[House Report 106-742]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-742
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USE OF WEBER BASIN PROJECT FACILITIES FOR NONPROJECT WATER
_______
July 17, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3236]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3236) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter
into contracts with the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District,
Utah, to use Weber Basin Project facilities for the impounding,
storage, and carriage of nonproject water for domestic,
municipal, industrial, and other beneficial purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. USE OF WEBER BASIN PROJECT FACILITIES FOR NONPROJECT WATER.
The Secretary of the Interior may enter into contracts with the Weber
Basin Water Conservancy District or any of its member unit contractors
under the Act of February 21, 1911 (43 U.S.C. 523), for--
(1) the impounding, storage, and carriage of nonproject water
for domestic, municipal, industrial, and other beneficial
purposes, using facilities associated with the Weber Basin
Project, Utah; and
(2) the exchange of water among Weber Basin Project
contractors, for the purposes set forth in paragraph (1), using
facilities associated with the Weber Basin Project, Utah.
purpose of the bill
The purpose of H.R. 3236 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to enter into contracts with the Weber Basin Water
Conservancy District, Utah, to use Weber Basin Project
facilities for the impounding, storage, and carriage of
nonproject water for domestic, municipal, industrial, and other
beneficial purposes.
background
The Smith Morehouse Dam and Reservoir was constructed by
the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District in the early 1980s
using local funding resources to create a supply of non-federal
project water. There is currently a need to deliver
approximately 5,000 acre feet of this non-federal Smith
Morehouse water in conjunction with approximately 5,000 acre
feet of federal Weber Basin project water to the Snyderville
Basin area of Summit County, Utah, and to Park City, Utah. The
transfer would involve moving non-project water through a
federal facility. Such a practice is not allowed in many Bureau
of Reclamation facilities when the water is not being used for
irrigation purposes. This bill will allow this non-federal
water to be moved through Bureau of Reclamation facilities. The
increased growth and resulting need to use water facilities
more efficiently in the western United States have been a basis
for Congress to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
enter into this type of contracts in the past.
committee action
H.R. 3236 was introduced on November 5, 1999, by
Congressman Chris Cannon (R-UT). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Water and Power. On February 10, 2000, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On March 9, 2000, the
Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. Congressman John T.
Doolittle (R-CA) offered an amendment to clarify the type of
contracts the Secretary is authorized to sign. The amendment
was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was then
ordered to be reported to the Full Committee by voice vote. On
June 7, 2000, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the
bill. No further amendments were offered and the bill was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
voice vote.
section-by-section analysis
Section 1. Use of Weber Basin project facilities for nonproject water
This section outlines the specific types of contracts that
the Secretary of the Interior might enter into under this act.
committee oversight findings and recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
constitutional authority statement
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
compliance with house rule xiii
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
enactment of this bill could result in increased payments to
the federal government (of less than $500,000 each year) in the
form of reimbursements from the Weber Basin Water Conservancy
District for the costs of handling nonproject water.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 23, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3236, a bill to
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into contracts
with the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, Utah, to use
Weber Basin Project facilities for the impounding, storage, and
carriage of nonproject water for domestic, municipal,
industrial, and other beneficial purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Rachel
Applebaum (for federal costs), who can be reached at 226-2860,
and Marjorie Miller (for the state and local impact), who can
be reached 225-3220.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 3236--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter
into contracts with the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District,
Utah, to use Weber Basin Project facilities for the impounding,
storage, and carriage of nonproject water for domestic,
municipal, industrial, and other beneficial purposes
H.R. 3236 would allow the Secretary of the Interior to
enter into contracts with the Weber Basin Water Conservancy
District for impounding, storing, or carrying nonproject water
using the facilities of the federally operated Weber Basin
Project in Utah. the bill also would allow the Secretary to
enter into contracts for using facilities at the Weber Basin
Project to exchange water among project contractors. Under
current law, the federal government may not use its facilities
to move nonproject water for nonproject purposes.
H.R. 3236 would not require the Weber Basin Water
Conservancy District to reimburse the federal government for
the full cost of handling nonproject water. Based on
information from the Bureau of Reclamation, however, CBO
expects that the Secretary of the Interior would only use the
new authority to enter into contracts with the district that
would fully reimburse the government. Under H.R. 3236, the
federal government would receive reimbursement from the
district, and would incur the costs of handling the nonproject
water. CBO estimates that the costs of handling the nonproject
water would be less than $500,000 each year. Because H.R. 3236
would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would
apply.
H.R. 3236 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
Enacting this legislation would benefit the Weber Basin Water
Conservancy District, Summit County, and Park City, Utah, by
facilitating water delivery agreements between these
governments. The district might incur some costs under the
contracts authorized by this bill, but these costs would be
voluntary.
The CBO staff contracts for this estimate are Rachel
Applebaum (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the
state and local impact). This estimate was approved by Peter H.
Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
compliance with public law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
preemption of state, local or tribal law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
changes in existing law
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.