[Senate Report 106-234]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 450
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-234

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             HAWAII WATER RESOURCES RECLAMATION ACT OF 1999

                                _______
                                

                 March 9, 2000.--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. 1694]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1694) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a study on the reclamation and reuse of 
water and waste-water in the State of Hawaii, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    On page 3, line 23, delete ``1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act,'' and replace with ``2 years after 
appropriation of funds authorized by this Act,''.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    S. 1694, the Hawaii Water Resources Reclamation Act, 
authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to survey irrigation and 
water delivery systems in Hawaii, identify the cost of 
rehabilitating the systems, and evaluate demand for their 
future use. The bill also instructs the Bureau to identify new 
opportunities for reclamation and reuse of water and wastewater 
for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes. Finally, the 
bill authorizes the Bureau to conduct emergency drought relief 
in Hawaii.

                          Background and Need

    S. 1694 would amend Title XVI of the Reclamation Wastewater 
and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act (P.L. 102-575) to 
include Hawaii as one of the states eligible to participate in 
the Bureau of Reclamation's Title XVI program, to help 
alleviate some of the economic distress facing rural Hawaii as 
a result of the decline of sugar production. In the past 
decade, acreage in production has declined from 180,000 acres 
of cane in 1989 to 60,000 acres today.
    As Carol Wilcox, author of the definitive history of 
irrigation in Hawaii noted in her recent book Sugar Water, the 
cultivation of sugarcane dominated Hawaii's agricultural 
landscape for the last 25 years of the 19th century and for 
most of this century as well. ``Sugar was the greatest single 
force at work in Hawaii,'' she wrote, and water was essential 
to this development.
    The face of Hawaii agriculture is changing, however, and 
diversified agriculture is beginning to fill some of the void 
left by the decline of the sugar industry. Farm receipts from 
diversified crops rose an average of 5.5 percent annually for 
the past three years, surpassing the $300 million mark for the 
first time. Hawaii still grows sugarcane, but many believe 
diversified farming represents the future of Hawaii 
agriculture. This restructuring of agriculture has prompted new 
and shifting demands for agricultural water and a broad 
reevaluation of the use of Hawaii's fresh water resources.
    While the Bureau of Reclamation played a modest role in 
Hawaii water resource development, sugar plantations and 
private irrigation companies were responsible for constructing, 
operating, and maintaining nearly all of Hawaii's agricultural 
irrigation systems. Over a period of 90 years, beginning in 
1856, more than 75 ditches, reservoirs, and groundwater systems 
were constructed.
    Although Hawaii's irrigation systems are called ditches, 
the use of this term misrepresents their magnitude. Hawaii's 
largest ditch system, the East Maui Irrigation Company, 
operates a network of six ditches on the north flank of 
Haleakala Crater. The broad scope of East Maui Irrigation (EMI) 
is extensively chronicled in Sugar Water:

          Among the water entities, none compares to EMI. It is 
        the largest privately owned water company in the United 
        States, perhaps in the world. The total delivery 
        capacity is 445 mgd. The average daily water delivery 
        under median weather conditions is 160 mgd * * * Its 
        largest ditch, the Wailoa Canal, has a greater median 
        flow (170 mgd) than any river in Hawaii * * * The [EMI] 
        replacement cost is estimated to be at $200 million.

    Most of Hawaii's irrigation systems are in disrepair. Some 
have been abandoned. Those that no longer irrigate cane lands 
may not effectively serve the new generation of Hawaii farmers, 
either because little or no water reaches new farms or because 
the ditches have not been repaired or maintained.
    Hawaii's relationship with the Bureau of Reclamation dates 
from 1939, when the agency proposed developing an aqueduct on 
Molokai to serve 16,000 acres of federally managed Hawaiian 
Home Lands. While this project did not proceed, in 1954 
Congress directed the Bureau to investigate irrigation and 
reclamation needs for three of our islands: Oahu, Hawaii, and 
Molokai. A Federal reclamation project on the Island of Molokai 
was eventually constructed in response to this investigation. 
The project continues in operation today.
    In the first session of Congress following Hawaii's 
statehood, legislation authorizing the Secretary of the 
Interior to develop reclamation projects in Hawaii under the 
Small Reclamation Projects Act was signed into law. The most 
recent interaction with the Bureau occurred in 1995 when 
Congress authorized the Secretary to allow Native Hawaiians the 
same favorable cost recovery for reclamation projects as 
Indians or Indian tribes.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1694 was introduced by Senator Akaka on October 6, 1999. 
A hearing was held in the Water and Power Subcommittee on 
October 20, 1999. At the business meeting on February 10, 2000, 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1694, 
as amended, favorably reported.

            Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Votes

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on February 10, 2000, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1694, if amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendments

    During the consideration of S. 1694, the Committee adopted 
an amendment to provide the Secretary with two years, instead 
of one year, to submit the report called for by the 
legislation. The amendment also starts the clock running on the 
report when funds become available rather than after enactment. 
This amendment was made at the request of the Administration.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 designates the short title.
    Section 2 contains findings.
    Section 3 defines terms used in the bill.
    Section 4(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation to conduct a study that 
includes: (1) a survey of irrigation and water delivery systems 
in the State of Hawaii; (2) estimates of cost of repair and 
rehabilitation of such systems; (3) an evaluation of options 
for future use of irrigation and water delivery systems in 
Hawaii; and (4) the identification and investigation of other 
opportunities for reclamation and reuse of water and wastewater 
for agriculture and nonagricultural purposes.
    Section 4(b) provides that two years after funds become 
available, the Secretary is required to submit a report on the 
findings of the study to the Senate Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee and the House Resources Committee.
    Section 5 amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater 
Study and Facilities Act to include Hawaii in the Bureau of 
Reclamation's wastewater reclamation program.
    Section 6 amends the Reclamation States Emergency Drought 
Relief Act of 1991 to extend drought relief programs and 
include Hawaii.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 22, 2000.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1694, the Hawaii 
Water Resources Reclamation Act of 1999.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

S. 1694--Hawaii Water Resources Reclamation Act of 1999

    CBO estimates that implementing S. 1694 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Because the bill 
would not affect direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply. S. 1694 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on 
state, local, or tribal governments.
    S. 1694 would authorize the appropriation of necessary sums 
for the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of water 
resources in the state of Hawaii and report to the Congress 
within two years from the time when such sums are provided. 
Based on information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO 
estimates that these activities would cost a total of $400,000 
over two years, assuming appropriation of the necessary 
amounts.
    The bill also would permit the state of Hawaii to request 
emergency assistance from the bureau under the Reclamation 
states Emergency Drought Relief Act. Any such assistance 
provided to the State would be subject to the availability of 
appropriations. The 17 states currently eligible for such 
assistance received a total appropriation of $3 million in 
2000. CBO estimates that making Hawaii eligible for this type 
of assistance would not significantly affect federal costs.
    The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. This estimate was 
approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                      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 
carrying out S. 1694. 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.
    Little if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 1694, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    On October 18, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 1694. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 1694 
was filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will 
request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for 
the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the 
Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation at the Subcommittee 
hearing follows:

Statement of Eluid Martinez, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. 
                       Department of the Interior

    I am Eluid Martinez, Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of 
Reclamation (Reclamation). I appreciate the opportunity to 
present the views of the Department of the Interior 
(Department) on S. 1694, the ``Hawaii Water Resources 
Reclamation Act of 1999''. The Department has concerns with the 
bill, in that it would require Reclamation to carry out new 
activities outside the 17 western states where Reclamation has 
ongoing legal and contractual responsibilities.
    S. 1694 directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct a study on water 
resources in the State of Hawaii, and provide a report to 
Congress with findings and recommendations. The Reclamation 
study is to survey and identify existing irrigation and water 
delivery systems in Hawaii, identify the cost of rehabilitating 
the water delivery systems, and evaluate options for future use 
of the irrigation and water delivery systems (including 
alternatives that would improve the use and conservation of 
water resources). S. 1694 also amends Title XVI of Public Law 
102-575 to authorize the Secretary to identify new 
opportunities for reclamation and reuse of water and wastewater 
for agriculture and non-agricultural purposes in Hawaii. 
Reclamation supports a consistent and equitable approach to 
assessing feasibility and establishing priorities for the Title 
XVI.
    S. 1694 also permits Hawaii to participate in drought 
relief programs and activities authorized in the Reclamation 
States Emergency Drought Relief Act (Public Law 10-250) for the 
17 Reclamation states. The bill would extend the authorization 
for the drought program for an additional three years through 
2005.
    Thank you for the opportunity to present the Department's 
views on S. 1694.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 1694, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

43 U.S.C.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 390h. Wastewater and groundwater study and facilities; general 
                    authority

    (a) Establishment of Wastewater Program.--The Secretary of 
the Interior (hereafter ``Secretary''), acting pursuant to the 
Reclamation Act of 1902 (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388) 
and Acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto 
(hereafter ``Federal reclamation laws''), is directed to 
undertake a program to investigate and identify opportunities 
for reclamation and reuse of municipal, industrial, domestic, 
and agricultural wastewater, and naturally impaired ground and 
surface waters, for the design and construction of 
demonstration and permanent facilities to reclaim and reuse 
wastewater, and to conduct research, including desalting, for 
the reclamation of wastewater and naturally impaired ground and 
surface waters.
    (b) Limitation of Program.--Such program shall be limited 
to the States and areas referred to in section 1 of the 
Reclamation Act of 1902 (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388) as 
amended [43 U.S.C.A. Sec. 391], and the State of Hawaii.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 2214. Applicable period of drought program

    (a) In General.--The programs and authorities established 
under this subchapter shall become operative in any Reclamation 
State and in the State of Hawaii only after the Governor or 
Governors of the affected State or States, or on a reservation, 
when the governing body of the affected tribe has made a 
request for temporary drought assistance and the Secretary has 
determined that such temporary assistance is merited, or upon 
the approval of a drought contingency plan as provided in 
subchapter II of this chapter.
    (b) Coordination With BPA.--If a Governor referred to in 
subsection (a) of this section is the Governor of the State of 
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, or Montana, the Governor shall 
coordinate with the Administrator of the Bonneville Power 
Administration before making a request under subsection (a) of 
this section.
    (c) Termination of Authority.--The authorities established 
under this subchapter shall terminate [ten years after the date 
of enactment of this Act] on September 30, 2005.

                                  
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