[Senate Report 110-120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 254
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    110-120

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                 ARTHUR V. WATKINS DAM ENLARGEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

                 June 28, 2007.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 839]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 839) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to study the feasibility of enlarging the Arthur V. 
Watkin Dam Weber Basin Project, Utah, to provide additional 
water for the Weber Basin Project to fulfil the purposes for 
which that project was authorized, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the Act do pass.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of H.R. 839 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to study the feasibility of enlarging the Arthur 
V. Watkins Dam Weber Basin Project, Utah, to provide additional 
water for the Weber Basin Project to fulfill the purposes for 
which that project was authorized.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Arthur V. Watkins Dam, completed in 1990, was 
authorized as part of the Weber Basin Project, Utah. The Arthur 
V. Watkins Dam is approximately 14.5 miles long, has a 
structural height of 36 feet, and is made up of 17 million 
cubic yards of material. The Dam is currently capable of 
impounding 215,120 acre-feet of water in Arthur V. Watkins 
Reservoir. Water contained in the Reservoir is supplied by the 
Willard Canal, an earthen canal with an initial capacity of 
1,050 cubic feet per second. Flows that are not impounded by 
upstream mountain reservoirs, water released by power plants 
during the winter, fish releases, upstream spills, and return 
flow from higher diversion are diverted from the Weber River by 
the Slaterville Diversion dam and conveyed eight miles north to 
the Reservoir.
    Arthur W. Watkins Reservoir provides irrigation, municipal 
and industrial, fish and wildlife, and recreational benefits. 
Over 500,000 people currently rely on the water contained in 
the reservoir for industrial and municipal purposes, and this 
number is growing. Arthur V. Watkins Dam is authorized to store 
250,000 af. However, the Dam cannot currently accommodate this 
amount of water. Interested water users have proposed that the 
Dam be raised to accommodate an additional 35,000 af of water. 
This equals the difference between the amount of water the Dam 
is authorized to impound and the amount the Dam is currently 
able to impound. Proponents maintain the additional storage 
could be accomplished by adding just a few feet to the Dam.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 839 was introduced on February 6, 2007 by 
Representative Rob Bishop and referred to the House Committee 
on Natural Resources. Under suspension of the rules, H.R. 839 
passed the House of Representatives on March 19, 2007. The bill 
was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources. An identical measure, S. 512 was 
introduced on February 7, 2007 and referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources. At its business meeting on May 
23, 2007, the Committee ordered H.R. 839 favorably reported.
    During the 109th Congress, the Committee considered an 
identical measure, S. 1811, introduced on October 3, 2005 by 
Senator Hatch for himself and Senator Bennett. The Subcommittee 
on Water and Power held a hearing on September 21, 2006. S. 
Hrg. 109-781. A companion measure, H.R. 3626, was introduced by 
Representative Rob Bishop on July 29, 2005 and referred to the 
House Resources Committee. Representative Chris Cannon and 
Representative Jim Matheson were co-sponsors. On December 13, 
2005, H.R. 3626 was favorably reported by the Committee on 
Resources. H. Rept. 109-339. Under suspension of the rules, 
H.R. 3626 passed the House of Representatives on September 27, 
2006. It was received in the Senate and referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. No further action 
occurred prior to the sine die adjournment of the 109th 
Congress.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on May 23, 2007, by voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 839.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title.
    Section 2 contains findings of the Congress.
    Section 3 authorizes the Secretary to conduct a feasibility 
study on raising the height of Arthur V. Watkins Dam for the 
purposes, and under the conditions, described.
    Section 4(a) specifies that the Federal share of the total 
study costs shall not exceed 50 percent.
    Section 4(b) authorizes the Secretary to count in-kind 
contributions, as appropriate, towards the non-Federal cost-
share for the study.
    Section 5 authorizes $1,000,000 in appropriations for the 
Federal cost share of the study.
    Section 6 terminates the authority contained in the Act on 
the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                                      June 1, 2007.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
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 H.R. 839, the Arthur V. 
Watkins Dam Enlargement Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Tyler 
Kruzich.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 839--Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act

