[106th Congress Public Law 392]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


<DOC>
[DOCID: f:publ392.106]


[[Page 1601]]

   UPPER COLORADO AND SAN JUAN RIVER BASINS ENDANGERED FISH RECOVERY 
                                PROGRAMS

[[Page 114 STAT. 1602]]

Public Law 106-392
106th Congress

                                 An Act


 
 To authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to provide cost sharing for the 
endangered fish recovery implementation programs for the Upper Colorado 
   and San Juan River Basins. <<NOTE: Oct. 30, 2000 -  [H.R. 2348]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to authorize and provide funding for the 
Bureau of Reclamation to continue the implementation of the endangered 
fish recovery implementation programs for the Upper Colorado and San 
Juan River Basins in order to accomplish the objectives of these 
programs within a currently established time schedule.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``Recovery Implementation Programs'' means the 
        intergovernmental programs established pursuant to the 1988 
        Cooperative Agreement to implement the Recovery Implementation 
        Program for the Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado 
        River dated September 29, 1987, and the 1992 Cooperative 
        Agreement to implement the San Juan River Recovery 
        Implementation Program dated October 21, 1992, and as they may 
        be amended by the parties thereto.
            (2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior.
            (3) The term ``Upper Division States'' means the States of 
        Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
            (4) The term ``Colorado River Storage Project'' or ``storage 
        project'' means those dams, reservoirs, power plants, and other 
        appurtenant project facilities and features authorized by and 
        constructed in accordance with the Colorado River Storage 
        Project Act (43 U.S.C. 620 et seq.).
            (5) The term ``capital projects'' means planning, design, 
        permitting or other compliance, pre-construction activities, 
        construction, construction management, and replacement of 
        facilities, and the acquisition of interests in land or water, 
        as necessary to carry out the Recovery Implementation Programs.
            (6) The term ``facilities'' includes facilities for the 
        genetic conservation or propagation of the endangered fishes, 
        those for the restoration of floodplain habitat or fish passage, 
        those for control or supply of instream flows, and those for the 
        removal or translocation of nonnative fishes.

[[Page 114 STAT. 1603]]

            (7) The term ``interests in land and water'' includes, but 
        is not limited to, long-term leases and easements, and long-term 
        enforcement, or other agreements protecting instream flows.
            (8) The term ``base funding'' means funding for operation 
        and maintenance of capital projects, implementation of recovery 
        actions other than capital projects, monitoring and research to 
        evaluate the need for or effectiveness of any recovery action, 
        and program management, as necessary to carry out the Recovery 
        Implementation Programs. Base funding also includes annual 
        funding provided under the terms of the 1988 Cooperative 
        Agreement and the 1992 Cooperative Agreement.
            (9) The term ``recovery actions other than capital 
        projects'' includes short-term leases and agreements for 
        interests in land, water, and facilities; the reintroduction or 
        augmentation of endangered fish stocks; and the removal, 
        translocation, or other control of nonnative fishes.
            (10) The term ``depletion charge'' means a one-time 
        contribution in dollars per acre-foot to be paid to the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service based on the average annual new 
        depletion by each project.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO FUND RECOVERY PROGRAMS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations for Federal Participation in 
Capital Projects.--(1) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary, $46,000,000 to undertake capital projects to carry out 
the purposes of this Act. Such funds shall be considered a 
nonreimbursable Federal expenditure.
    (2) The authority of the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of 
Reclamation, under this or any other provision of law to implement 
capital projects for the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered 
Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin shall expire in fiscal 
year 2005 unless reauthorized by an Act of Congress.
    (3) <<NOTE: Expiration date.>>  The authority of the Secretary to 
implement the capital projects for the San Juan River Basin Recovery 
Implementation Program shall expire in fiscal year 2007 unless 
reauthorized by an Act of Congress.

    (b) Cost of Capital Projects.--The total costs of the capital 
projects undertaken for the Recovery Implementation Programs receiving 
assistance under this Act shall not exceed $100,000,000 of which--
            (1) costs shall not exceed $82,000,000 for the Recovery 
        Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper 
        Colorado River Basin through fiscal year 2005; and
            (2) costs shall not exceed $18,000,000 for the San Juan 
        River Recovery Implementation Program through fiscal year 2007.

The amounts set forth in this subsection shall be adjusted by the 
Secretary for inflation in each fiscal year beginning after the 
enactment of this Act.
    (c) Non-Federal Contributions to Capital Projects.--(1) The 
Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, may accept 
contributed funds from the Upper Division States, or political 
subdivisions or organizations with the Upper Division States, pursuant 
to agreements that provide for the contributions to be used

[[Page 114 STAT. 1604]]

for capital projects costs. Such non-Federal contributions shall not 
exceed $17,000,000.
    (2) In addition to the contribution described in paragraph (1), the 
Secretary of Energy, acting through the Western Area Power 
Administration, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 
Bureau of Reclamation, may utilize power revenues collected pursuant to 
the Colorado River Storage Project Act to carry out the purposes of this 
subsection. Such funds shall be treated as reimbursable costs assigned 
to power for repayment under section 5 of the Colorado River Storage 
Project Act. This additional contribution shall not exceed $17,000,000. 
Such funds shall be considered a non-Federal contribution for the 
purposes of this Act. The funding authorized by this paragraph over any 
2-fiscal-year period shall be made available in amounts equal to the 
contributions for the same 2-fiscal-year period made by the Upper 
Division States pursuant to paragraph (1).
    (3) The additional funding provided pursuant to paragraph (2) may be 
provided through loans from the Colorado Water Conservation Board 
Construction Fund (37-60-121 C.R.S.) to the Western Area Power 
Administration in lieu of funds which would otherwise be collected from 
power revenues and used for storage project repayments. The Western Area 
Power Administration is authorized to repay such loan or loans from 
power revenues collected beginning in fiscal year 2012, subject to an 
agreement between the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Western 
Area Power Administration, and the Bureau of Reclamation. The agreement 
and any future loan contracts that may be entered into by the Colorado 
Water Conservation Board, the Western Area Power Administration, and the 
Bureau of Reclamation shall be negotiated in consultation with Salt Lake 
City Area Integrated Projects Firm Power 
Contractors. <<NOTE: Contracts. Deadline.>>  The agreement and loan 
contracts shall include provisions designed to minimize impacts on 
electrical power rates and shall ensure that loan repayment to the 
Colorado Water Conservation Board, including principal and interest, is 
completed no later than September 30, 2057. The Western Area Power 
Administration is authorized to include in power rates such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this paragraph and paragraph (2).

