[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 4259-4261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO AMEND THE DEFINITE PLAN 
                   REPORT FOR THE SEEDSKADEE PROJECT

  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 648) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to amend the 
Definite Plan Report for the Seedskadee Project to enable the use of 
the active capacity of the Fontenelle Reservoir.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 648

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO MAKE ENTIRE ACTIVE CAPACITY OF 
                   FONTENELLE RESERVOIR AVAILABLE FOR USE.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, in 
     cooperation with the State of Wyoming, may amend the Definite 
     Plan Report for the Seedskadee Project authorized under the 
     first section of the Act of April 11, 1956 (commonly known as 
     the ``Colorado River Storage Project Act'' (43 U.S.C. 620)) 
     to provide for the study, design, planning, and construction 
     activities that will enable the use

[[Page 4260]]

     of all active storage capacity (as may be defined or limited 
     by legal, hydrologic, structural, engineering, economic, and 
     environmental considerations) of Fontenelle Dam and 
     Reservoir, including the placement of sufficient riprap on 
     the upstream face of Fontenelle Dam to allow the active 
     storage capacity of Fontenelle Reservoir to be used for those 
     purposes for which the Seedskadee Project was authorized.
       (b) Cooperative Agreements.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may enter 
     into any contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other 
     agreement that is necessary to carry out subsection (a).
       (2) State of wyoming.--
       (A) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall enter 
     into a cooperative agreement with the State of Wyoming to 
     work in cooperation and collaboratively with the State of 
     Wyoming for planning, design, related preconstruction 
     activities, and construction of any modification of the 
     Fontenelle Dam under subsection (a).
       (B) Requirements.--The cooperative agreement under 
     subparagraph (A) shall, at a minimum, specify the 
     responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior and the 
     State of Wyoming with respect to--
       (i) completing the planning and final design of the 
     modification of the Fontenelle Dam under subsection (a);
       (ii) any environmental and cultural resource compliance 
     activities required for the modification of the Fontenelle 
     Dam under subsection (a) including compliance with--

       (I) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
     U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
       (II) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
     seq.); and
       (III) subdivision 2 of division A of subtitle III of title 
     54, United States Code; and

       (iii) the construction of the modification of the 
     Fontenelle Dam under subsection (a).
       (c) Funding by State of Wyoming.--Pursuant to the Act of 
     March 4, 1921 (41 Stat. 1404, chapter 161; 43 U.S.C. 395), 
     and as a condition of providing any additional storage under 
     subsection (a), the State of Wyoming shall provide to the 
     Secretary of the Interior funds for any work carried out 
     under subsection (a).
       (d) Other Contracting Authority.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may enter 
     into contracts with the State of Wyoming, on such terms and 
     conditions as the Secretary of the Interior and the State of 
     Wyoming may agree, for division of any additional active 
     capacity made available under subsection (a).
       (2) Terms and conditions.--Unless otherwise agreed to by 
     the Secretary of the Interior and the State of Wyoming, a 
     contract entered into under paragraph (1) shall be subject to 
     the terms and conditions of Bureau of Reclamation Contract 
     No. 14-06-400-2474 and Bureau of Reclamation Contract No. 14-
     06-400-6193.

     SEC. 2. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

       Unless expressly provided in this Act, nothing in this Act 
     modifies, conflicts with, preempts, or otherwise affects--
       (1) the Act of December 31, 1928 (43 U.S.C. 617 et seq.) 
     (commonly known as the ``Boulder Canyon Project Act'');
       (2) the Colorado River Compact of 1922, as approved by the 
     Presidential Proclamation of June 25, 1929 (46 Stat. 3000);
       (3) the Act of July 19, 1940 (43 U.S.C. 618 et seq.) 
     (commonly known as the ``Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment 
     Act'');
       (4) the Treaty between the United States of America and 
     Mexico relating to the utilization of waters of the Colorado 
     and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, and supplementary 
     protocol signed November 14, 1944, signed at Washington 
     February 3, 1944 (59 Stat. 1219);
       (5) the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact as consented to 
     by the Act of April 6, 1949 (63 Stat. 31);
       (6) the Act of April 11, 1956 (commonly known as the 
     ``Colorado River Storage Project Act'') (43 U.S.C. 620 et 
     seq.);
       (7) the Colorado River Basin Project Act (Public Law 90-
     537; 82 Stat. 885); or
       (8) any State of Wyoming or other State water law.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Tipton) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Brown) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TIPTON. 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 Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 648, sponsored by the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. 
Cheney), allows the State of Wyoming to increase the active storage 
capacity for the Fontenelle Dam and Reservoir located in southwest 
Wyoming. The bill allows the State to enter into agreements with the 
Federal Government to study, design, plan, and perform construction 
activities to accomplish this goal. Wyoming will pay for any and all 
costs associated with these activities.
  This bill, which passed the House without objection in the last 
Congress when it was sponsored by our former colleague Cynthia Lummis, 
simply empowers Wyoming to better utilize its Colorado River water 
allocation through improved water storage at no cost to the Federal 
Government. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 648 would increase the amount of water that can be 
stored in the Fontenelle Reservoir in Lincoln County, Wyoming, by 
allowing the active storage capacity of the reservoir to be used. This 
bill has been written in a balanced manner that respects existing laws, 
compacts, and treaties, and does not attempt to expand Wyoming's 
entitlement to Colorado River supplies at the expense of other Colorado 
River Basin States.
  H.R. 648 is a straightforward, noncontroversial piece of legislation 
that is identical to a bill that was unanimously passed by the 
Committee on Natural Resources last Congress. I support H.R. 648 and 
urge its adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney).
  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Colorado and my 
colleague from Maryland for their support of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduced H.R. 648 so that we could begin the work 
necessary to increase the active storage capacity of the Fontenelle 
Reservoir. As a headwater State, Wyoming takes care of its water, and 
we know that water is our most important natural resource. Water uses 
currently at this dam span the gamut from irrigation, domestic, 
industrial, municipal, fish and wildlife, and recreation. Power 
generation is a secondary purpose at the dam, and current uses also 
include industrial capacity for our trona miners, fertilizer producers, 
and fulfillment of a range of energy needs.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill would simply authorize the Bureau of 
Reclamation to enter into a cooperative agreement with the State of 
Wyoming so that we could begin the process to study, design, and 
construct increased capacity for the reservoir. This is a process, Mr. 
Speaker, that has been held up previously by onerous NEPA requirements, 
and we need to move quickly so that we can begin to increase this 
capacity.
  Currently the reservoir has 265,000 acre-feet to accommodate water as 
active capacity. This legislation would potentially add an additional 
80,000 acre-feet of existing reservoir space. This bill would provide 
an affordable and efficient way to add more usable storage in the 
Colorado River Basin and would accomplish these goals without 
contemplating the construction of a new dam. The bill has the support 
of the Wyoming Water Development Office and the Wyoming Water 
Development Commission, which develops our State's water resources for 
conservation, storage, distribution, recreation, and other public 
interests. Our Governor Matt Mead included this concept in the 2015 
Wyoming water strategy.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill will empower Wyoming to better utilize our 
water allocation and improve our water storage, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 648.

[[Page 4261]]

  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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