[House Report 112-217]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    112-217

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



 
               SOUTH UTAH VALLEY ELECTRIC CONVEYANCE ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 23, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 461]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 461) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey certain Federal features of the electric distribution 
system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service District, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) District.--The term ``District'' means the South Utah 
        Valley Electric Service District, organized under the laws of 
        the State of Utah.
          (2) Electric distribution system.--The term ``Electric 
        Distribution System'' means fixtures, irrigation, or power 
        facilities lands, distribution fixture lands, and shared power 
        poles.
          (3) Fixtures.--The term ``fixtures'' means all power poles, 
        cross-members, wires, insulators and associated fixtures, 
        including substations, that--
                  (A) comprise those portions of the Strawberry Valley 
                Project power distribution system that are rated at a 
                voltage of 12.5 kilovolts and were constructed with 
                Strawberry Valley Project revenues; and
                  (B) any such fixtures that are located on Federal 
                lands and interests in lands.
          (4) Irrigation or power facilities lands.--The term 
        ``irrigation or power facilities lands'' means all Federal 
        lands and interests in lands where the fixtures are located on 
        the date of the enactment of this Act and which are encumbered 
        by other Strawberry Valley Project irrigation or power 
        features, including lands underlying the Strawberry Substation.
          (5) Distribution fixture lands.--The term ``distribution 
        fixture lands'' means all Federal lands and interests in lands 
        where the fixtures are located on the date of the enactment of 
        this Act and which are unencumbered by other Strawberry Valley 
        Project features, to a maximum corridor width of 30 feet on 
        each side of the centerline of the fixtures' power lines as 
        those lines exist on the date of the enactment of this Act.
          (6) Shared power poles.--The term ``shared power poles'' 
        means poles that comprise those portions of the Strawberry 
        Valley Project Power Transmission System, that are rated at a 
        voltage of 46.0 kilovolts, are owned by the United States, and 
        support fixtures of the Electric Distribution System.
          (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.

  (a) In General.--Inasmuch as the Strawberry Water Users Association 
conveyed its interest, if any, in the Electric Distribution System to 
the District by a contract dated April 7, 1986, and in consideration of 
the District assuming from the United States all liability for 
administration, operation, maintenance, and replacement of the Electric 
Distribution System, the Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after 
the date of the enactment of this Act and in accordance with all 
applicable law convey and assign to the District without charge or 
further consideration--
          (1) all of the United States right, title, and interest in 
        and to--
                  (A) all fixtures owned by the United States as part 
                of the Electric Distribution System; and
                  (B) the distribution fixture land;
          (2) license for use in perpetuity of the shared power poles 
        to continue to own, operate, maintain, and replace Electric 
        Distribution Fixtures attached to the shared power poles; and
          (3) licenses for use and for access in perpetuity for 
        purposes of operation, maintenance, and replacement across, 
        over, and along--
                  (A) all project lands and interests in irrigation and 
                power facilities lands where the Electric Distribution 
                System is located on the date of the enactment of this 
                Act that are necessary for other Strawberry Valley 
                Project facilities (the ownership of such underlying 
                lands or interests in lands shall remain with the 
                United States), including lands underlying the 
                Strawberry Substation; and
                  (B) such corridors where Federal lands and interests 
                in lands--
                          (i) are abutting public streets and roads; 
                        and
                          (ii) can provide access that will facilitate 
                        operation, maintenance, and replacement of 
                        facilities.
  (b) Compliance With Environmental Laws.--
          (1) In general.--Before conveying lands, interest in lands, 
        and fixtures under subsection (a), the Secretary shall comply 
        with all applicable requirements under--
                  (A) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
                U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
                  (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
                1531 et seq.); and
                  (C) any other law applicable to the land and 
                facilities.
          (2) Effect.--Nothing in this Act modifies or alters any 
        obligations under--
                  (A) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
                U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or
                  (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
                1531 et seq.).
  (c) Power Generation and 46kV Transmission Facilities Excluded.--
Except for the uses as granted by license in Shared Power Poles under 
section 3(a)(2), nothing in this Act shall be construed to grant or 
convey to the District or any other party, any interest in any 
facilities shared or otherwise that comprise a portion of the 
Strawberry Valley Project power generation system or the federally 
owned portions of the 46 kilovolt transmission system which ownership 
shall remain in the United States.

SEC. 4. EFFECT OF CONVEYANCE.

  On conveyance of any land or facility under section 3(a)(1)--
          (1) the conveyed and assigned land and facilities shall no 
        longer be part of a Federal reclamation project;
          (2) the District shall not be entitled to receive any future 
        Bureau or Reclamation benefits with respect to the conveyed and 
        assigned land and facilities, except for benefits that would be 
        available to other non-Bureau of Reclamation facilities; and
          (3) the United States shall not be liable for damages arising 
        out of any act, omission, or occurrence relating to the land 
        and facilities, including the transaction of April 7, 1986, 
        between the Strawberry Water Users Association and Strawberry 
        Electric Service District.

