[House Report 113-78]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     113-78

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               SOUTH UTAH VALLEY ELECTRIC CONVEYANCE ACT

                                _______
                                

  May 17, 2013.--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. 251]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 251) 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 without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 251 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) began developing 
the Strawberry Valley Project (SVP) in Utah in 1906. Today, 
this federal project 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 electricity distribution system.
    In 1986, SWUA sold its portion of the electricity 
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 which entity owns 
which portions of the electric distribution system. H.R. 251 
resolves this confusion by placing the entire system in local 
ownership by transferring federal title to the SESD.
    In general, such 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.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 251 was introduced on January 15, 2013, by Congressman 
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Water and Power. On April 24, 2013, the Full 
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Water and Power was discharged by unanimous 
consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was then 
adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the short title of the bill: the 
South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act.

Section 2. Definitions

    This section defines key terms used in the bill.

Section 3. Conveyance of electric distribution system

    This section directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey all right, title, and interest currently owned by the 
United States to the South Utah Valley Electric Service 
District (SESD), requires that the conveyance of land shall 
comply with all applicable environmental laws and excludes the 
Strawberry Valley Project power generation system and the 
federally-owned portions of the 46 kilovolt transmission 
system, except in specific and limited cases, from being 
conveyed to the SESD.

Section 4. Effect of conveyance

    This section specifies that the land and facilities 
conveyed shall no longer be part of a federal reclamation 
project, that SESD shall not be entitled to any future 
Reclamation benefits for the conveyed land and facilities, and 
that the federal government shall not be liable for damages 
related to the land and facilities, including the 1986 sale 
between the Strawberry Water Users Association and the SESD.

Section 5. Report

    This section requires that if the conveyance under section 
3 is not completed within one year of enactment, the Secretary 
of the Interior shall submit a report to Congress that 
describes the status of the conveyance, any obstacles 
preventing completion of the conveyance, and specifies an 
anticipated new date for completion of the conveyance.

            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. 251--South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act

    H.R. 251 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
transfer title to 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 implementing the legislation would have no 
significiant net impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 
251 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, the nonfederal sponsor of the project, 
satisfied all federal repayment obligations associated with the 
project in 1974. In 1986, the Bureau of Reclamation transferred 
financial responsibility for operating and maintaining the 
system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service District. 
Under the current law, the bureau oversees those activities.
    Under the legislation, transfer to the district of title to 
the electric distribution system 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 required 
maintenance.
    Under H.R. 251, the Bureau of Reclamation would no longer 
oversee the facilitiies or collect licensing fees from 
utilities seeking easements. Based on information from the 
bureau, CBO estimates that the loss of those collections would 
not be significant.
    H.R. 251 contains no intergovernmental or privacte-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    On March 25, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
25, the South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act, as ordered 
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources on March 14, 2013. The two pieces of legislation are 
similar, and 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. Based on 
information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that 
implementing the legislation would have no significant net 
impact on 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 direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain Federal features of the electric 
distribution system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service 
District.

                           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

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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