[Senate Report 104-380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 604
104th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     104-380
_______________________________________________________________________


 
           IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1996

                                _______
                                

               September 30, 1996.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1649]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1649) to extend contracts between the 
Bureau of Reclamation and irrigation districts in Kansas and 
Nebraska, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that 
the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    On page 1, lines 7 and 8, strike ``construction repayment 
and''.
    On page 2, line 1, strike ``subsections (d) and'' and 
insert ``subsection''.
    Beginning on page 2, strike lines 7 through 22, and 
redesignate the following paragraphs accordingly.
    On page 4, line 1, before ``and'' insert ``Red Willow 
County,''.
    On page 5, line 5, strike ``Osborn'' and insert 
``Osborne''.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    S. 1649, as ordered reported, would extend the contracts 
for eight units of the Missouri River Basin Project, which is 
operated as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, for 
an additional four years beyond the date on which the contracts 
otherwise would expire. The units are all located in either 
Kansas or Nebraska.

                          background and need

    The eight units affected by this bill all have standard 40-
year water service contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation. 
The contracts will expire shortly (three will expire at the end 
of 1996) and the legislation is designed to provide adequate 
time for negotiation of new contracts. The units also have been 
discussing the possibility of title transfer, but that proposal 
is not included in this legislation.

                      Summary of Major Provisions

    Section two requires the Secretary of the Interior to 
extend the water service contracts for eight irrigation 
districts in Kansas and Nebraska for an additional four years 
beyond their present expiration date. The units for which the 
contracts are extended are: the Bostwick Unit (Kansas portion); 
the Bostwick Unit (Nebraska portion); the Farwell Unit; the 
Frenchman-Cambridge Unit; the Frenchman Valley Unit; the Kirwin 
Unit; the Kirwin Unit; the Sargent Unit; and the Webster Unit.

                          legislative History

    Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska introduced S. 1649 on March 
28, 1996, for himself, Senator Dole, Senator Exon, and Senator 
Kassebaum. The Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land 
Management held a hearing on September 3, 1996. Because of 
concerns expressed at the hearing by the Bureau of Reclamation, 
the bill was amended to reduce the number of contracts extended 
from ten to eight. The Administration objected to extending the 
contracts of the Ainsworth and Almena Units, whose contracts 
expire in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

            committee recommendations and Tabulation of Vote

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on Thursday, September 12, 1996, by a 
unanimous voice vote of a quorum present, recommended that the 
Senate pass S. 1649 as described herein.

                      section-by-section Analysis

Section 1--Short title

    The title of the Act is the ``Irrigation Project Contract 
Extension Act of 1996''.

Section 2--Extension of contracts

    This section requires the Secretary of the Interior to 
extend the water service contracts for eight irrigation 
districts in Kansas and Nebraska for an additional four years 
beyond their present expiration date. The units for which the 
contracts are extended and the dates on which their contracts 
expire are: The Bostwick Unit--Kansas portion (1996); The 
Bostwick Unit--Nebraska portion (1996); The Frenchman-Cambridge 
Unit (1996); The Frenchman Valley Unit (1997); The Farwell Unit 
(1998); The Sargent Unit (1998); The Kirwin Unit (1999); and 
the Webster Unit (2001).

                   Cost and Regulatory Considerations

    The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of 
this measure follows:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 19, 1996.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed S. 1649, the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act 
of 1996, as reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on September 16, 1996. CBO estimates that 
enacting the bill would have no impact on the Federal budget in 
1997 and no significant effect in subsequent years. Because S. 
1649 could affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures 
would apply.
    S. 1649 would extend water service contracts between the 
Secretary of the Interior and eight irrigation districts in 
Kansas and Nebraska for a period of four additional years after 
the dates on which each of the contracts would otherwise 
expire. The extensions would allow the Bureau of Reclamation to 
continue providing water to the districts while National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews are completed. These 
reviews are required before the bureau can negotiate new long-
term contracts with the districts. Similar language allowing 
contract extensions was included in the Energy and Water 
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997, which was recently 
cleared by the Congress.
    CBO expects that enacting the bill would not affect 
receipts from the affected water service contracts in fiscal 
year 1997 because the Bureau of Reclamation has the authority 
to provide a short-term (one-year) extension. Whether--or to 
what extent--enacting S. 1649 would affect receipts in 
subsequent years depends on which NEPA reviews will not be 
completed by the existing contract expiration dates. If NEPA 
reviews are completed on time, all of the contracts could be 
renewed pursuant to existing authority. If some are not, the 
federal government might be constrained in its ability to 
provide water to the affected irrigation districts. Thus, it is 
possible that enacting the bill would forestall a loss of some 
federal receipts from the sale of water. Since total annual 
receipts from all eight districts are less than $2 million, any 
such effect of this legislation would be small.
    S. 1649 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4), and would impose no costs on state, local, 
or tribal governments.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Gary Brown.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

                       FEDERAL MANDATE EVALUATION

    The Congressional Budget Office has determined that S. 1649 
contains no private sector or intergovernmental mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 
104-4), and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
implementing S. 1649. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    The paperwork requirements for the Department of the 
Interior are not likely to be significant.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    A Statement of Administration Position has not been 
submitted as of the date this report was filed. When the SAP is 
available, the Chairman will request that it be printed in the 
Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 1649, as 
ordered reported.