49–010 

Calendar No. 410 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 109–248 

NORTHERN COLORADO WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT 

CONVEYANCE ACT 

APRIL 20, 2006.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of April 7, 2006 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3443] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 3443) to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to convey certain water distribution facilities to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 

the Act do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of H.R. 3443 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to transfer the title of specific water distribution facilities of the 

Colorado-Big Thompson Project in northeastern Colorado to the 

Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (hereinafter 

‘‘District’’) seeks the transfer of title of the following three singlepurpose Colorado-Big Thompson Project (hereinafter ‘‘C–BT’’) water 

conveyance facilities: the St. Vrain Supply Canal, the Boulder 

Creek Supply Canal, and the South Platte Supply Canal. The C– 

BT is a multi-purpose project built by Reclamation between 1938 

and 1957. The C–BT’s primary purpose is to provide supplemental 

water supply for the beneficial use of the District’s customers, with 

hydropower generation as a secondary purpose. 

In 2000, Congress transferred title to four single-purpose water 

conveyance facilities associated with the C–BT from the United 

States to the District (P.L. 106–376). In that instance, a MemoVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:22 Apr 22, 2006 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR248.XXX SR248

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randum of Agreement (hereinafter ‘‘MOA’’) with Reclamation was 

completed subsequent to passage of that law and the property was 

transferred. Enactment of H.R. 3443 would complete the transfer 

of title of all single-purpose water conveyance facilities within the 

C–BT to the District. In July 2005, the District requested that Reclamation enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (hereinafter 

‘‘MOU’’) for purposes of the transfer proposed by H.R. 3443. Pursuant to that request, Reclamation and the District have reached 

agreement on the title transfer MOU. 

The District has operated and maintained these distribution facilities since 1957 and has completed its repayment of the capital 

costs for the C–BT. According to the bill’s proponents, the transfer 

will allow the District to cost-effectively manage the facilities and 

reduce paperwork. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 3443 was introduced on July 26, 2005, by Representative 

Musgrave for herself and Representative Mark Udall and referred 

to the House Resources Committee. The Subcommittee on Water 

and Power held a hearing on H.R. 3443 on September 27, 2005. 

The House Resources Committee, by unanimous consent, ordered 

H.R. 3443 favorably reported on October 19, 2005. Under suspension of the rules, H.R. 3443 passed the House of Representatives 

on December 13, 2005. A similar measure, S. 1498 was introduced 

by Senator Allard on July 26, 2005 for himself and Senator Salazar 

and referred to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The 

Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on S. 1498 on 

October 6, 2005. S. Hrg. 109–273. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 3443 favorably reported 

on March 15, 2006. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business meeting on March 15, 2006 by unanimous voice vote 

of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 3443. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 defines the terms used in the Act. 

Section 2 subsection (a) directs the Secretary to convey to the 

District all right, title and interest in the St. Vrain Supply Canal; 

the Boulder Creek Supply Canal that extends from the St. Vrain 

River to Boulder Creek, including that portion that extends from 

the St. Vrain River to Boulder Reservoir; and the South Platte Supply Canal. This section directs that the title transfer take place 

while ensuring that the Secretary evaluate the impacts of the 

change of ownership of the transferred water distribution facilities, 

if any, develop environmental compliance documents, and proceed 

in compliance with all applicable laws. Any action required as a result of the Secretary’s action shall be carried out by the Federal 

government or the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District 

pursuant to MOU No. 06AG602103 entered into on December 16, 

2005. 

Subsection (b) provides that the District has completed its capital 

cost obligation associated with the C–BT; that the District shall not 


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be required to provide any additional consideration for the conveyance made under subsection (a); and that the Western Area Power 

Administration shall continue to include the unpaid portion of the 

transferred facilities in its annual power repayment studies for the 

Loveland Area Projects until such facilities are repaid, consistent 

with applicable laws and policies. 

Subsection (c) provides that, except as provided in the Act, nothing affects the obligations and rights of the District under the contract between the District and the United States providing for the 

construction of the C–BT. 

Section 3 provides that, following the conveyance made under 

subsection (a), the United States shall not be liable for damages associated with the transferred facilities. 

Section 4 recognizes the unique status of the New Consolidated 

Lower Boulder Reservoir and Ditch Co., and the New Coal Ridge 

Ditch Company, and ensures that any action undertaken by the 

Secretary in accordance with this Act will not affect the rights and 

interests of those companies or ability to use the transferred water 

distribution facilities. This section does not affect the activities to 

be carried out pursuant to MOU No. 06AG602103. 

Section 5 provides that, if the conveyance has not occurred one 

year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives a report detailing why the facilities have not been transferred and the schedule for completing the transfer. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 3443—An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 

certain water distribution facilities to the Northern Colorado 

Water Conservancy District 

H.R. 3443 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 

certain water distribution facilities that are a part of the ColoradoBig Thompson Project to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. Based on information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3443 would have no significant effect on the federal budget. 

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District has fulfilled 

all repayment obligations associated with the project. Under current law, the district pays all operations and maintenance costs for 

the project. In addition, H.R. 3443 would have no effect on the 

Western Area Power Administration’s (WAPA’s) repayment obligation for the Colorado-Big Thompson Project. Under current law, 

WAPA will repay $72 million in construction costs for the project 

by 2051. 

H.R. 3443 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. Accepting 

the land conveyance authorized in this act would be voluntary on 

the part of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. Any 

costs they might incur to comply with the conditions of conveyance 

would be incurred voluntarily. 


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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 

H.R. 3443. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant 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 H.R. 3443. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Bureau of Reclamation at the 

Subcommittee hearing on S. 1498, the Senate counterpart to H.R. 

3443, in the 109th Congress follows: 

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM E. RINNE, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, DEPARTMENT OF THE

INTERIOR

Good morning, I am William E. Rinne, Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. I am pleased to appear before this Subcommittee to provide Reclamation’s 

views on S. 1498, legislation to transfer title to certain 

water distribution facilities of the Colorado–Big Thompson 

Project (C–BT) located in Colorado, to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. Mr. Chairman, we are 

working diligently with the District to accomplish this title 

transfer because we are convinced it has the potential to 

provide operations efficiencies and other benefits. However, we are concerned that the legislation may be premature because we have not yet worked out the details of 

the title transfer with the District. 

To date, our most successful transfers have relied on a 

simple plan—identify issues and obstacles at the local 

level and address them prior to the introduction of legislation authorizing the title transfer. Toward this end, Reclamation has a clear and collaborative process for title 

transfers. Not only has the preferred approach helped entities identify and address concerns of other interested parties early on in the process, but it has also enabled Reclamation and the districts to accurately predict and assign 

costs, and resolve other issues during the more flexible period preceding legislation. This process has been quite successful and we strongly encourage the District to continue 

to work through it with us before legislation advances. 

The transfer contemplated by S. 1498 has only just 

begun. On January 24 of this year, Reclamation wrote to 

the District, acknowledging its interest in title transfer 

and urging it to follow the title transfer process described 


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above. On July 26, 2005, H.R. 3443 was introduced in the 

House. On September 7, 2005, the District wrote Reclamation requesting that an MOU be entered into by October 

7, 2005. We have begun working with the District on that 

MOU, and if no unexpected issues arise, we anticipate executing the MOU by October 7. Subsequent to the completion of that MOU, Reclamation and the District need to 

thoroughly discuss the remaining issues associated with 

the transfer of these facilities. 

Mr. Chairman, we look forward to working with you and 

the District to complete this title transfer in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. 

That concludes my statement. 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 Act, H.R. 3443, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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