    H.R. 839 would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to 
participate in a water management feasibility study of the 
Arthur V. Watkins Dam in northern Utah. The study would 
consider increasing the height of the dam in order to increase 
the water storage capacity of the Watkins Reservoir and the 
water supply to the Weber Basin Project area and the Wasatch 
Front. H.R. 839 would authorize the appropriation of $l million 
for the federal share of the cost of this study, which could 
not exceed 50 percent of the total cost.
    Assuming appropriation of the specified amount, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 839 would cost $1 million over 
the 2008-2009 period. Enacting the legislation would not affect 
direct spending or revenues.
    H.R. 839 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. 
Funds authorized in the legislation to conduct a study of the 
Arthur V. Watkins Dam would benefit the Weber Basin Conservancy 
District. Any costs it might incur, including matching funds, 
would result from complying with conditions of federal 
assistance.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. 
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 H.R. 839. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic 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 H.R. 839, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    Because H.R. 839 is identical to legislation considered by 
the Committee in the 109th Congress, the Committee did not 
request Executive Agency Views. The testimony provided by the 
Bureau of Reclamation at the subcommittee hearing in the 109th 
Congress on S. 1811 follows:

  Statement of William E. Rinne, Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of 
              Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior

    Madam Chairwoman, thank you for the opportunity to present 
the Department of the Interior's views on S. 1811, a bill to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the 
feasibility of enlarging the Arthur V. Watkins Dam. I am 
William Rinne, Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of 
Reclamation. The Department regrets that it is not possible to 
support S. 1811 in its current form because it contains neither 
non-federal cost sharing for the study nor an overall Federal 
cost ceiling.
    Arthur V. Watkins Dam, built in 1964, is located 12 miles 
northwest of Ogden, Utah, on the shore of the Great Salt Lake. 
It is an off-stream structure which extends into the Great Salt 
Lake and is constructed on lake deposits. The embankment is 
14.5 miles long, has a structural height of 36 feet, and 
contains about 17 million cubic yards of material. It encloses 
a reservoir of 215,000 acre-feet, with a surface area of more 
than 9,900 acres.
    Arthur V. Watkins Dam forms Willard Bay Reservoir. The dam 
is a Reclamation feature of the Weber Basin Project and was 
authorized by Congress in the Weber Basin Project Act of August 
29, 1949 (PL 81-273). The Weber Basin Project was constructed 
in the 1950's.
    The original design anticipated settling of the foundation 
of the embankment during the life of the dam. In the early 
1990's, the embankment was raised, re-establishing the original 
elevation of the embankment. The project was completed by the 
Weber Basin Water Conservancy District (WBWCD) under a 
Rehabilitation and Betterment loan.
    The proposed feasibility study would analyze viable 
alternatives for water storage and consider environmental 
issues, foundation stability, and public safety. In addition, 
the feasibility study would evaluate potential future 
foundation settling. Due to the limited focus of the 1 to 2 
foot dam raise, the estimated cost of this study is $2 million.
    Growth in the project area has been significant during the 
last decade. The State population projections for the future 
show continued growth. With the extensive growth, water 
development projects and supplies are being investigated for 
the northern part of the Wasatch Front. The WBWCD has asked 
Reclamation to provide additional storage in Willard Bay for 
approximately 10,000 acre-feet of annual yield available under 
existing Weber Basin Project water rights.
    The additional storage of water would be used for municipal 
and industrial, flood control, fish and wildlife enhancement, 
and recreation purposes along the Wasatch Front in northern 
Utah. The added capacity could postpone the need for the State 
of Utah to begin development of the water resources of the Bear 
River in northern Utah. The additional storage of water would 
be consistent with the purposes identified in the original 
authorizing legislation (PL 81-273) and current contracts.
    If the legislation were amended to include a reasonable 
Federal cost ceiling and a minimum of fifty percent non-federal 
cost-sharing in the financing of the feasibility study, in line 
with Reclamation policy and practice applied in virtually every 
similar situation, we would not oppose enactment of S. 1811. Of 
course, we will be happy to work with the bill's sponsors, 
Senator Hatch and Senator Bennett, and this Committee to make 
this improvement. However, any potential authorization to raise 
the dam would have to compete with the many other Reclamation 
projects vying for funding.
    This concludes my testimony. I am happy to answer any 
questions.

                        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 Act H.R. 839, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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