[House Report 113-534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     113-534

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 AMENDING THE EAST BENCH IRRIGATION DISTRICT WATER CONTRACT EXTENSION 
ACT TO PERMIT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO EXTEND THE CONTRACT FOR 
                         CERTAIN WATER SERVICES

                                _______
                                

 July 17, 2014.--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. 4508]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 4508) to amend the East Bench Irrigation 
District Water Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary 
of the Interior to extend the contract for certain water 
services, 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. 4508 is to amend the East Bench 
Irrigation District Water Contract Extension Act to permit the 
Secretary of the Interior to extend the contract for certain 
water services.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    H.R. 4508 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
extend a water contract between the United States and the East 
Bench Irrigation District until December 31, 2019. An extension 
will allow water to continue to be delivered to nearly 60,000 
acres in the Beaverhead Valley of Montana.
    The Bureau of Reclamation's Clark Canyon Dam and Reservoir 
are located in southwestern Montana. This federal project 
annually supplies irrigation water for 28,000 acres within the 
East Bench Irrigation District (EBID) pursuant to a 1958 
contract. The contract expired on December 31, 2005, prompting 
EBID and Reclamation to negotiate a new contract. Under Section 
1 of the Act of May 15, 1922 (42 Stat. 541), Section 46 of the 
Omnibus Adjustment Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 649), and Section 85-
7-1957, Montana Code Annotated, execution of a new contract 
between the United States and any irrigation district requires 
confirmation by a Montana District court. In 2006, EBID filed a 
petition with the Montana Fifth Judicial District Court seeking 
confirmation of the execution of its renewed contract with 
Reclamation. The Court convened a hearing in December 2006 and 
one objection to the confirmation was filed. Due to this 
objection, the case has been referred to the Montana Water 
Court, which has yet to rule on this case.
    Congress has extended the 1958 contract several times since 
its expiration. Under federal law, extensions provide an 
irrigation district an absolute right under federal law to 
negotiate a new contract with Reclamation as long as the 
existing contract is still valid and binding on all parties. 
H.R. 4508 adds six additional years to the last extension 
(Public Law 112-139), thereby extending the 1958 contract until 
December 31, 2019, or until a new contract is executed. This 
legislation does not prejudice the Montana Fifth Judicial 
District Court or the Montana Water Court and simply holds the 
1958 contract in place while water adjudication is resolved at 
the state level. Meanwhile, water will continue to be delivered 
from a federal project to thousands of irrigated acres.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 4508 was introduced on April 29, 2014, by Congressman 
Steve Daines (R-MT). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Water and Power. On June 10, 2014, the Subcommittee on Water 
and Power held a hearing on the bill. On June 19, 2014, the 
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Water and Power was discharged by unanimous 
consent. The bill was adopted and 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. 4508--A bill to amend the East Bench Irrigation District Water 
        Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary of the Interior 
        to extend the contract for certain water services

    H.R. 4508 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior, 
acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to extend the water 
contract between the United States and the East Bench 
Irrigation District for six additional years or until a new 
long-term contract is executed, whichever is earlier. Based on 
information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that 
enacting the legislation would not affect the federal budget. 
Enacting H.R. 4508 would not affect revenues or direct 
spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    The Bureau of Reclamation supplies irrigation water from 
the Clark Canyon Dam and Reservoir project to the East Bench 
Irrigation District under an interim contract negotiated in 
2006 after the original contract expired. Although the interim 
contract expired at the end of 2013, both the bureau and the 
district continue to operate under the terms of the expired 
contract and expect to do so until a new contract is executed.
    H.R. 4508 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    On June 26, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
1965, a bill to amend the East Bench Irrigation District Water 
Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary of the Interior 
to extend the contract for certain water services, as ordered 
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resource 
on June 18, 2014. The text of the two pieces of legislation is 
identical, and the CBO cost estimates are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aurora Swanson. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 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. CBO estimates that 
enacting the legislation would not affect the federal budget.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to amend the East Bench Irrigation 
District Water Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary 
of the Interior to extend the contract for certain water 
services.

                           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.

                       Compliance With H. Res. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as 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):

EAST BENCH IRRIGATION DISTRICT WATER CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO EXTEND WATER CONTRACT.

  The Secretary of the Interior may extend the contract for 
water services between the United States and the East Bench 
Irrigation District, numbered 14-06-600-3593, until the earlier 
of--
          (1) the date that is [4 years] 10 years after the 
        date on which the contract would have expired if this 
        Act had not been enacted; or
          (2) the date on which a new long-term contract is 
        executed by the parties to the contract.

                                  
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