[House Report 118-367]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 118-367
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PILOT BUTTE POWER PLANT CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
January 30, 2024.--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. 3415]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3415) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey to the Midvale Irrigation District the Pilot Butte Power
Plant in the State of Wyoming, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 3415 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey to the Midvale Irrigation District the Pilot
Butte Power Plant in the State of Wyoming, and for other
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 3415, the Pilot Butte Power Plant Conveyance Act,
requires the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to enter good
faith negotiations to convey the Pilot Butte Power Plant (Power
Plant) to the Midvale Irrigation District (District) under
Reclamation's Title Transfer Program. The Title Transfer
Program allows for Reclamation to transfer authority over water
infrastructure to a project's beneficiary. This process,
designed to give greater local control and autonomy to a
project beneficiary, has historically required an individual
act of Congress. From 1995 to 2019, Reclamation has conveyed
all or part of thirty projects over to project
beneficiaries.\1\
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\1\``Statement of Camille Calimlim Touton.'' Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee. July 19, 2023. https://
www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/8B0FC197-6740-485F-A24C-
2AFABD64D158.
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In 2019, the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management
and Recreation Act (P.L. 116-9) gave Reclamation the authority
to transfer certain projects to beneficiaries without an act of
Congress. However, P.L. 116-9 excluded certain ``reserved
works,'' or infrastructure that is owned, operated, or
maintained by Reclamation. Since the Power Plant was removed
from service in 2008, Reclamation is responsible for all costs
associated with maintenance and inspection; given that the
Power Plant is still considered a ``reserved work,'' an act of
Congress is required to transfer this structure to the
District.
This legislation would give the District the ability to
rehabilitate a power plant that has been shut down for more
than a decade. The District has expressed interest in producing
hydroelectric power during its six-month irrigation season,
providing additional electricity generation to the District's
940 water users.\2\ Additionally, Reclamation has incurred
increased annual maintenance and inspection costs as the plant
remains shut down; a future demolition plan was estimated at
roughly $5 million, and the Wyoming Water Development Office
has projected that the Power Plant's needed repairs will cost
between $4.4 million and $8.3 million.\3\ Transferring
authority of the Power Plant from Reclamation to the District
presents an opportunity to unlock additional electricity
generation for the District and its water users, give the
District greater control over the Power Plant's upgrades and
overall resource management, and eases the financial burden on
both the District and Reclamation by sharing the costs
associated with this project.
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\2\``Statement of Steve J. Lynn.'' House Committee on Natural
Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries. September
28, 2023. https://naturalresources.house.gov/uploadedfiles/
testimony_lynn.pdf.
\3\``Statement of Camille Calimlim Touton.'' Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee. July 19, 2023. https://
www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/8B0FC197-6740-485F-A24C-
2AFABD64D158.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3415 was introduced on May 17, 2023, by Rep. Harriet
M. Hageman (R-WY). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries. On September 28, 2023, the
Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a hearing on
the bill. On October 25-26, 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.
3415 by unanimous consent. H.R. 3415 was 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 Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries
held on September 28, 2023.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Pilot Butte Power Plant Conveyance Act.''
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 defines key terms used throughout the Act in
outlining the process of transferring authority of the Power
Plant from Reclamation to the District.
Section 3. Agreement, conveyance, and report
Section 3 requires that not later than two years after
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior
(Secretary), acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation,
shall enter into negotiations with the District to determine
the terms of conveyance. Conveyance will require the District
to assume all liability for administration, operation,
maintenance, and replacement of the Power Plant. At the date of
effective conveyance, the Power Plant will no longer be
considered part of a Federal Reclamation project. If conveyance
is not completed within 1 year of enactment, the Secretary
shall submit a report to the House Committee on Natural
Resources and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources a
report describing the status of conveyance, obstacles to
completing conveyance, and an anticipated date of completing
conveyance.
Section 4. Liability
Section 4 mandates that, effective on the date of
conveyance, the United States or employees or agents of the
United States are no longer to be held liable for any act,
omission, or occurrence relating to the power plant.
Section 5. Compliance with other laws
Section 5 requires that, prior to making the conveyance,
the Secretary shall complete all actions required 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.), National Preservation Programs under Subtitle III of
Title 54, U.S.C., and any other applicable laws. The District
shall comply with all Federal, State, and local laws in
operating the Power Plant, effective on the date of conveyance.
Section 6. Payment of costs
Section 6 establishes that administrative costs for the
conveyance of the Power Plant, real estate transfer costs, and
cost of compliance with review under the National Environmental
Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, or Subtitle III of
Title 54 U.S.C. shall be paid in equal shares by the Secretary
and the District.
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:
H.R. 3415 would require the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to
negotiate an agreement within two years with the Midvale
Irrigation District located in Pavillion, Wyoming, to convey
the Pilot Butte Power Plant and related facilities to the
district.
Under current law, BOR holds title to the power plant and
related facilities, and ownership of the power plant cannot be
transferred unless authorized by the Congress. The plant has
not produced electricity since 2008 when BOR determined that
increasing operation and maintenance costs made electricity
generation at the plant economically infeasible. The district
has expressed interest in taking ownership and rehabilitating
and operating the power plant and related facilities to provide
power to the district's water users.
Using information from BOR, CBO estimates that total costs
to implement the bill would be less than $20,000 for staff to
coordinate surveys, complete reviews under the National
Environmental Policy Act, and transfer the title to the
district. Under the bill, those costs would be split equally
with the district. Spending by BOR for those costs would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
CBO estimates that enacting the bill would insignificantly
increase offsetting receipts, which are recorded as reductions
in direct spending, from amounts transferred to the government
to pay for the district's share of the cost of administrative
activities to complete the transfer. The spending of those
receipts would increase direct spending and any excess
contributions would be returned to the district. Thus, CBO
estimates that by the end of 2033 there would be no net effect
on direct spending under H.R. 3415.
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 direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey to the Midvale Irrigation District the Pilot
Butte Power Plant in the State of Wyoming, 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. 3415
contains no unfunded mandates as defined in 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. 3415 makes no changes in existing law.
[all]