[House Report 118-264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress   }                                      {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                      {     118-264

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

 
 TO CLARIFY JURISDICTION WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN BUREAU OF RECLAMATION 
           PUMPED STORAGE DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

November 3, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1607]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1607) to clarify jurisdiction with respect to 
certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. LAND WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION.

  (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Agreement.--The term ``Agreement'' means the agreement 
        between the United States and the Association dated September 
        6, 1917, as amended.
          (2) Association.--The term ``Association'' means the Salt 
        River Valley Water Users' Association.
          (3) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means the 
        portion of the National Forest System land located on the south 
        side of the Salt River from the March 9, 1903, 1-mile 
        withdrawal area for the Bureau of Reclamation purposes 
        extending an additional 2 miles from the Salt River at 
        Roosevelt Dam to 18.25 river miles downstream, in the State of 
        Arizona, not including the Superstition Mountain Wilderness 
        Area and the Tonto National Monument, as depicted on the Map.
          (4) District.--The term ``District'' means the Salt River 
        Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District.
          (5) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map prepared under 
        subsection (e)(1).
          (6) SRP.--The term ``SRP'' means--
                  (A) the District; and
                  (B) the Association.
  (b) Reservation of Covered Land.--Subject to valid existing rights, 
the covered land is reserved to the United States, through the 
Secretary of the Interior, for the exclusive right to use the covered 
land and interests in the covered land for the development, generation, 
and transmission of electrical power and energy for the use and benefit 
of the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project pursuant to the 
Agreement.
  (c) Withdrawal of Covered Land.--The covered land is permanently 
withdrawn from--
          (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the 
        public land laws;
          (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
          (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and 
        geothermal leasing laws.
  (d) Facilities.--With respect to facilities constructed by SRP on the 
covered land for the development, generation, and transmission of 
electrical power and energy--
          (1) the design and specifications shall conform to Bureau of 
        Reclamation standards, and final designs shall be subject to 
        review and approval by the Secretary of the Interior;
          (2) all construction work shall be subject to inspection and 
        approval by the Secretary of the Interior;
          (3) upon a determination of substantial completion of such 
        facilities, the Secretary of the Interior shall accept title on 
        behalf of the United States as part of the Salt River Federal 
        Reclamation Project pursuant to--
                  (A) section 6 of the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 
                389, chapter 1093; 43 U.S.C. 498); and
                  (B) the Agreement; and
          (4) SRP shall be responsible for the care, operation, and 
        maintenance pursuant to the Agreement.
  (e) Map.--
          (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
        prepare a map depicting the boundary of the covered land.
          (2) Availability.--The Map shall be on file and available for 
        public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Forest 
        Service and the Bureau of Reclamation.
  (f) Management of Covered Land.--Management of the covered lands 
shall be in accordance with the Management Memorandum among the 
District, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and 
the Bureau of Reclamation, dated April 27, 1979, as amended.
  (g) Relation to Other Law.--
          (1) Compliance with environmental laws.--The Secretary of the 
        Interior is directed to carry out all necessary environmental 
        compliance under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
        (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
        (16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.), and all other applicable 
        environmental laws and regulations, prior to construction of 
        facilities on the covered land for the development, generation, 
        and transmission of electrical power and energy.
          (2) Lead agency.--The Bureau of Reclamation shall be the lead 
        agency with respect to environmental compliance.
          (3) Withdrawal not major federal action.--The withdrawal of 
        the covered land shall not constitute a major Federal action 
        under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
        4321, et seq.).
          (4) Antideficiency.--The United States shall not be liable 
        for failure to carry out any obligation or activity authorized 
        to be carried out under this title (including any such 
        obligation or activity under the Agreement) if adequate 
        appropriations are not provided by Congress expressly to carry 
        out the purposes of this Act.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    The purpose of H.R. 1607 is to clarify jurisdiction with 
respect to certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage 
development, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Salt River Project (SRP) was authorized in 1903 as one 
of the first Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) projects under 
the Reclamation Act of 1902.\1\ The SRP service area is located 
near Phoenix, Arizona, and includes about 240,000 acres 
spanning portions of Maricopa, Gila, and Pinal Counties in 
central Arizona.\2\ The project receives water from the Salt 
and Verde Rivers and today SRP provides water and power to more 
than 2 million people.\3\
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    \1\Ch. 1093, 32 Stat. 388. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/programs/
contracts/Legislation.pdf.
    \2\USBR, Salt River Project. https://www.usbr.gov/projects/
index.php?id=395.
    \3\Salt River Project, Our History. https://www.srpnet.com/about/
about-srp.
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    Currently, SRP is exploring a pumped storage hydropower 
project. Pumped storage hydropower acts like a battery, it can 
store energy and release it when needed. Typically, it is a 
configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations 
that can generate power as water moves down from one reservoir 
to the other.\4\ The project has the potential for 
approximately 2,000 megawatts (MW) of energy storage capacity 
for a duration of 10 hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Department of Energy, Pumped Storage Hydropower. https://
www.energy.gov/eere/water/pumped-storage-hydropower.
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    H.R. 1607 would withdraw approximately 17,095 acres of 
federal lands from the National Forest System to the Bureau of 
Reclamation for the development of pumped storage hydropower 
and the development, generation, and transmission of electrical 
power and energy. Through the transfer of this land, the bill 
would allow the proposed pumped storage project to be developed 
entirely within the authorities and footprint of the federal 
Reclamation Project--streamlining development and maximizing 
federal Reclamation Project benefits. Without the legislation, 
the project would need to be permitted by Reclamation and the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
    Since 1903, there have been over 50 federal land 
withdrawals made by Congress and the Department of the Interior 
on the Salt and Verde River and East Clear Creek watersheds to 
develop the SRP.\5\ The management of the withdrawn lands would 
be consistent with the existing Memorandum of Understanding 
between the Forest Service, the SRP, and Reclamation, also 
known as the ``Tri-party Agreement''. This ensures that these 
lands are managed the same as the preexisting adjoining 
withdrawn lands.
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    \5\Most of the withdrawals were accomplished administratively by 
the Secretary of the Interior under Section 3 of the Reclamation Act of 
1902. Congress authorized the Secretary to withdraw land from public 
entry that were required for irrigation works. More recently, under 
Public Laws 108-445 and 112-445, Congress withdrew National Forest 
System land where the C.C. Cragin Dam and storage reservoir were 
located for Reclamation purposes to clarify that the Secretary retained 
jurisdiction over that facility as part of the Project.
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                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1607 was introduced on March 14, 2023, by Rep. David 
Schweikert (R-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries. On June 14, 2023, the 
Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a hearing on 
the bill. On July 19, 2023, the Committee on Natural Resources 
met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife 
and Fisheries was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 
1607 by unanimous consent. Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) 
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 
1607, designated Westerman ANS_035. The amendment was adopted 
by unanimous consent. H.R. 1607, as amended, was then ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous 
consent.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
hearing by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, 
Wildlife and Fisheries held on June 14, 2023.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Land withdrawal and reservation

