[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17146-17147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. KYL (for himself, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Reid, and Mrs. 
        Feinstein):
  S. 3841. A bill to authorize appropriations for the Bureau of 
Reclamation to carry out the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species 
Conservation Program in the States of Arizona, California, and Nevada, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, today I am pleased to join with Senators 
Ensign, Feinstein and Reid to introduce the Lower Colorado River Multi-
Species Conservation Program Act. This bipartisan legislation is 
designed to protect and maintain wildlife habitat on the lower Colorado 
River and to provide assurances to the affected water and power 
agencies of Arizona, California, and Nevada that their river operations 
may continue upon compliance with the underlying program.
  The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, 
otherwise known as the MSCP, is a comprehensive, cooperative effort 
among 50 Federal and non-Federal entities in Arizona, California, and 
Nevada whose purposes are to: 1. protect the lower Colorado River 
environment while ensuring the certainty of existing river water and 
power operations; 2. protect threatened and endangered wildlife under 
the Endangered Species Act; and 3. prevent the listing of additional 
species on the lower Colorado River.
  To accomplish these goals, the MSCP will create more than 8,100 acres 
of riparian, marsh, and backwater habitat and implement additional 
measures to protect 26 endangered, threatened and sensitive species. 
The program covers approximately 400 miles, including the full-pool 
elevations of Lake Mead to the United States-Mexico Southerly 
International Boundary.
  The program costs will be spread over 50 years, and split 50/50 
between the Federal Government and the non- Federal entities covered by 
MSCP. Arizona and Nevada will each bear 25 percent of the non-Federal 
costs and California will bear 50 percent of the non-Federal costs.

[[Page 17147]]

  Although implementation of the program began in April 2005 under the 
U.S. Department of the Interior's existing authority, legislation is 
needed to protect the substantial financial commitments that the non-
Federal parties are making to species protection. To that end, the 
bill: 1. expressly authorizes appropriations to cover the Federal share 
of the program costs; 2. directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
manage and implement the MSCP in accordance with the underlying program 
documents; and 3. provides a waiver of sovereign immunity to allow the 
non-Federal parties to enforce, if necessary, the underlying program 
documents. The waiver, however, does not allow an action to be brought 
against the United States for money damages.
  While some minor issues remain regarding the continuity of the 
program documents, we have every confidence that these issues will be 
resolved as the legislation progresses.
  In summary, this bill will ensure the certainty of existing river 
water and power operations while at the same time conserving and 
helping the recovery of endangered species on the lower Colorado River. 
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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