[Senate Report 110-25]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 51
110th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 110-25
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NORTH UNIT IRRIGATION DISTRICT ACT OF 2007
_______
February 16, 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 S. 266]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 266) to provide for the modification of
and amendatory repayment contract between the Secretary of the
Interior and the North Unit Irrigation District, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of S. 266 is to provide for the modification of
an amendatory repayment contract between the Secretary of the
Interior and the North Unit Irrigation District, and for other
purposes.
Background and Need
Created in 1916, the North Unit Irrigation District
(District) provides water necessary to irrigate approximately
59,000 acres of land in central Oregon. Approximately 900 farms
and ranches receive irrigation water from the District for
farming and ranching. The District receives water from the
Deschutes Project, a Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation)
project and the Crooked River pumping plant, a private project
constructed by the District. In the mid-1950's, the United
States and the District renegotiated the District's repayment
contract. Public Law 83-573 approved the renegotiated repayment
contract. The renegotiated contract limits the amount of water
that the District can receive from a Reclamation project to the
water necessary to irrigate 49,818 acres of land. Because
Congress approved the renegotiated contract, any changes to
that contract must also be approved by Congress.
S. 266 would amend the Contract between the United States
and the District in order to address several issues that were
not contemplated when the contract was approved 50 years ago.
S. 266 would amend the repayment contract to allow the District
to participate in a conserved water project, which would allow
the District to provide water from the Deschutes Project to
irrigators who are presently irrigating roughly 9,000 acres of
land with water from the Crooked River pumping plant. Under the
current repayment contract, adding these 9,000 acres would
exceed the cap of irrigated lands that may receive Deschutes
Project water. Adding the 9,000 acres will allow the District
to use less Crooked River water and leave more water in that
river. Reclamation believes that leaving more water in Crooked
River and the District's participation in State conserved water
projects will benefit fish and wildlife in both the Crooked and
Deschutes River. Amending the repayment contract from a
variable to a fixed term will also result in financial benefits
to the United States.
Legislative History
S. 266 was introduced on January 11, 2007 by Senator Smith
for himself and Senator Wyden and referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources. At its business meeting on
January 31, 2007, the Committee ordered S. 266 favorably
reported.
During the 109th Congress, the Committee considered similar
legislation, S. 2502, introduced by Senator Smith on April 4,
2006. Senator Wyden was a co-sponsor. The Subcommittee on Water
and Power held a hearing on S. 2502 on June 28, 2006. S. Hrg.
109-677. No further action occurred on S. 2502 prior to the
sine die adjournment of the 109th Congress. A companion
measure, Section 5 of H.R. 5079, was considered by the House of
Representatives under suspension of the rules and passed by a
voice vote on September 25, 2006.
Committee Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an
open business meeting on January 31, 2007, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 266.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 provides the short title.
Section 2 amends the Act of August 10, 1954 (68 Stat. 679,
chapter 663) by adding some abbreviated references to section 1
of the Act, and then adding two new sections. The first added
section (``Sec. 3. Additional Terms'') sets forth, as
described, specific amendments or terms to be added to the
Contract between the United States and the North Unit
Irrigation District. The second added section (``Sec. 4. Future
Authority to Renegotiate'') authorizes the Secretary of the
Interior (acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation) to
renegotiate terms of the Contract under certain conditions.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 266--North Unit Irrigation District Act of 2007
S. 266 would amend certain provisions of a contract between
the Department of the Interior and Oregon's North Unit
Irrigation District. CBO estimates that enacting this bill
would have no significant impact on the federal budget.
S. 266 would amend the North Unit's Irrigation District
repayment contract with the Department of the Interior. Under
current law, payments under that contract will be completed
within the next 35 to 45 years. S. 266 would amend the terms of
the district's contract with the department by setting a fixed
annual payment and requiring the district's total obligation to
be paid to the department by 2044. CBO estimates that enacting
S. 266 would increase offsetting receipts by less than $100,000
a year. (Such collections are a credit against direct
spending.) Enacting this bill would not affect revenues.
S. 266 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 bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
modify a repayment contract with the North Unit Irrigation
District. Other modifications to the contract would increase
the number of acres eligible for irrigation and allow the
district to use conserved water to support wildlife. Those
modifications would generally benefit the district, and any
costs they might incur would be incurred voluntarily.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Julie
Middleton (for federal costs), and Lisa Ramirez-Branum (for the
state and local impact). The 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. 266. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant responsibilities on private individuals and
business.
