[Senate Report 116-161]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 310
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-161
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TO MAKE AVAILABLE THE CONTINUED USE OF PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN
PROGRAM PROJECT USE POWER BY THE KINSEY IRRIGATION COMPANY AND THE
SIDNEY WATER USERS IRRIGATION DISTRICT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
November 21, 2019.--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 S. 1882]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1882) to make available the continued use
of Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program project use power by the
Kinsey Irrigation Company and the Sidney Water Users Irrigation
District, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon with an amendment (in the nature of a
substitute) and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
AMENDMENT
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. CONTINUED USE OF PICK SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM PROJECT
USE POWER BY THE KINSEY IRRIGATION COMPANY AND THE
SIDNEY WATER USERS IRRIGATION DISTRICT.
(a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law and
subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior (acting
through the Commissioner of Reclamation) shall continue to treat the
irrigation pumping units known as the ``Kinsey Irrigation Company'' in
Custer County, Montana and the ``Sidney Water Users Irrigation
District'' in Richland County, Montana, or any successor to the Kinsey
Irrigation Company or Sidney Water Users Irrigation District, as
irrigation pumping units of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program for
the purposes of wheeling, administration, and payment of project use
power, including the applicability of provisions relating to the
treatment of costs beyond the ability to pay under section 9 of the Act
of December 22, 1944 (commonly known as the ``Flood Control Act of
1944'') (58 Stat. 891, chapter 665).
(b) Limitation.--The quantity of power to be provided to the Kinsey
Irrigation Company and the Sidney Water Users Irrigation District
(including any successor to the Kinsey Irrigation Company or the Sidney
Water Users Irrigation District) under subsection (a) may not exceed
the maximum quantity of power provided to the Kinsey Irrigation Company
and the Sidney Water Users Irrigation District under the applicable
contract for electric service in effect on the date of enactment of
this Act.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1882 is to make available the continued
use of Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program project use power by
the Kinsey Irrigation Company and the Sidney Water Users
Irrigation District.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
In 1938, Congress enacted the Fort Peck Project Act
directing the completion of the Fort Peck Project in Montana,
and authorizing the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to transmit and
sell electric energy generated by the project (Act of May 18,
1938, ch. 250, 52 Stat. 403). In 1944, Congress enacted the
Flood Control Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 891, chapter 665). The Act
authorized the Missouri River Basin Project, (now known as the
Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program (Program)), incorporated the
Fort Peck project into the Program, and approved a
comprehensive plan for the Program to be governed by
Reclamation laws.
The Kinsey Irrigation Company (Kinsey) and the Sidney Water
Users Irrigation District operate non-federal water projects in
eastern Montana. Both have relied on electric service from the
Program for the past 73 years. The Kinsey Project was
constructed by the Farm Security Administration in 1937.
Although it briefly operated as a unit of the Program, Kinsey
purchased all project facilities in 1945 and has been a non-
federal project since that time. The Sidney Project was built
by the State of Montana in 1938. Although federal funds from
the Public Works Administration were used in its construction,
it has never been a federal project. Nonetheless, the BOR
entered into project use power (PUP) contracts with Kinsey and
Sidney in 1946. These contracts provide electric service needed
to operate and maintain the two projects.
The PUP contracts between the BOR and the two irrigation
districts have been modified and renewed over the years. The
current PUP contracts expire in 2020. During the negotiations
to renew the PCP contracts, the BOR determined it did not have
the authority to continue supplying either Kinsey or Sidney
with electric energy because the two irrigation districts are
not part of the federal project.
Kinsey and Sidney have relied on Program power for over 73
years, primarily for groundwater pumping, and together
currently serve over 130 farmers and nearly 12,000 acres. If
Kinsey is unable to extend its contract it would have to obtain
service through the local rural electric cooperative, which
Kinsey expects will increase power rates about 1900 percent.
Likewise, Sidney would seek to purchase power from the Western
Area Power Administration and expects, based on current rate
schedules, for power rates to increase about 3200 percent.
S. 1882 will authorize BOR to continue to treat Kinsey and
Sidney as units of the Program for purposes of purchasing
project use power.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1882 was introduced by Senator Daines on June 18, 2019.
The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on the
measure on June 26, 2019.
