[Senate Report 112-117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 279
112th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 112-117
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LAKE THUNDERBIRD EFFICIENT USE ACT
_______
January 13, 2012.--Ordered to be printed
Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of December 17, 2011
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 802]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 802) to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of nonproject
water at the Norman project in Oklahoma, 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. 802 is to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of nonproject
water at the Norman project in Oklahoma.
Background and Need
S. 802 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter
into a contract with the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy
District for the storage and conveyance of non-project water at
Lake Thunderbird, a Norman project facility, to augment
municipal and industrial supplies for the cities served by the
District. The Norman Project was authorized in 1960 (Public Law
86-529) and is located in central Oklahoma. Its primary purpose
is to provide municipal water for several communities by
pumping from Lake Thunderbird. The Central Oklahoma Master
Conservancy District operates the Norman Project under contract
with the United States. Additional water is required to meet
existing municipal and industrial needs and S. 802 authorizes
the Secretary of the Interior to allow non-project water to be
stored and conveyed in Lake Thunderbird, should the Secretary
determine that the reservoir has excess capacity for additional
supplies. The District has agreed to pay for any additional
costs associated with purchasing, storing, and conveying the
water at Lake Thunderbird.
Legislative History
Senator Inhofe introduced S. 802 on April 13, 2011. The
Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources held a hearing on S. 802 on June 23, 2011 (S.
Hrg. 112-129). The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
ordered S. 802 favorably reported without amendment at its
business meeting on November 10, 2011.
During the 111th Congress, Senator Inhofe introduced
similar legislation, S. 3573. No further actions were taken.
Committee Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on November 10, 2011, by a voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 802.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 identifies the short title of the bill as the
``Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011''.
Section 2 amends Public Law 86-529 (74 Stat. 225) by
specifying that the Secretary of the Interior may amend an
existing contract or enter into a new contract with the Central
Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to store and convey
nonproject water in Norman project facilities to augment
municipal and industrial supplies for the cities served by the
District. Costs associated with any additional infrastructure
required to store and convey the additional water supplies are
specified to be the responsibility of the non-Federal entity
contracting with the Secretary of the Interior.
Section 3 specifies that this Act does not authorize any
expansion of the storage capacity of Lake Thunderbird.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of
this measure has been requested but was not received at the
time the report was filed. When the Congressional Budget Office
completes its cost estimate, it will be posted on the Internet
at www.cbo.gov.
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. 802.
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 S. 802, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 802, as reported, does not contain any congressionally
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.
Executive Communications
The testimony provided the Department of the Interior at
the June 23, 2011, Subcommittee hearing on S. 802 follows:
Statement of Grayford F. Payne, Deputy Commissioner for Policy,
Administration and Budget, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the
Interior
Madam Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I am
Grayford Payne, Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Administration
and Budget at the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). I am
pleased to present the views of the Department of the Interior
(Department) on S. 802, a bill to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of non-project
water at the Norman Project in Oklahoma. For reasons I will
discuss below, the Department supports this bill.
Lake Thunderbird, located on the Little River in central
Oklahoma, was constructed as part of the Norman Project for
municipal and industrial water supply, flood control,
recreation, and fish & wildlife purposes. The Central Oklahoma
Master Conservancy District (District) operates the Norman
Project under contract with the United States. The District
holds all Project water rights and currently provides water to
the member cities of Norman, Del City and Midwest City.
The Lake Thunderbird watershed experienced a major drought
between 2005 and 2006 which resulted in unprecedented low lake
levels. Shortly thereafter, the District and Reclamation
jointly determined that the stored water supply in the lake
would require augmentation in the future to meet demands of the
member cities during potential reoccurring drought periods.
S. 802 would facilitate a proposal by the District to
purchase raw water from the City of Oklahoma City in times of
drought and store it in Lake Thunderbird to augment the yield
of the reservoir. The water would come from Atoka Reservoir in
southeast Oklahoma, which is owned and operated by Oklahoma
City. Oklahoma City conveys this water approximately 100 miles
through the existing Atoka pipeline which crosses the Lake
Thunderbird watershed just upstream of the reservoir. The
District and Oklahoma City would tap the Atoka pipeline and
construct a short pipeline to Lake Thunderbird. Because the
purchased water does not originate within the Lake Thunderbird
watershed, Reclamation does not have authority to approve this
action. If S. 802 were enacted, Reclamation could approve a
water service contract and provide the means for the action to
move forward.
The Department supports this legislation because: (1)
Reclamation has confirmed an immediate and critical water need
exists; (2) studies conducted in 2010 indicate that Lake
Thunderbird can be used to store up to 4,600 acre feet of non-
project water, if and when space is available, with no adverse
impacts to operations, the environment, recreation, and the
local economy; (3) the action would be carried out solely by
the District at no cost to the Federal government; and (4)
based on a well attended public meeting in 2009 and on comments
received on the environmental compliance document, the proposed
action is generally supported by interested parties and no
known opposition exists.
Madam Chairman, this concludes my written statement. I am
pleased to answer 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. 802, 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):
Public Law 86-529 (74 Stat. 225)
An Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct,
operate, and maintain the Norman project, Oklahoma, 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
Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct, operate,
and maintain the Norman Federal reclamation project, Oklahoma,
in accordance with the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June
17, 1902, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto),
except so far as those laws are inconsistent with this Act, for
the principal purposes of storing, regulating, and furnishing
water for municipal, domestic, and industrial use, and for
controlling floods, and, as incidents to the foregoing for the
additional purposes of regulating the flow of the Little River,
providing for the conservation and development of fish and
wildlife, and of enhancing recreational opportunities. The
Norman project shall consist of the following work: A reservoir
on Little River near Norman, Oklahoma, pumping plants,
pipelines, and other conduits for furnishing water for
municipal, domestic, and industrial use.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 9.
Section 5(f) of the Act entitled ``An Act to authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to construct, operate, and maintain
the Colorado River storage project and participating projects,
and for other purposes'', approved April 11, 1956 (70 Stat.
109), is amended effective June 1, 1960, to read as follows:
``The interest rate applicable to each unit of the storage
project and each participating project for purposes of
computing interest during construction and interest on the
unpaid balance shall be determined by the Secretary of the
Treasury, as of the beginning of the fiscal year in which
construction is initiated, on the basis of the computed average
interest rate payable by the Treasury upon its outstanding
marketable public obligations, which are neither due nor
callable for redemption for fifteen years from the date of
issue.''
SEC. 10. LAKE THUNDERBIRD.
(a) In General.--If the Secretary of the Interior
determines that there is enough excess capacity in the
reservoir on the Little River known as `Lake Thunderbird' that
nonproject water can be stored in Lake Thunderbird, the
Secretary of the Interior may, in accordance with the
reclamation laws, amend an existing contract, or enter into 1
or more new contracts, with the Central Oklahoma Master
Conservancy District for the storage and conveyance of
nonproject water in Norman project facilities to augment
municipal and industrial supplies for the cities served by the
Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District.
(b) Costs.--If any additional infrastructure is needed to
enable the storage and conveyance of non-project water in
Norman project facilities under subsection (a) or any other
provision of this Act, the costs of constructing, operating,
and maintaining the infrastructure shall be the responsibility
of the non-Federal entity contracting with the Secretary of the
Interior for storage and conveyance rights.