[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 27684-27685]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      SLY PARK UNIT CONVEYANCE ACT

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 992) to convey the Sly Park Dam and Reservoir to the El 
Dorado Irrigation District, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 992

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purpose of this Act, the term--
       (1) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior;
       (2) ``Sly Park Unit'' means the Sly Park Dam and Reservoir, 
     Camp Creek Diversion Dam and Tunnel, and conduits and canals 
     as authorized under the American River Act of October 14, 
     1949 (63 Stat. 853), including those used to convey, treat, 
     and store water delivered from Sly Park, as well as all 
     recreation facilities thereto; and
       (3) ``District'' means the El Dorado Irrigation District.-

     SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF SLY PARK UNIT.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall, as soon as 
     practicable after date of enactment of this Act and in 
     accordance with all applicable law, transfer all right, 
     title, and interest in and to the Sly Park Unit to the 
     District.
       (b) Sale Price.--The Secretary is authorized to receive 
     from the District $2,000,000 to relieve payment obligations 
     and extinguish the debt under contract number 14-06-200-
     949IR2, and $9,500,000 to relieve payment obligations and 
     extinguish all debts associated with contracts numbered 14-
     06-200-7734, as amended by contracts numbered 14-06-200-4282A 
     and 14-06-200-8536A. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, 
     the District shall continue to make payments required by 
     section 3407(c) of Public Law 102-575 through year 2029.
       (c) Credit Revenue to Project Repayment.--Upon payment 
     authorized under subsection (b), the amount paid shall be 
     credited toward repayment of capital costs of the Central 
     Valley Project in an amount equal to the associated 
     undiscounted obligation.

     SEC. 3. FUTURE BENEFITS.

       Upon payment, the Sly Park Unit shall no longer be a 
     Federal reclamation project or a

[[Page 27685]]

     unit of the Central Valley Project, and the District shall 
     not be entitled to receive any further reclamation benefits.

     SEC. 4. LIABILITY.

       Except as otherwise provided by law, effective on the date 
     of conveyance of the Sly Park Unit under this Act, the United 
     States shall not be liable for damages of any kind arising 
     out of any act, omission, or occurrence based on its prior 
     ownership or operation of the conveyed property.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Doolittle) and the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Doolittle).
  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, for more than 14 years the Sly Park Unit conveyance has 
been a legislative proposal before the Congress. It has passed both the 
House and Senate several times in various forms.
  Today we have before us what I consider a fair proposal to all 
interested parties in the legislation. The Sly Park Unit in California 
was originally authorized under the American River Act of October 14, 
1949. Since the project was completed in 1955, the district has 
operated and maintained the facilities.
  Additionally, the district has played a major role in providing a 
safe, clean, and community-oriented recreation area that offers 
camping, boating, swimming, picnicking, and fishing.
  Since I became the chairman of the Subcommittee on Water and Power, 
it has been my intent to pursue legislation to shrink the size and 
scope of the Federal government through the defederalization of these 
assets.
  This defederalization should be done for two reasons. First, in the 
case of Sly Park, the unit will be completely paid for prior to 
conveyance.
  Second, the district has demonstrated for more than four decades 
their expertise and financial capability in managing this project more 
efficiently than the Federal government.
  During the 105th Congress two congressionally-initiated Bureau of 
Reclamation transfer bills were signed into law that directed the 
Secretary of the Interior to convey all right, title, and interest to 
the United States in and to specified project facilities.
  It is contemplated that the Sly Park Unit will be maintained and 
managed after the transfer so that there would be no significant 
changes in operation and maintenance or in land and water use in the 
reasonably foreseeable future.
  Once transfer takes place, the future management of the facility will 
be the responsibility of the new owners, with any changes made pursuant 
to all then applicable laws. It is the committee's expectation that the 
completion of the conveyance should take no longer than 18 months from 
the date of enactment.
  To accomplish this end, we have received assurances from the Bureau 
of Reclamation that they will complete as expeditiously as possible the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.
  Furthermore, it is the committee's expectation that the district will 
cooperate with the Bureau of Reclamation in the environmental process 
and in the administrative tasks necessary to complete the transfer. If 
the conveyance is not completed within 18 months from the date of 
enactment, the Secretary can be expected to pay 100 percent of the 
costs of complying with the requirements of NEPA incurred as a direct 
result of executing this title transfer.
  If the conveyance occurs within 18 months, the Bureau of Reclamation 
should be expected to pay up to 50 percent of the costs of complying 
with the requirements of NEPA incurred as a direct result of executing 
this title transfer.
  Again, I would like to thank my colleagues, especially the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Miller), and the Bureau of Reclamation for their 
work in assuring the passage of this important legislation. I would 
urge an aye vote on the the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the committee has for more than a decade been 
considering various proposals to transfer ownership of the Sly Park 
Unit of the Central Valley Project. Many of the proposals we have seen 
have been so controversial that it has been impossible to secure 
passage of a bill.
  We finally have a bill that resolves the most contentious issues, and 
the majority has worked with the administration to reach agreement on 
language that ensures the environmental review process will not be 
waived.

                              {time}  1500

  The bill provides a financial solution that reflects agreement with 
the Office of Management and Budget. The manager's amendment to H.R. 
992 under consideration today no longer includes authority for the El 
Dorado Irrigation District to use tax exempt financing to pay off their 
remaining repayment obligations.
  Under the bill as reported, Federal funds could be used to pay off 
this Federal debt. This inappropriate use of tax advantage funds 
municipal bond financing was opposed in dissenting views filed with the 
committee report, and it is appropriate that the offending language be 
removed from the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, there have been significant and positive modifications 
to this legislation, and I understand that the administration now 
supports the bill, and we are prepared to support this legislation, 
H.R. 992, which is important for the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Doolittle) in his district.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I, too, am pleased to confirm that the 
administration is now officially on record in support of this 
legislation. I urge an aye vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Doolittle) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 992, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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