[House Report 110-460]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-460

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 MCGEE CREEK PROJECT PIPELINE AND ASSOCIATED FACILITIES CONVEYANCE ACT

                                _______
                                

December 4, 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. 2085]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2085) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 
to convey to the McGee Creek Authority certain facilities of 
the McGee Creek Project, Oklahoma, and for other purposes, 
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. 2085 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to convey to the McGee Creek Authority certain 
facilities of the McGee Creek Project, Oklahoma, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The McGee Creek Project, near Atoka, Oklahoma, was 
authorized in Title VII of the Reclamation Authorizations Act 
of 1976 for the propose of storing, regulating, and conveying 
water for municipal and industrial use. Oklahoma City, Soda, 
Atoka County, and the City of Atoka are provided with a 
supplemental municipal and industrial water supply from the 
McGee Project.
    The McGee Creek Authority (Authority) was established to 
develop, finance, operate and maintain the water supply in the 
McGee Creek Reservoir. The Authority became responsible for the 
operation and maintenance of the project on September 1, 1990.
    H.R. 2085 seeks to transfer ownership of certain facilities 
of the McGee Creek Project, currently held by the United States 
through the Bureau of Reclamation, to the McGee Creek 
Authority. The title transfer includes 23.83 acres of land, 17 
miles of raw water pipeline, all control structures and related 
appurtenances, as well as the Rate of Flow Control Station at 
Lake Atoka. This transfer does not include the Dam or 
Reservoir.
    Public Law 101-514, Title II section 205(a) authorized the 
Secretary to enter into a contract with the McGee Creek 
Authority to accept final payment of the original repayment 
obligation for the McGee Creek Project. Title II, Section 
205(c) of Public Law 101-514 specifically states that the title 
to the McGee Creek project facilities shall remain with the 
United States, even if the repayment obligation has been 
satisfied.
    The Authority's repayment obligation was satisfied on 
October 30, 1992 with a final payment of $88,600,000. The 
Authority participants are still obligated to pay or provide 
for the operation and maintenance of the project.
    In April 2006, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed 
by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Authority in which they 
agreed to seek legislation to authorize transfer of facilities 
to the Authority. The MOA also outlined the responsibilities of 
the Bureau and the Authority, including payment agreements. The 
MOA is in effect for two years after the signing date.
    The Bureau of Reclamation has not always implemented 
facility transfers in a timely manner. The Committee will 
exercise its oversight responsibilities with respect to the 
implementation of this legislation. The Committee specifically 
expects the Bureau of Reclamation to follow through on its 
testimony that it will carry out the transfer as expeditiously 
as possible within current law.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2085 was introduced on May 1, 2007 by Rep. Mary Fallin 
(R-OK). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Water and Power. On September 18, 2007, the Subcommittee held a 
hearing on the bill. On October 16, 2007, the Subcommittee met 
to mark up the bill. The bill was then forwarded to the Full 
Committee on Natural Resources. On November 15, 2007, the Full 
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The bill 
was favorably reported without amendment to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 designates the short title of the bill as the 
``McGee Creek Project Pipeline and Associated Facilities 
Conveyance Act.''

Section 2. Definitions

    Section 2 defines certain terms used in the bill.

Section 3. Conveyance of McGee Creek Project Pipeline and Associated 
        Facilities

    Section 3(a)(1) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey all right, title and interest of the United States to 
the McGee Creek Authority for several specific McGee Creek 
Project facilities.
    Section 3(a)(2) excludes from conveyance any mineral 
estates associated with the McGee Creek Project facilities 
described in Sec. 3(a)(1).
    Section 3(a)(3) requires all parties involved with the 
conveyance of facilities to comply with any and all applicable 
laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the National Historic 
Preservation Act.
    Section 3(b) requires all operation of transferred 
facilities to comply with all applicable federal, state and 
local laws, and transfers the operation and maintenance costs 
of the transferred facilities to the Authority. The Authority 
is not eligible to receive federal funding for operation and 
maintenance costs.
    Section 3(c) releases the United States from liability for 
damages on the transferred facilities and adds no additional 
liability under 28 U.S.C. 2674.
    Section 3(d) requires that the contract between the 
Authority and the United States remain in effect, except as 
amended, and amends the contract to reflect the transfer of 
facilities to the McGee Creek Authority.
    Section 3(e) requires that reclamation laws still be 
applied to any project water provided to the Authority.

            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. 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. 2085--McGee Creek Project Pipeline and Associated Facilities 
        Conveyance Act

    H.R. 2085 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey a pipeline and associated water facilities to the McGee 
Creek Authority of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Authority would 
be responsible for all operation and maintenance costs of the 
pipeline and facilities after the conveyance.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2085 would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget. The Authority has 
repaid the federal government its obligation for building the 
pipeline and related facilities. Under the bill, any 
administrative costs to the federal government for conveying 
the facilities would be paid by the McGee Creek Authority. 
Enacting H.R. 2085 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues.
    H.R. 2085 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 state of Oklahoma and certain local governments would 
benefit from the conveyances authorized in this bill. Any costs 
to those governments would be incurred voluntarily.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. 
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    HR 2085 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(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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