An identical bill, H.R. 3471, was introduced by
Representative Gianforte in the House of Representatives on
July 10, 2019, and referred to the House Committee on Natural
Resources.
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in
open business session on September 25, 2019, and ordered S.
1882 favorably reported, as amended.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on September 25, 2019, by a majority
voice vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass
S. 1882, if amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 1882, the Committee adopted
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute
strikes all findings from the bill and adds language in section
1(a) clarifying the applicability to the irrigation districts
of provisions relating to treatment of costs beyond the ability
to pay under section 9 of the Act of the Flood Control Act of
1944.
SECTION-BY-SECTION-ANALYSIS
Sec. 1. Continued use of Pick Sloan Missouri Basin Program project use
power by the Kinsey Irrigation Company and the Sidney Water
Users Irrigation District
Subsection (a) directs the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, notwithstanding
any other provision of law, to continue to treat the Kinsey
Irrigation Co. and Sidney Water Users Irrigation District as
irrigation pumping units of the program for the purpose of
wheeling, administration, and payment of project use power,
including the applicability of provisions in Flood Control Act
of 1944 related to the treatment of costs beyond the ability of
irrigators to pay.
Subsection (b) specifies that the contract is subject to
the requirements that the quantity of power provided cannot
exceed the maximum quantity provided to the Kinsey and Sidney
on the date of enactment.
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. 1882. 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. 1882, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1882, 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 26, 2019, Subcommittee on Water and Power hearing on
S. 1882 follows:
Statement of Kiel Weaver, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior
Chairman McSally, Ranking Member Cortez Masto, and Members
of the Subcommittee, I am Kiel Weaver, Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Water and Science with the U.S.
Department of the Interior (``Department''). Thank you for the
opportunity to provide the views of the Department on several
water related pieces of legislation. I will address each of
these individually.
S. 1882, The Kinsey/Sidney (Montana) Project Use Power Bill
The Department did not receive a final draft of this
legislation in enough time to provide detailed testimony on the
bill. Reclamation would need additional time to analyze the
final text of this legislation before stating a position.
conclusion
Again, thank you for the opportunity to testify. The
Department looks forward to working closely with this Committee
on these bills. I would be happy to answer any questions.
Additional views were requested from the Bureau of
Reclamation on S. 1882, at the Subcommittee on Water and Power
hearing on June 26, 2019. The Bureau of Reclamation provided
additional views on September 23, 2019 on S. 1882 as follows:
Dear Madam Chairman: As requested during the June 26, 2019,
hearing before your subcommittee, the Department of the
Interior is providing these views on S. 1882, a bill to make
available the continued use of Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin
Program Project Use Power (PUP) by the Kinsey Irrigation
Company and the Sidney Water Users Irrigation District, and for
other purposes.
Under the laws governing the Reclamation program, PUP is
generally only available to federal projects, unless otherwise
authorized by Congress.
The Sidney Pumping Project was constructed by the State of
Montana in 1938 and financed through a loan and a grant from
the Federal Public Works Administration. Reclamation initially
believed the project met the conditions to receive PUP as it
was financed by the United States. However, this determination
was made in error because the Sidney Project is not and has
never been a federal project with the required federal nexus to
receive PUP. As such, Reclamation did not have authority to
enter into the PUP contract with Sidney.
The Kinsey Project was constructed in 1937 by the Farm
Security Administration and was briefly a Pick-Sloan Missouri
Basin Program unit. However, in 1945, Kinsey purchased all
project facilities, thus rendering it a non-federal project.
Reclamation has been providing PUP to both Sidney and
Kinsey since 1946, although neither Sidney nor Kinsey are
Reclamation projects or are specifically authorized by Congress
to receive PUP. As a result, Reclamation has notified both
Sidney and Kinsey that we will be unable to renew their
contracts when they expire on December 31, 2020 absent specific
legislative authority.
This legislation, if enacted, would give Reclamation the
authority to continue to provide PUP to both Sidney and Kinsey.
In addition, the legislation includes language to preserve the
current contractual service while limiting the quantity of PUP
from exceeding the maximum contractual amount in the future.
In general, the Department does not oppose the inclusion of
specific authority for these specific cases.
Sincerely,
Brenda Burman,
Commissioner.
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 the bill as ordered
reported.
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