[House Report 108-259]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    108-259

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   AMENDING THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1998 TO 
EXTEND CERTAIN CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION AND CERTAIN 
   IRRIGATION WATER CONTRACTORS IN THE STATES OF WYOMING AND NEBRASKA

                                _______
                                

 September 4, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2040]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2040) to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension 
Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of 
Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in the 
States of Wyoming and Nebraska, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 
the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2040 is to amend the Irrigation Project 
Contract Extension Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts 
between the Bureau of Reclamation and certain irrigation water 
contractors in the States of Wyoming and Nebraska.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Glendo Dam, part of the integrated Glendo Unit on the 
Platte River, was authorized in 1944 as part of the Pick-Sloan 
Missouri Basin Program. Construction was completed in 1958. The 
multi-purpose Glendo Dam provides water for irrigation, 
hydropower generation, flood control and recreation. Under the 
North Platte Supreme Court decree, up to 25,000 acre-feet water 
are available to Nebraska irrigation districts and 15,000 acre-
feet to Wyoming irrigation districts.
    Glendo Dam is one of seven Bureau of Reclamation facilities 
currently being evaluated under a cooperative agreement signed 
in July 1997 between the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, and 
Colorado and the Department of the Interior. The agreement is a 
framework for a joint, basin-wide research effort to improve 
the habitat of four threatened and endangered species (the 
whooping crane, interior least tern, piping plover and the 
pallid sturgeon) in the central Platte River. The original term 
of the agreement was three years, or until June 30, 2000. 
However, a number of factors--including continuing research on 
current milestones and the creation of tasks for new 
milestones--have led to a three-year extension of the 
agreement, which expired on June 30, 2003. The four parties 
have agreed to extend the agreement in an attempt to finish the 
forthcoming Platte River Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
and Record of Decision (ROD) required under the National 
Environmental Policy Act expected to be completed in 2005.
    While the agreement process continues, nine Glendo water 
contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation have been up for 
renewal. Since future contracts will probably have to be 
modified as a result of additional water needs for endangered 
species habitat recovery programs set forth in the EIS and 
subsequent ROD, the irrigators are reluctant to enter into new 
contracts without a clear water use and delivery roadmap set 
forth in the EIS. This uncertainty has led Congress to extend 
the current Glendo contracts in 1998 (Public Law 105-293) and 
2000 (Public Law 106-377). H.R. 2040 would continue these 
Congressional actions by extending current Glendo contracts 
through December 31, 2005, when agreement parties believe 
habitat recovery plans will be completed. The contract 
extension in this bill will give Glendo irrigators time to 
renegotiate current contracts once the agreement is completed.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 2040 was introduced by Congressman Tom Osborne (R-NE) 
on May 8, 2003. The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee the Subcommittee on Water 
and Power. On June 24, 2003, the Subcommittee held a hearing on 
the bill. On July 9, 2003, the Full Resources Committee met to 
consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged from further 
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments 
were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

                           Section-by-Section


Section 1. Extension of Certain Irrigation Project Contracts

    This section provides for the extension of certain 
contracts (eight water service contracts and one repayment 
contract) through December 31, 2005, between the Bureau of 
Reclamation and irrigation water contractors in Wyoming and 
Nebraska that receive water from Glendo Reservoir.

            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, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures. 
According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this 
bill would result in a loss of offsetting receipts (less than 
$500,000) but it would match a reduction in spending. 
Therefore, enactment of H.R. 2040 ``would have no significant 
impact on the federal budget.''
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    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, August 29, 2003.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
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. 2040, a bill to 
amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to 
extend certain contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and 
certain irrigation water contractors in the states of Wyoming 
and Nebraska.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact for federal 
costs is Julie Middleton. The contact for the impact on state 
and local governments is Marjorie Miller.
            Sincerely,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2040--A bill to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension 
        Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of 
        Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in the 
        states of Wyoming and Nebraska

    H.R. 2040 would extend--for up to two years--contracts 
between the Bureau of Reclamation and purchasers of irrigation 
water in Wyoming and Nebraska that receive water from the 
Glendo Reservoir. The existing contracts will expire on 
December 31, 2003; however, the Secretary of the Interior has 
the authority under current law to renew these contracts on an 
annual basis. Such annual renewals require the Secretary to 
prepare an environmental impact statement and carry out 
mitigation efforts. Under H.R. 2040, the bureau would avoid the 
costs associated with annual renewals.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2040 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Based on information 
provided by the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 2040 would allow the bureau to avoid costs of 
less than $500,000 in 2004 and smaller amounts in future years. 
Those costs are subject to the availability of appropriated 
funds, but the agency is reimbursed by individuals contracting 
for water and the reimbursements are deposited in the Treasury 
as offsetting receipts (a form of direct spending). The 
potential loss of offsetting receipts would match the potential 
reduction in spending subject to appropriation, and we estimate 
that both would be insignificant.
    H.R. 2040 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. 
Enacting this bill would benefit the contractors affected by 
this bill, which are generally governmental entities, because 
it would allow them to avoid the costs of annual renewals.
    The CBO staff contact for federal costs is Julie Middleton. 
The contact for the impact on state and local governments is 
Marjorie Miller. 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 Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as 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):

   SECTION 2 OF THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1998

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF CONTRACTS.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall extend 
each of the water service or repayment contracts for the Glendo 
Unit of the Missouri River Basin Project identified in 
subsection (c) until [December 31, 2003] December 31, 2005.
  (b) Extensions Coterminous With Cooperative 
Agreement.--If the cooperative agreement entitled ``Cooperative 
Agreement for Platte River Research and other Efforts Relating 
to Endangered Species Habitats Along the Central Platte River, 
Nebraska'', entered into by the Governors of the States of 
Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado and the Secretary of the 
Interior, is extended for a term beyond December 31, 2000, the 
contracts identified in subsection (c) shall be extended for 
the same term, but not to go [beyond December 31, 2003] beyond 
December 31, 2005. If the cooperative agreement terminates 
[prior to December 31, 2003] before December 31, 2005, the 
contracts identified in subsection (c) shall be subject to 
renewal on the date that the cooperative agreement terminates.

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