79–010

Calendar No. 849

106TH CONGRESS REPORT

2d Session " ! SENATE 106–427

MANCOS WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 2594]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was

referred the bill (S. 2594) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior

to contract with the Mancos Water Conservancy District to use the

Mancos Project facilities for impounding, storage, diverting, and

carriage of nonproject water for the purpose of irrigation, domestic,

municipal, industrial, and any other beneficial 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:

On page 3, line 18, strike all of subsection (c).

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 2594 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into Warren Act contracts with the Mancos Water

Conservancy District in Colorado to use the Mancos Project facilities for impounding, storage, diverting, and carriage of nonproject

water for the purpose of irrigation, domestic, municipal, industrial,

and any other beneficial purposes.

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Many federally authorized projects have the ability to use project

reservoirs, canals, and ditches for the purpose of impounding, delivering, or carrying non-project waters for the purpose of irrigation

and other beneficial uses. The Bureau of Reclamation is authorized

by the Warren Act of 1911 (36 Stat. 925) or section 305 of the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 (P.L. 102–

250) to make such excess facilities capacity available to third parties. In 1998, the Department of the Interior determined that

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projects constructed by the Bureau pursuant to the Water Conservation and Utilization Act of 1939 (WCUA) do not have the authority to use the project resources for this purpose. Contracts for

use of excess capacity in WCUA projects which existed as of November 2, 1998 continued in full force and effect until they expired.

Such contracts could not be extended by amendment.

The Mancos Project, established in 1941 and completed in 1949,

was authorized by the WCUA and provides supplemental irrigation

water for the Mancos Valley. Since 1968, the District has operated

under contract to carry non-project water through the Project and

the carriage of such water has become a normal operational procedure. The District currently has long-term contracts in place for the

conveyance of non-project water for irrigation which were contracted before 1992. Short-term contracts for conveyance were recently denied renewal and it is anticipated that long-term contracts

will be denied at their expiration.

The carriage of non-project water provides a substantial benefit

to the Mancos Project by allowing for a constant flow in the canals

and reservoir, thus eliminating the minimum flow problem on outlet works. Lack of non-project carriage would diminish the purpose

and functionality of the Project and decrease its historic benefit to

the Mancos Valley.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 2594 was introduced by Senator Allard on May 18, 2000. The

Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on the bill on

June 21, 2000. At the business meeting on September 20, 2000, the

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 2594, as

amended, favorably reported.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTES

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on September 20, 2000, by a unanimous voice vote of

a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2594, if

amended as described herein.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During the consideration of S. 2594, the Committee adopted an

amendment to strike subsection (c), which provided that funds received by the United States would be available for expenditure for

project O&M. This subsection also provided that funds received by

the United States, in excess of the amount needed for O&M, would

be applied against project repayment.

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 report is available, the Chairman will

request it to be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice

of the Senate.

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

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of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out

S. 2594. 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. 2594, as ordered reported.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On June 16, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the

Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth

Executive agency recommendations on S. 2594. These reports had

not been received at the time the report on S. 2594 was filed. When

the reports become available, the Chairman will request that they

be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate.

The testimony provided by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

STATEMENT OF ELUID L. MARTINEZ, COMMISSIONER,

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

Thank you for the opportunity to present the Department’s views on S. 2594. This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to contract with the Mancos Water

Conservancy District (District) to use excess capacity in

the Mancos Project in Colorado to impound, store, divert

or carry nonproject water for a variety of purposes.

Irrigators who benefit from the Mancos Project in Western

Colorado have been working to encourage efficient water

management on project lands. One means to manage

water more efficiently is to allow flexible use of project facilities, so that facilities can be used to transport privately

owned or adjudicated water as well as project water for irrigation and other purposes. However, because the Mancos

Project was authorized under the Water Conservation and

Utilization Act, currently it lacks authority to carry any

non-project water. The Administration could support S.

2594 if amended to address four concerns.

First, Section 1(c)(1) allows funds that the United States

would receive as payment for the use of its facilities under

this bill to be made available for operation and maintenance, without further appropriation of Congress. The Department opposes this provision. The language could mandate direct spending and should be deleted from the bill.

Second, in the event, there is a carriage of nonproject

water for municipal and industrial or domestic uses, the

carrying charge should include an interest component.

Language should be inserted in Section 1(a)(3) to accommodate this concern.

Third, Section 1(c)(2) should be deleted. Under this provision, any funds the United States were to receive under

Subsection (a) that were excess to that needed for operation and maintenance would be credited against the DisVerDate 11-MAY-2000 05:31 Sep 29, 2000 Jkt 079010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR427.XXX pfrm03 PsN: SR427
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trict’s repayment obligation, a benefit not available to

other districts that have contracts with Reclamation for

the carriage of non-project water.

Fourth, in keeping with Administration policy, S. 1852

should be amended to make clear that the District shall

reimburse Reclamation for the full cost of using Reclamation facilities. Whether at Water Conservation and Utilization Act (WCUA) projects, such as the Mancos Project, or

at projects authorized under Reclamation law, the Department generally supports efforts such as this proposal, to

enable the use of excess capacity conveyance of non project

water, as long as the United States is reimbursed for the

full cost of using its facilities. Efforts to allow Reclamation

to accommodate non-project water for multiple purposes at

Reclamation as well as WCUA projects could increase the

efficiency of existing facilities and provide additional flexibility to meet water supply needs.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I would be

pleased to answer any questions you may have.

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. 2594, as ordered reported.

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