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. 266.
Executive Communications
Because S. 266 is similar to legislation considered during
the 109th Congress, the Committee did not request Executive
Agency views. The testimony provided by the Bureau of
Reclamation on S. 2502 at the Subcommittee hearing in the 109th
Congress follows:
Statement of William E. Rinne, Acting Commissioner, Bureau of
Reclamation
Madam Chairwoman and members of the Subcommittee, I am
William Rinne, Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of
Reclamation. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S.
2502. The Department supports S. 2502.
The North Unit Irrigation District receives water from the
Bureau of Reclamation's Deschutes Project and the District's
privately developed Crooked River pumping plant in Oregon. Over
900 small farm and ranch families in Oregon's Deschutes Basin
rely upon the District for the delivery of irrigation water.
Since the District's formation a century ago, these families
have shifted from dryland wheat to alfalfa hay, grass seed,
garlic seed, and carrot seed, as well as raising cattle, sheep,
horses, and other livestock.
In the mid-1950s, Reclamation and the District renegotiated
the District's repayment contract in accordance with section 7,
subsection (a), of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939.
Pursuant to the Act of August 10, 1954, Congress approved the
contract along with an authorization for the construction of
Haystack Dam and regulating reservoir. The contract established
the maximum irrigable acreage that can receive Reclamation
project water at 49,818 acres.
S. 2502 will resolve several limitations in the District's
contract, enabling the District to more efficiently manage its
water supplies. Because Congress approved the District's
contract, changes to the contract which are beyond the scope of
the Contracting Officer's authority must also be approved to
Congress.
Oregon law requires irrigation districts that participate
in a publicly financed ``conserved water project'' to dedicate
a portion of conserved water resulting from the project to
instream flows for fish, wildlife or other purposes (ORS
537.455 et seq.). The District has self-financed over $8
million in conservation activities, and would like to consider
participation in a publicly financed program. Unfortunately,
the underlying Project authorization and the District's
contract do not allow it to dedicate water to instream uses. S.
2502 amends the District's contract so the District can comply
with State law if it chooses to participate in a conserved
water project.
A related change to the District's contract would allow the
District to deliver Deschutes Project water to families who are
irrigating approximately 9,000 acres of land in the District
with non-project water diverted by the District's Crooked River
pumping plant. All of these lands are within the District's
present boundary, have been irrigated for decades, and have
appurtenant water rights issued by the State, but they exceed
the current contract's ceiling of approximately 49,818 acres.
Using Deschutes Project water on these lands will allow the
District to divert less Crooked River water and leave more
water instream.
S. 2502 will benefit fish and wildlife by enabling the
District to use less water from the Crooked River, and
participate in State conserved water projects that return a
portion of the conserved water to the Deschutes River. The
United States would also realize financial benefits in the form
of accelerated repayment of Project construction costs through
the annual participation of an additional 9,000 acres in
Project repayment. The District's current contract is based on
a variable repayment plan, which means that rather than paying
fixed annual installments, the District's annual payments vary
based on factors such as crop production. Thus it is difficult
or impossible to predict when the District would pay out its
contract if this bill is not enacted. This legislation not only
increases the number of acres in Project repayment, but also
requires the District to pay its remaining obligation of
$6,649,371 in fixed annual installments.
The Administration also supports the language that this
bill inserts at the end of the bill, in section 4 to be
inserted into the underlying act. This provision gives the
Secretary the authority to renegotiate this contract upon
mutually agreeable terms without having to have Congress
approve of changes agreed upon between the District and the
Secretary. This provision reflects the general rule that
repayment contracts do not require Congressional approval.
The legislation is specific to the District; it would not
affect any other district in the Deschutes Project, their
patrons, or any others in Oregon. The District will continue to
comply with all applicable state and federal laws including the
Reclamation Reform Act of 1982.
On behalf of the Department, I would like to compliment the
District on its proactive approach to addressing the water
management issues it is facing, as well as obtaining the
support of other interested parties in the local community. We
are pleased to support this legislation.
