[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8307-8308]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               LAKE THUNDERBIRD EFFICIENT USE ACT OF 2011

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 3263) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of nonproject water at the 
Norman project in Oklahoma, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3263

       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 ``Lake Thunderbird Efficient 
     Use Act of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. NORMAN PROJECT, OKLAHOMA.

       Public Law 86-529 (74 Stat. 225) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:

     ``SEC. 10. LAKE THUNDERBIRD.

       ``(a) In General.--If the Secretary of the Interior 
     determines that there is enough excess capacity in the 
     reservoir on the Little River known as `Lake Thunderbird' 
     that nonproject water can be stored in Lake Thunderbird, the 
     Secretary of the Interior may, in accordance with the 
     reclamation laws, amend an existing contract, or enter into 1 
     or more new contracts, with the Central Oklahoma Master 
     Conservancy District for the storage and conveyance of 
     nonproject water in Norman project facilities to augment 
     municipal and industrial supplies for the cities served by 
     the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District.
       ``(b) Costs.--If any additional infrastructure is needed to 
     enable the storage and conveyance of non-project water in 
     Norman project facilities under subsection (a) or any other 
     provision of this Act, the costs of constructing, operating, 
     and maintaining the infrastructure shall be the 
     responsibility of the non-Federal entity contracting with the 
     Secretary of the Interior for storage and conveyance 
     rights.''.

     SEC. 3. EFFECT.

       Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act 
     authorizes any expansion of the storage capacity of Lake 
     Thunderbird.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  H.R. 3263, introduced by our colleague from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), 
allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to store water 
purchased from Oklahoma City in Lake Thunderbird. This legislation is 
necessary since Federal regulations do not allow water transfers from 
out-of-basin areas unless Congress expressly authorizes such a 
transfer.
  This bill specifically states that any cost associated with its 
enactment will be borne by the project beneficiary. It is a no-nonsense 
bill that will provide additional water storage during times of 
drought. I thank Congressman Cole for sponsoring this commonsense bill, 
and I urge adoption of the measure.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As my colleague stated, H.R. 3263 authorizes storage of nonproject 
water in Lake Thunderbird Reservoir. The ability to store water at Lake 
Thunderbird Reservoir will provide reclamation and the managers with 
flexibility in managing the system.
  The administration supports H.R. 3263, and we have heard from the 
tribes around the region who do not object to this legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield such 
time as he may consume to the sponsor of this legislation, the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey for their help in 
moving this legislation and also the staff of the Natural Resources 
Committee who have been very supportive and helpful.
  I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 3263, the Lake 
Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011. Lake Thunderbird is a Bureau of 
Reclamation project which provides municipal water to Norman, Del City, 
and Midwest City, all major municipalities in the Oklahoma City 
metropolitan area.
  In recent years, the watershed that feeds Lake Thunderbird has not 
been able to keep that lake full. The water that remains is of poor 
quality and ill-suited for drinking water and recreation. Lake 
Thunderbird was built to provide water to a water-starved region, and 
this legislation would help the Bureau of Reclamation meet the original 
goals of this project.
  The bill allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to 
acquire and store water from outside of the Bureau of Reclamation 
system in Lake Thunderbird. Any cost associated with this action would 
be paid for by the conservancy district. This legislation costs Federal 
taxpayers nothing.

                              {time}  1730

  Frankly, Mr. Speaker, in my view, this is the type of action that we 
should be able to take administratively; however, under current law, it 
requires congressional consent.
  Mr. Speaker, I first initiated this legislation in the 110th Congress 
when central Oklahoma was in the midst of a significant drought. In 
July of 2011, Oklahoma recorded the driest month ever recorded by any 
of the 50 States since records have been kept. Central Oklahoma remains 
in a drought that is forecast to continue and worsen this summer.
  H.R. 3263 is important to the economic growth of central Oklahoma. 
The Oklahoma City metropolitan area has seen tremendous growth over the 
past decade and has been a positive economic force at a time of great 
challenges to the national economy. Water must be available to support 
the continued growth of this region. This straightforward and 
commonsense legislation is an important tool to support further growth 
in central Oklahoma.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking 
member for their cooperation, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' 
on this legislation.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, if I might inquire of the chairman if he 
has any additional speakers.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I have one more speaker.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 
such time as he may consume to another Member from Oklahoma, the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford).
  Mr. LANKFORD. I would like to, as well, thank my colleague, Tom Cole, 
for his work on this. He is the one who has really sponsored this, has 
focused on it, has driven it through to completion. It is a very 
important thing for communities that are both in his district and in my 
district as well.
  H.R. 3263 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to simply amend an 
existing contract with the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District 
for

[[Page 8308]]

the storage of nonproject water in Lake Thunderbird. It's very simple 
and straightforward. This bill would allow the district to augment 
water if the Secretary determines that there is enough excess capacity 
in the reservoir.
  Since the summer of 2010, Oklahoma has been in a severe drought. This 
has seriously endangered the quality and supply of our drinking water. 
To address this devastating shortage, the Central Oklahoma Master 
Conservancy District could purchase water from Oklahoma City to supply 
high-quality water through the Atoka pipeline to Midwest City, Del 
City, and Norman. Regrettably, Congress must act before this resource 
can be tapped. It is imperative that we remedy the storage issues faced 
by these cities, and Congress shouldn't stand in the way of this.
  It is amazing that it takes an act of Congress for an Oklahoma lake 
to buy water from another Oklahoma lake. No Federal funds are needed, 
only Congress giving the permission to allow Oklahomans the flexibility 
to use their own water as needed. I am strongly in support of this. 
This is the type of thing that should be widely bipartisan. It is a 
simple fix, and hopefully we can fix this legislatively in the future 
to not have to have an act of Congress just for us to use our own water 
in each State.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time and urge adoption of the measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3263.
  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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