[Senate Report 108-327]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 683
108th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 108-327
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LAKE NIGHTHORSE REDESIGNATION
_______
August 25, 2004.--Ordered to be printed
Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 22, 2004
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2508]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 2508) to redesignate the Ridges Basin
Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake Nighthorse, 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 1, line 5, insert ``Basin Creek, a tributary of ''
before ``the Animas River''.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of S. 2508 is to rename the Ridges Basin
Reservoir in Colorado for Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Ridges Basin Reservoir is part of the Animas La Plata
Project in southwestern Colorado. It is being built by the
Bureau of Reclamation south of Durango, Colorado to store water
from the Animas River, which is a tributary of the San Juan and
Colorado Rivers. When completed in 2009, the reservoir will
hold 120,000 acre-feet of water and will have a surface area of
nearly 1,500 acres.
The Animas La Plata Project was first authorized on a much
larger scale by the Colorado River Basin Act of 1968, Public
Law 90-537. Work on the Project was delayed, for various
reasons, for decades. In the meantime, Congress enacted the
Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988, Public
Law 100-585, to resolve the senior water rights claims of the
Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian Tribes of Colorado.
In 1988, the Department of the Interior proposed
construction of a substantially scaled-down project to address
the long-standing water rights claims of the Colorado Ute
Tribes, as well as the municipal and industrial needs of other
water users, including the Navajo Nation and non-Indian water
districts, in Colorado and New Mexico. Congress authorized
construction of the scaled-down Animas La Plata Project in the
Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000, and
construction began in November 2001. The principal component of
the scaled-down project will be the Ridges Basin Reservoir.
S. 2508 renames the Ridges Basin Reservoir the ``Lake
Nighthorse'' in honor of Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
Senator Campbell was the principal author of both the Colorado
Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (while he was a
Member of the House of Representatives) and the Colorado Ute
Settlement Act Amendments of 2000. The Committee believes that
renaming the Ridges Basin Reservoir for Senator Campbell is a
fitting tribute to the instrumental role he played in the
Colorado Ute settlement and the construction of the Animas La
Plata Project, and to his service in the United States
Congress.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 2508 was introduced by Senator Domenici on June 7, 2004
and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Senator Allard is a cosponsor. The Subcommittee on Water and
Power held a hearing on S. 2508 on June 17, 2004. The Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 2508, as amended,
favorably reported on July 14, 2004.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an
open business meeting on July14, 2004, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2508, if amended as
described herein. Senator Campbell abstained from voting on S. 2508.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During the consideration of S. 2508, the Committee adopted
an amendment that clarifies the location of the reservoir.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 renames the Ridges Basin Reservoir in Colorado
``Lake Nighthorse.''
Section 2 requires that any reference to the reservoir
shall be a reference to ``Lake Nighthorse.''
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
Congressional Budget Office,
U.S. Congress,
Washington, DC, July 16, 2004.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
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. 2508, a bill to
redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake
Nighthorse.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Julie
Middleton.
Sincerely,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 2508--A bill to redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as
Lake Nighthorse
S. 2508 would rename the Ridges Basin Reservoir located on
Basin Creek, a tributary to the Animas River in Colorado. The
new name of the reservoir would be Lake Nighthorse. CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would have no significant
impact on the federal budget; the bill would not affect direct
spending or revenues.
S. 2508 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Julie Middleton.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
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. 2508. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant 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. 2508.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
On June 16, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of
Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth
executive views on S. 2508. These reports had not been received
at the time the report on S. 2508 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. No testimony was provided by the Department of the
Interior at the Subcommittee hearing.
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. 2508, as
ordered reported.