I am happy to respond to any questions.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill S. 266, as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
ACT OF AUGUST 10, 1954 (68 Stat. 679, ch. 663)
AN ACT To approve an amendatory repayment contract negotiated with the
North Unit irrigation district, to authorize construction of Haystack
Reservoir on the Deschutes Federal reclamation project, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
contract with the North Unit irrigation district (referred to
in this Act as the ``District'') in form substantially similar
to that approved by the district directors on July 31, 1953
(referred to in this Act as the ``Contract''), which has been
negotiated by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section
7, subsection (a), of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53
Stat. 1187, 1192; 43 U.S.C., 1946 edition, sec. 485), is
approved and the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to
execute it on behalf of the United States.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL TERMS.
On approval of the District directors and notwithstanding
project authorizing legislation to the contrary, the Contract
is modified, without further action by the Secretary of the
Interior, to include the following modifications:
(1) In Article 8(a) of the Contract, by deleting ``a
maximum of 50,000'' and inserting ``approximately
59,000'' after ``irrigation service to''.
(2) In Article 11(a) of the Contract, by deleting
``The classified irrigable lands within the project
comprise 49,817.75 irrigable acres, of which 35,773.75
acres are in Class A and 14,044.40 in Class B. These
lands and the standards upon which the classification
was made are described in the document entitled `Land
Classification, North Unit, Deschutes Project, 1953'
which is on file in the office of the Regional
Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Boise, Idaho, and in
the office of the District'' and inserting ``The
classified irrigable land within the project comprises
58,902.8 irrigable acres, all of which are authorized
to receive irrigation water pursuant to water rights
issued by the State of Oregon and have in the past
received water pursuant to such State water rights.''.
(3) In Article 11(c) of the Contract, by deleting ``,
with the approval of the Secretary,'' after ``District
may'', by deleting ``the 49,817.75 acre maximum limit
on the irrigable area is not exceeded'' and inserting
``irrigation service is provided to no more than
approximately 59,000 acres and no amendment to the
District boundary is required'' after ``time so long
as''.
(4) In Article 11(d) of the Contract, by inserting
``, and may further be used for instream purposes,
including fish or wildlife purposes, to the extent that
such use is required by Oregon State law in order for
the District to engage in, or take advantage of,
conserved water projects as authorized by Oregon State
law'' after ``herein provided''.
(5) By adding at the end of Article 12(d) the
following: ``(e) Notwithstanding the above subsections
of this Article or Article 13 below, beginning with
irrigation season immediately following the date of
enactment of the North Unit Irrigation District Act of
2006, the annual installment for each year, for the
District, under the Contract, on account of the
District's construction charge obligation, shall be a
fixed and equal annual amount payable on June 30 the
year following the year for which it is applicable,
such that the District's total construction charge
obligation shall be completely paid by June 30,
2044.''.
(6) In Article 14(a) of the Contract, by inserting
``and for instream purposes, including fish or wildlife
purposes, to the extent that such use is required by
Oregon State law in order for the District to engage
in, or take advantage of, conserved water projects as
authorized by Oregon State law,'' after ``and
incidental stock and domestic uses'', by inserting
``and for instream purposes, as described above,''
after ``irrigation, stock and domestic uses'', and by
inserting ``, including natural flow rights out of the
Crooked River held by the District'' after ``irrigation
system''.
(7) In Article 290a( of the Contract, by inserting
``and for instream purposes, including fish and
wildlife purposes, to the extent that such use is
required by Oregon State law in order for the District
to engage in, or take advantage of, conserved water
projects as authorized by Oregon State law'' after
``provided in article 11''.
(8) In Article 34 of the Contract, by deleting ``The
District, after the election and upon the execution of
this contract, shall promptly secure final decree of
the proper State court approving and confirming this
contract and decreeing and adjudging it to be a lawful,
valid, and binding general obligation of the District.
The District shall furnish to the United States
certified copies of such decrees and of all pertinent
supporting records.'' after ``for that purpose.''.
SEC. 4. FUTURE AUTHORITY TO RENEGOTIATE.
The Secretary of the Interior (acting through the
Commissioner of Reclamation) may in the future renegotiate with
the District such terms of the Contract as the District
directors determine to be necessary, only upon the written
request of the District directors and the consent of the
Commissioner of Reclamation.