59–010 

Calendar No. 47 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–21 

YAKIMA-TIETON IRRIGATION DISTRICT CONVEYANCE ACT 

OF 2007 

FEBRUARY 16, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 235] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 235) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to convey certain buildings and lands of the Yakima Project, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District, having considered 

the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 235 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to convey certain buildings and lands of the Yakima Project, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Yakima Project provides irrigation water for approximately 

464,000 acres of land along 175 miles of the Yakima River in 

south-central Washington. The Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District 

(District) is one of the main beneficiaries of the Project, delivering 

water to 28,000 acres of land. The Yakima Project began providing 

water to the District in 1910. In 1947, the District assumed operations and maintenance of water conveyance works benefiting the 

District and fulfilled its capital repayment obligations to Reclamation. In 1988, the District repaid its obligations to Reclamation for 

a rehabilitation and betterment project. The District is seeking title 

to federally-owned buildings and lands, including a warehouse, an 

office building, approximately nine acres of land, and two houses 

and appurtenant structures. According to the District, it has sought 


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ownership of these structures and land for many years. Since 1995, 

when Reclamation promulgated policies for title transfer, Reclamation and the District have worked to advance the title transfer. S. 

235 will effectuate a transfer of title from the United States to the 

District of the identified buildings and lands of the Yakima Project. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 235 was introduced by Senator Cantwell on January 10, 2007 

and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 

At its business meeting on January 31, 2007, the Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 235 favorably reported. 

During the 109th Congress, the Committee considered similar 

legislation, S. 1965, introduced by Senator Cantwell on November 

11, 2005. The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing 

on S. 1965 on June 28, 2006. S. Hrg. 109–677. No further action 

occurred on S. 1965 prior to the sine die adjournment of the 109th 

Congress. A companion measure, H.R. 1564, was considered by the 

House of Representatives under suspension of the rules, and 

passed by a voice vote on November 15, 2005. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business meeting on January 31, 2007, by voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 235. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title. 

Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the 

Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District all right, title, and interest of the 

United States to certain buildings and lands of the Yakima Project, 

Washington, in accordance with an existing agreement between the 

District and the United States. 

Section 2(b) provides that upon the date that title is conveyed, 

the United States is not liable for damages of any kind arising out 

of any act, omission, or occurrence relating to the conveyed buildings and lands, except for damages caused by acts of negligence 

committed by the United States or its employees or agents before 

the conveyance. Nothing in the section increases the United States’

liability beyond that provided by the Federal Tort Claims Act. 

Section 2(c) provides that after conveyance of the buildings and 

lands, they will no longer be considered part of the Federal reclamation project, and that the District shall not be eligible to receive any benefits, except those available to persons similarly situated. 

Section 2(d) contains a reporting requirement for the Secretary 

in the event the conveyance is not completed within 12 months following the enactment of S. 235. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 


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S. 235—Yakima-Tieton Irrigation-District Conveyance Act of 2007 

S. 235 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain lands and buildings comprising a portion of the Yakima 

Project in Yakima County, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District. Based on information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that enacting S. 235 would have no significant 

effect on the federal budget. 

This bill would transfer title for approximately nine acres of land 

and several buildings to the irrigation district. Other parts of the 

project, including the Tieton diversion dam and associated canals, 

would not be affected. The district has fully complied with all repayment agreements associated with the project, and currently 

makes only small payments to reimburse the bureau for the operation and maintenance of the Yakima-Tieton facilities. Such payments are recorded as offsetting receipts (a credit against direct 

spending), and would no longer be made if this bill were enacted, 

resulting in a negligible loss of receipts to the U.S. Treasury. 

Under the bill, the bureau would no longer be responsible for the 

minor discretionary costs associated with operations and maintenance of the conveyed facilities. 

S. 235 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. The land conveyance authorized by this bill would be voluntary on the part of 

the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District. Any costs they might incur 

to comply with the conditions of the conveyance would be incurred 

voluntarily. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Julie Middleton. The 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 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 

S. 235. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant responsibilities on private individuals and business. 

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. 235, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

Because S. 235 is similar to legislation considered in the 109th 

Congress, the Committee did not request Executive Agency views. 

The testimony provided by the Bureau of Reclamation at the Subcommittee hearing on S. 1965 in the 109th Congress follows: 

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM E. RINNE, ACTING COMMISSIONER, 

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Madam Chairwoman, members of the Subcommittee, I 

am Bill Rinne, Acting Commissioner of Reclamation for 

the Bureau of Reclamation. I am pleased to provide the 


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Department of the Interior’s views on S. 1965, legislation 

to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain 

buildings and lands of the Yakima Project in Washington 

to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District. We support this 

legislation and thank the committee for considering it 

today. 

The transfer proposed in S. 1965 is the culmination of 

a collaborative and cooperative process and should be a 

model for other districts and groups interested in title 

transfer. 

What we experienced in this case, and what has made 

other title transfers successful, is that Reclamation and 

the non-Federal entities interested in title transfer followed a simple plan identifying obstacles and dealing with 

them at the local or regional level before draftmg legislation. 

S. 1965 would authorize the title transfer of federally 

owned buildings and lands to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation 

District. Reclamation and the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation 

District have worked collaboratively and efficiently to lay 

the groundwork for this title transfer. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of the District, the process has successfully 

addressed all the elements of Reclamation’s policy framework that guides our title transfers. 

One of the Administration’s goals in title transfer is to 

protect the financial interest of the United States, that is, 

to make sure that the United States is no worse off financially following title transfer. In this case, the full costs of 

the lands, buildings and facilities to be transferred have 

already been repaid pursuant to the district’s original repayment contract. All the lands to be transferred under 

this legislation were acquired by Reclamation when the 

project was built. Thus the original repayment contract incorporated their value together with the costs associated 

with the construction of the facilities and buildings. There 

are no ongoing revenue streams associated with these 

lands and facilities, and the value of all the assets has 

been repaid. The district has fulfilled its repayment obligation under the contract and thus no payment is required. 

On December 6, 2004, Reclamation and the District entered into a title transfer agreement for the federally 

owned facilities (Contract No. 5–07–10–L1658) which 

spells out the terms and conditions for this title transfer 

and which is the basis for the transfer of the facilities in 

the legislation. Subsequently, Reclamation worked with 

the District and with Representative Hastings and Senator 

Cantwell on how to structure the legislation to authorize 

the implementation of the title transfer agreement. 

We believe that this title transfer will give the District 

more local control of buildings that were constructed for 

their use. It will also eliminate the need for duplicative 

and unnecessary administrative obligations that exist for 

the District based on the fact that title to the buildings 

and associated properties is held by the United States. For 

example, the District currently has to seek approval for 


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utility work, building improvements, and similar activities 

by virtue of the fact that the buildings and properties are 

Federally owned. 

For Reclamation, the title transfer will obviate the periodic facility reviews and processing of paperwork that currently consumes significant staff time. 

In summary, we support passage of S. 1965. It is a good 

bill, a good title transfer, and reflects a cooperative and 

cost effective process that will provide a benefit to the District and to Reclamation. 

That concludes my testimony; I would be pleased to answer any questions. 

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 S. 235, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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