    (4) All contributions made pursuant to this subsection shall be in 
addition to the cost of replacement power purchased due to modifying the 
operation of the Colorado River Storage Project and the capital cost of 
water from Wolford Mountain Reservoir in Colorado. Such costs shall be 
considered as non-Federal contributions, not to exceed $20,000,000.
    (d) <<NOTE: Effective date.>>  Base Funding.--(1) Beginning in the 
first fiscal year commencing after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary may utilize power revenues collected pursuant to the 
Colorado River Storage Project Act for the annual base funding 
contributions to the Recovery Implementation Programs by the Bureau of 
Reclamation. Such funding shall be treated as nonreimbursable and as 
having been repaid and returned to the general fund of the Treasury as 
costs assigned to power for repayment under section 5 of the Colorado 
River Storage Project Act.

    (2) For the Recovery Implementation Program for the Endangered Fish 
Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin, the contributions to base 
funding referred to in paragraph (1) shall not exceed $4,000,000 per 
year. For the San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program, such 
contributions shall not exceed $2,000,000 per

[[Page 114 STAT. 1605]]

year. The Secretary shall adjust such amounts for inflation in fiscal 
years commencing after the enactment of this Act. The utilization of 
power revenues for annual base funding shall cease after the fiscal year 
2011, unless reauthorized by Congress; except that power revenues may 
continue to be utilized to fund the operation and maintenance of capital 
projects and monitoring. <<NOTE: Deadline. Reports.>>  No later than the 
end of fiscal year 2008, the Secretary shall submit a report on the 
utilization of power revenues for base funding to the appropriate 
Committees of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. 
The Secretary shall also make a recommendation in such report regarding 
the need for continued base funding after fiscal year 2011 that may be 
required to fulfill the goals of the Recovery Implementation Programs. 
Nothing in this Act shall otherwise modify or amend existing agreements 
among participants regarding base funding and depletion charges for the 
Recovery Implementation Programs.

    (3) The Western Area Power Administration and the Bureau of 
Reclamation shall maintain sufficient revenues in the Colorado River 
Basin Fund to meet their obligation to provide base funding in 
accordance with paragraph (2). If the Western Area Power Administration 
and the Bureau of Reclamation determine that the funds in the Colorado 
River Basin Fund will not be sufficient to meet the obligations of 
section 5(c)(1) of the Colorado River Storage Project Act for a 3-year 
period, the Western Area Power Administration and the Bureau of 
Reclamation shall request appropriations to meet base funding 
obligations.
    (e) Authority To Retain Appropriated Funds.--At the end of each 
fiscal year any unexpended appropriated funds for capital projects under 
this Act shall be retained for use in future fiscal years. Unexpended 
funds under this Act that are carried over shall continue to be used to 
implement the capital projects needed for the Recovery Implementation 
Programs.
    (f ) Additional Authority.--The Secretary may enter into agreements 
and contracts with Federal and non-Federal entities, acquire and 
transfer interests in land, water, and facilities, and accept or give 
grants in order to carry out the purposes of this Act.
    (g) Indian Trust Assets.--The Congress finds that much of the 
potential water development in the San Juan River Basin and in the 
Duchesne River Basin (a subbasin of the Green River in the Upper 
Colorado River Basin) is for the benefit of Indian tribes and most of 
the federally designated critical habitat for the endangered fish 
species in the San Juan River Basin is on Indian trust lands, and 2\1/2\ 
miles of critical habitat on the Duchesne River is on Indian Trust Land. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to restrict the Secretary, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, from 
funding activities or capital projects in accordance with the Federal 
Government's Indian trust responsibility.
    (h) Termination of Authority.--All authorities provided by this 
section for the respective Recovery Implementation Program shall 
terminate upon expiration of the current time period for the respective 
Cooperative Agreement referenced in section 2(1) unless, at least 1 year 
prior to such expiration, the time period for the respective Cooperative 
Agreement is extended to conform with this Act.

[[Page 114 STAT. 1606]]

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON RECLAMATION LAW.

    Specifically with regard to the acreage limitation provisions of 
Federal reclamation law, any action taken pursuant to or in furtherance 
of this title will not--
            (1) be considered in determining whether a district as 
        defined in section 202(2) of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 
        (43 U.S.C. 390bb) has discharged its obligation to repay the 
        construction cost of project facilities used to make irrigation 
        water available for delivery to land in the district;
            (2) serve as the basis for reinstating acreage limitation 
        provisions in a district that has completed payment of its 
        construction obligations; or
            (3) serve as the basis for increasing the construction 
        repayment obligation of the district and thereby extending the 
        period during which the acreage limitation provisions will 
        apply.

    Approved October 30, 2000.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 2348 (S. 2239):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 106-791 (Comm. on Resources).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-403 accompanying S. 2239 (Comm. on Energy and 
Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 146 (2000):
            July 25, considered and passed House.
            Oct. 13, considered and passed Senate.

                                  <all>