[House Report 110-126]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-126

======================================================================
 
                   ALASKA WATER RESOURCES ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

  May 7, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1114]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

      The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1114) to require the Secretary of the Interior, 
acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and the United States 
Geological Survey, to conduct a study on groundwater resources 
in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    H.R. 1114 requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation and the United States 
Geological Survey, to conduct a study of groundwater resources 
in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Due to harsh climate and wild terrain, Alaska has unique 
water needs. There is little information on size or recharge 
capabilities of groundwater aquifers, or water treatment needs 
and technologies in Alaska. H.R. 1114 addresses this lack of 
information by requiring the Bureau of Reclamation to study 
water supplies, water treatment, and distribution needs in 
Alaska, as well as require USGS to assess the adequacy of their 
streamflow data collection process.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1114 was introduced on February 16, 2007 by Rep. Don 
Young (R-AK). This bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water and Power. On April 
19, 2007, the Subcommittee met to consider the bill. The bill 
was reported, by unanimous consent, to the Full committee 
without amendment. On May 2, 2007, the Natural Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments were offered, 
and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent. Similar legislation (S. 
1338) passed the Senate by unanimous consent in the 109th 
Congress.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides the short title of the bill.

Section 2. Definitions

    Section 2 clarifies that the term ``Secretary'' refers to 
the Secretary of the Interior, and the term ``State'' refers to 
Alaska.

Section 3. Alaska water resources study

    Section 3 provides that the Secretary, acting through the 
Bureau of Reclamation and the United States Geological Survey, 
is required to conduct a study that includes (1) a survey of 
accessible water supplies, including aquifers, on the Kenai 
Peninsula in the municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska-
Susitna Borough, the city of Fairbanks, and the Fairbanks 
Northstar Borough; (2) a survey of water treatment needs and 
technologies applicable to the water resources of Alaska; and 
(3) a review of the need for enhancement of the streamflow 
information collected by the Geological Survey in the state 
relating to critical water needs in areas such as 
infrastructure risks to state transportation, flood 
forecasting, resource extraction, and fire management.

Sec. 3.(b) Report

    Section 3(b) requires the Secretary to submit a report on 
the findings of the study to Congress within 2 years.

Section 4. Sunset

    Section 4 states that the authority to carry out the 
provisions of this Act terminates 10 years after enactment.

Section 5. Authorization of appropriations

    Section 5 authorizes Congress to appropriate such sums as 
are necessary to carry out 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 Natural 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 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to require the Secretary of the 
Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and the 
United States Geological Survey, to conduct a study of 
groundwater resources in the State of Alaska, and for other 
purposes.
    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. 1114--Alaska Water Resources Act of 2007

    Summary: H.R. 1114 would direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a study of water resources in five areas of 
Alaska. The study, to be completed within two years of the 
bill's enactment, would include a survey of accessible water 
supplies and water treatment needs. Assuming appropriation of 
the necessary funds, CBO estimates that conducting those 
studies would cost $8 million over the 2008-2012 period. 
Enacting H.R. 1114 would not affect direct spending to or 
revenues.
    H.R. 1114 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this 
estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 1114 will be enacted before the 
end of 2007. Based on the cost of similar studies, CBO 
estimates that carrying out the proposed study would cost $8 
million over the 2008-2012 period, assuming appropriation of 
the necessary amounts. The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 
1114 is shown in the following table. The costs of this 
legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources 
and environment).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      By fiscal year, in millions of
                                                 dollars--
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                   2008    2009    2010    2011    2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              CHANGES TO SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Estimated Authorization Level...       8       0       0       0       0
Estimated Outlays...............       4       4       0       0       0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1114 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Previous CBO estimate: On February 8, 2007, CBO transmitted 
a cost estimate for S. 200, the Alaska Water Resources Act of 
2007, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on January 31, 2007. S. 200 and H.R. 1114 are 
nearly identical, and the estimated costs of the two bills are 
the same.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis. Impact 
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-Branum. 
Impact on the Private Sector: Craig Cammarata.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 1114 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e) or (f) of rule XXI.

                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.

                                  
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