SEC. 5. REPORT.

  If a conveyance required under section 3 is not completed by the date 
that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, not later 
than 30 days after that date, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report that--
          (1) describes the status of the conveyance;
          (2) describes any obstacles to completing the conveyance; and
          (3) specifies an anticipated date for completion of the 
        conveyance.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 461, as ordered reported, is to direct 
the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal 
features of the electric distribution system to the South Utah 
Valley Electric Service District.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) initiated the 
development of the Strawberry Valley Project (SVP) in Utah in 
1906. Today, the SVP includes the Strawberry Dam and Reservoir, 
several diversion dams, canals, three power plants and a 296-
mile long electric transmission and distribution system. The 
Strawberry Water Users Association (SWUA), which operated the 
SVP until 1986 and repaid all applicable construction costs of 
the electricity distribution system to the federal government, 
also owned a portion of that system.
    In 1986, SWUA sold its portion of the electric distribution 
system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service District 
(SESD). Since there was a mix of federal and non-federal 
ownership of the electricity distribution system, Reclamation 
approved the sale only on the condition that the sale be 
limited to those portions that were not part of the original 
SVP or were not constructed on federal lands or easements. At 
the time, Reclamation, SWUA and the SESD believed that most of 
the distribution system was non-federal. However, Reclamation 
recently determined that most of the distribution system was 
built on federal easements acquired early in the SVP history. 
Reclamation, as a result, now believes that most of the 
distribution system still belongs to the federal government. It 
has not quantified how much of the system it owns, however, due 
to inadequate paperwork. The federal government's determination 
has created system management and ownership uncertainty since 
it is unclear to either SESD or Reclamation what entity owns 
which portions of the electric distribution system. H.R. 461's 
title transfer resolves this confusion by placing the entire 
system in local ownership.
    In general, title transfers benefit both local communities 
and the federal government. The transfer of title will divest 
Reclamation of federal liability while providing the non-
federal entity with greater autonomy and flexibility to manage 
facilities in a manner that best meets its needs. Non-federal 
ownership also gives a local entity the ability to leverage 
private equity in the event of needed repairs or for other 
reasons. Each Reclamation title transfer requires specific 
Congressional authorization and Presidential signature. Since 
1996, titles to portions of 27 Reclamation projects have been 
transferred.
    Reclamation generally agreed with the need for H.R. 461 at 
a June 23, 2011, Water and Power Subcommittee hearing, but 
expressed some concerns over National Environmental Policy Act 
review and federal liability. Those concerns have been 
addressed in a fashion similar to Public Law 109-321, which the 
109th Congress passed without dissent.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 461 was introduced on January 26, 2011, by Congressman 
Jason Chaffetz (R-T). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Water and Power. On June 23, 2011, the Subcommittee on Water 
and Power held a hearing on the bill. On July 20, 2011, the 
Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Water and Power was discharged by unanimous 
consent. Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) offered an 
amendment; the amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. The 
bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to the House 
of Representatives by unanimous consent.

            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.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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. 461--South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act

    H.R. 461 would direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation, to transfer the title of the 
electric distribution system located in Spanish Fork, Utah, to 
the South Utah Valley Electric Service District. Based on 
information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that 
enacting the bill would have no significant net impact on the 
federal budget. Enacting H.R. 461 would have an insignificant 
impact on direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 
apply. The legislation would not affect revenues.
    The electric distribution system was developed as part of 
the Strawberry Valley Project in the 1920s. The Strawberry 
Water Users Association (SWUA), the nonfederal sponsor of the 
project, satisfied all federal repayment obligations associated 
with the project in 1974. In 1986, the SWUA spun off the South 
Utah Valley Electric Service District and the Bureau of 
Reclamation transferred financial responsibility for the 
operation and maintenance of the electric distribution system 
to the district. Under current law, the Bureau of Reclamation 
oversees those operation and maintenance activities.
    Under the bill, transfer of the title of the electric 
distribution system to the district would include all federally 
owned fixtures and the underlying federal land not shared by 
other facilities. In instances where the underlying federal 
land is also occupied by other facilities and in the case of 
shared power poles, permanent access and licensing privileges 
would be granted to the district to perform the required 
maintenance.
    Under H.R. 461, the Bureau of Reclamation would discontinue 
oversight of the facilities. In addition, the Bureau of 
Reclamation would no longer collect licensing fees from 
utilities seeking easements to cross those federal lands. Based 
on information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates 
that the loss of those collections would have no significant 
net impact on the federal budget.
    H.R. 461 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 CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aurora Swanson. 
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of 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. Based on 
information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that 
enacting the bill would have no significant net impact on the 
federal budget. Enacting H.R. 461 would have an insignificant 
impact on direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 
apply. The legislation would not affect revenues.
    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.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    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.

                                  
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