardness, and manganese levels.
The Bureau of Reclamation has found these contamination levels are so
severe that local communities could see the costs of their drinking
water triple without this legislation.
The Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act will ease the burden of
inflation costs that have caused the original $640 million estimate of
construction in 2019 to rise to more than $1.3 billion. There have been
a number of modifications to the proposed Arkansas Valley Conduit over
the years that have reduced the cost by as much as $200 million.
I thank the Bureau of Reclamation and the Southeastern Colorado Water
Conservancy District for working with us in drafting this critical
legislation. I am grateful to have their support as we work to get this
bill signed into law.
Access to clean water is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Southeast
Colorado families and businesses deserve a reliable and sustainable
water supply.
It is time we fully and finally fulfill the promises the Federal
Government made to the communities I represent in Colorado and finish
the Arkansas Valley Conduit.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for his support and I urge adoption.
Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, this bill provides increased financial
flexibility for the construction of the long-overdue water
infrastructure improvements in rural Colorado. I thank Ms. Boebert for
her diligent work and attention to these issues.
Arizona is no second citizen to this. We want to see this happen and
help everybody.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 131, 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.
____________________