    Section 1 allows for the withdrawal of approximately 17,905 
acres of federal land from the National Forest System to the 
Bureau of Reclamation for the development, generation, and 
transmission of hydropower.

            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 AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 1607 would direct the Forest Service to withdraw land, 
which CBO expects would total about 17,000 acres, from the 
National Forest System in an area adjacent to the Salt River 
Project (SRP) in Arizona and transfer it to the Bureau of 
Reclamation (BOR). The bill also would clarify that regulatory 
jurisdiction to develop hydroelectricity and power transmission 
on that land would be the responsibility of BOR.
    The SRP is owned and regulated by BOR and jointly operated 
by the Salt River Valley Water User's Association and the Salt 
River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District. The 
project consists of seven dams and reservoirs, 1,300 miles of 
conveyance infrastructure, and five hydroelectric plants on the 
Salt and Verde Rivers that supply water and power to central 
Arizona.
    Two agreements signed in 1917 and 1979 among the 
association, the district, the Forest Service, and BOR set 
guidelines for managing the lands withdrawn from the National 
Forest System for SRP purposes; such withdrawals have occurred 
about 50 times since 1903. The agreements also authorize the 
association and district to construct power infrastructure and 
retain receipts from power sales for the SRP.
    Under current law, the association is pursuing hydropower 
development on the Salt River that will require a license from 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) because the 
project will involve constructing a reservoir on land partly 
owned and administered by the Forest Service. Enacting H.R. 
1607 would simplify the regulatory process because transferring 
the land would give BOR sole jurisdiction for the project and 
the association would no longer need to obtain a FERC license.
    Using information from the affected agencies, CBO estimates 
that the Forest Service would incur insignificant costs to 
transfer the land and prepare new maps; any spending would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds. BOR would 
not incur additional costs because the association would be 
required to cover all costs incurred by BOR to approve and 
oversee the project.
    Finally, FERC recovers 100 percent of its costs, which are 
controlled by annual appropriations, through user fees. Thus, 
any reduction in FERC's costs resulting from shifting its 
licensing responsibilities to BOR would be offset by an equal 
change in fees, resulting in no net change in discretionary 
spending.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aurora Swanson. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.
    2. 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 clarify jurisdiction with respect 
to certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development, 
and for other purposes.

                           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.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 1607 
contains no unfunded mandates as defined by the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings.
    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.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources, 
H.R. 1607 would make no changes in existing law.

                                  [all]