[House Report 109-288]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    109-288

======================================================================



 
        YAKIMA-TIETON IRRIGATION DISTRICT CONVEYANCE ACT OF 2005

                                _______
                                

 November 10, 2005.--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. 1564]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1564) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey certain buildings and lands of the Yakima Project, 
Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District, 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. 1564 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to convey certain buildings and lands of the 
Yakima Project, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation 
District.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Yakima Project, owned and constructed by the Bureau of 
Reclamation of the Department of the Interior, was completed in 
the 1930s and provides irrigation water for approximately 
450,000 acres of land on both sides of the Yakima River in 
south-central Washington. The Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District 
is one of the main divisions of the Project. The delivery of 
Project water to the District began in 1910 and the District 
assumed operation and maintenance of their water conveyance 
facilities in 1947. The District has repaid its Project capital 
repayment obligations to the United States.
    H.R. 1564 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
all federal right, title and interests of certain buildings and 
nine acres associated with the Yakima Project to the District. 
The terms of the transfer are included in a formal agreement 
between the Bureau of Reclamation and the District. Since 
Congressional approval is necessary for these transfers to take 
place, this legislation authorizes this specific transfer.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1564 was introduced on April 12, 2005, by 
Congressional Doc Hastings (R-WA). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Water and Power. On September 27, 2005, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On October 19, 2005, 
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Water and Power 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 ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 cites the bill as the ``Yakima-Tieton Irrigation 
District Conveyance Act of 2005.''

Section 2. Conveyance of certain buildings and lands of the Yakima 
        project, Washington

    Section 2 directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer 
all right, title and interest in and to the buildings and lands 
of the Yakima Project in accordance with Contract No. 5-07-20-
L1658 (an agreement between the United States and the 
District). The section releases the United States from any 
liability once the transfer takes place except for damages 
caused by acts of negligence before the transfer. After the 
conveyance, the transferred buildings and lands shall not be 
considered to be a part of the Yakima Project, and the District 
will not be eligible to receive any federal benefits with 
respect to the conveyed items. The section further requires the 
Secretary of the Interior to issue a report to Congress if the 
transfer does not take place within one year after the date of 
enactment of the bill. The report shall explain the reasons why 
the transfer has not been completed and state the date for the 
transfer.

            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 revenues or tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of this bill would result in a ``negligible'' 
increase in mandatory spending.
    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:

H.R. 1564--Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District Conveyance Act of 2005

    H.R. 1564 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey certain lands and buildings comprising a portion of the 
Yakima Project in Yakima County, Washington, to the Yakima-
Tieton Irrigation District. Based on information from the 
Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1564 
would have no significant effect on the federal budget.
    This bill would transfer title for approximately nine acres 
of land and several buildings to the irrigation district. Other 
parts of the project, including the Tieton diversion dam and 
associated canals, would not be affected. The district has 
fully complied with all repayment agreements associated with 
the project, and currently makes only small payments to 
reimburse the Bureau of Reclamation for operations and 
maintenance of Yakima-Tieton facilities. Such payments are 
mandatory receipts to the Reclamation Fund, and would no longer 
be made if this bill were enacted, decreasing receipts and 
resulting in a negligible increase in mandatory spending. Under 
the bill, the bureau would no longer be responsible for the 
minor discretionary costs associated with operations and 
maintenance of the conveyed facilities.
    H.R. 1564 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. 
The land conveyance authorized by this bill would be voluntary 
on the part of the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District. Any costs 
they might incur to comply with the conditions of the 
conveyance would be incurred voluntarily.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mike Waters. The 
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.

                                  
