[Senate Report 115-369]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                     Calendar No. 656
115th Congress         }                    {                 Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session            }                    {                 115-369

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



 
ARBUCKLE PROJECT MAINTENANCE COMPLEX AND DISTRICT OFFICE CONVEYANCE ACT 
                                OF 2017

                                _______
                                

               November 15, 2018.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 132]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (H.R. 132), to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain land and appurtenances of the 
Arbuckle Project, Oklahoma, to the Arbuckle Master Conservancy 
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 H.R. 132 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior (Secretary) to convey certain land and 
appurtenances of the Arbuckle Project, Oklahoma, to the 
Arbuckle Master Conservancy District (AMCD).

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Construction of the Arbuckle Project in Oklahoma, which 
includes Arbuckle Dam and the Wynnewood Pumping Plant and 
Aqueduct, was authorized in 1962 and completed in 1966. 
Authorized project purposes include municipal water supply, 
flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife.
    The original authorizing legislation (Public Law 87-594) 
provided for conveyance of title to pipelines and related 
facilities to the operating entity, the AMCD, upon completion 
of their capital repayment. Repayment was completed in 
September 2012, and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) 
transferred title to the Wynnewood Pumping Plant and Aqueduct 
in December 2012. As those facilities were transferred, the 
AMCD requested that the Arbuckle Maintenance Complex and 
Headquarter Office be included in the title transfer, but 
Reclamation determined it did not have the authority to do so 
based on its interpretation of the authorizing language. H.R. 
132 authorizes the conveyance of these properties which total 
less than three acres.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 132 was introduced by Congressman Cole on January 3, 
2017. The House of Representatives passed the bill on March 15, 
2017, by a vote of 407-1.
    The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on the 
bill on June 13, 2018.
    In the 114th Congress, a similar measure, H.R. 1219, was 
introduced by Congressman Cole in the House of Representatives 
on March 3, 2015. It was ordered reported, as amended, by the 
Committee on Natural Resources on November 19, 2016. On 
December 7, 2016, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 
1219.
    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in 
an open business session on October 2, 2018, and ordered H.R. 
132 favorably reported.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on October 2, 2018, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 
132.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 sets forth the short title of the Act.

Section 2. Conveyance of Maintenance Complex and District Office of the 
        Arbuckle Project, Oklahoma

    Subsection (a) directs the Secretary to transfer all right, 
title and interest of the United States in and to the 
Maintenance Complex and District Office of the Arbuckle Project 
to the AMCD in Murray County, Oklahoma.
    Subsection (b) defines key terms.
    Subsection (c) shields the United States from liability 
relating to the conveyed property.
    Subsection (d) specifies that following the conveyance the 
property shall not be considered to be a part of any federal 
reclamation project or receive benefits that would not be 
available for similarly situated facilities.
    Subsection (e) requires that the Department of the Interior 
submit an explanatory report to Congress if the conveyance is 
not completed within 12 months.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
    H.R. 132 would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to 
convey certain federal properties to the Arbuckle Master 
Conservancy District in Oklahoma for no consideration. Under 
current law, BOR is authorized to transfer ownership of 
pipelines and similar facilities associated with the Arbuckle 
project that are used to deliver water to users. In 2012, BOR 
transferred the conveyance facilities of the Arbuckle project 
to the district. At that time, the district expressed interest 
in receiving title to additional properties, including the 
Arbuckle maintenance complex and the district office building. 
H.R. 132 would authorize BOR to transfer those properties to 
the district.
    Using information from BOR, CBO estimates that enacting the 
legislation would have no significant effect on the federal 
budget. The properties that would be transferred generate no 
income for the government and are not expected to be sold in 
the next several years.
    Enacting H.R. 132 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 132 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
    H.R. 132 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aurora Swanson. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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 H.R. 132. The Act 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 H.R. 132, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 132, as ordered 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 by the Department of the Interior at 
the June 13, 2018, hearing on H.R. 132 follows:

Statement of Timothy R. Petty. Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Water and 
                Science, U.S. Department of the Interior

    Chairman Flake, Ranking Member Cortez Masto and members of 
the Subcommittee, I am Dr. Tim Petty, Assistant Secretary for 
Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior 
(Department). Thank you for the opportunity to provide the 
views of the Department on H.R. 132, the Arbuckle Project 
Maintenance Complex and District Office Conveyance Act of 2017. 
For the reasons I will discuss below, the Department supports 
this bill.
    H.R. 132 directs the Department of the Interior to convey 
to the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District in Murray County, 
Oklahoma, all right, title, and interest of the United States 
in and to the Maintenance Complex and District Office of the 
Arbuckle Project. The bill shields the federal government from 
being held liable by any court for damages arising out of any 
act, omission, or occurrence related to the complex and office, 
except for damages caused by acts of negligence by the 
government or government employees or agents prior to its 
conveyance.
    After such conveyance: (1) the complex and office shall not 
be a part of a federal reclamation project; and (2) such 
district shall not be eligible to receive any benefits with 
respect to any facility comprising such complex and office, 
except benefits that would be available to a similarly situated 
person with respect to such a facility that is not part of a 
federal reclamation project.
    If the conveyance has not been completed within 12 months, 
Interior shall submit to Congress an explanation and the date 
by which the conveyance will be completed.
    The Department has an active title transfer program and 
supports transferring certain Reclamation project facilities to 
non-Federal entities, particularly in cases where transfers 
could create opportunities, not just for those who receive 
title, but for other stakeholders and the public as well. This 
is also consistent with the broader aims of the 
Administration's Title Transfer legislative proposal, 
transmitted to Congress in February of this year.
    The Arbuckle Project was authorized by the Act of August 
24, 1962, Public Law 87-594, for municipal water supply, flood 
control, recreation, and fish and wildlife purposes. The 
Project was completed in 1966 and consists of Arbuckle Dam, 
Lake of the Arbuckles, and the Wynnewood Pumping Plant and 
Aqueduct.
    Section 2(c) of the original authorizing language allowed 
for conveyance of title to pipelines and related facilities 
used solely for delivering project water to water users upon 
completion of their repayment. The District fulfilled its 
repayment obligation to the United States in September 2012, 
and Reclamation transferred title to the water conveyance 
facilities which consisted of the Wynnewood Pumping Plant and 
Aqueduct in December 2012.
    As Reclamation was preparing to transfer title of the water 
conveyance facilities, the District requested that the Arbuckle 
Maintenance Complex and District Office be included in the 
title transfer. Reclamation determined that because these 
facilities were not used ``solely for delivering project water 
to the water users'' there was not sufficient authority to 
accommodate this request. H.R. 132 would authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to convey to the District all right, 
title, and interest of the United States in and to the 
Maintenance Complex and District Office. The Department is 
pleased to support this legislation.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by H.R. 132 as ordered 
reported.

                                  [all]