29–010

Calendar No. 683

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " SENATE ! 2d Session 108–327

LAKE NIGHTHORSE REDESIGNATION 

AUGUST 25, 2004.—Ordered to be printed

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 22, 2004

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2508]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 2508) to redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake Nighthorse, 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 1, line 5, insert ‘‘Basin Creek, a tributary of ’’ before ‘‘the 

Animas River’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 2508 is to rename the Ridges Basin Reservoir 

in Colorado for Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Ridges Basin Reservoir is part of the Animas La Plata 

Project in southwestern Colorado. It is being built by the Bureau 

of Reclamation south of Durango, Colorado to store water from the 

Animas River, which is a tributary of the San Juan and Colorado 

Rivers. When completed in 2009, the reservoir will hold 120,000 

acre-feet of water and will have a surface area of nearly 1,500 

acres. 

The Animas La Plata Project was first authorized on a much 

larger scale by the Colorado River Basin Act of 1968, Public Law 

90–537. Work on the Project was delayed, for various reasons, for 

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decades. In the meantime, Congress enacted the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988, Public Law 100–585, to 

resolve the senior water rights claims of the Ute Mountain Ute and 

Southern Ute Indian Tribes of Colorado. 

In 1988, the Department of the Interior proposed construction of 

a substantially scaled-down project to address the long-standing 

water rights claims of the Colorado Ute Tribes, as well as the municipal and industrial needs of other water users, including the 

Navajo Nation and non-Indian water districts, in Colorado and 

New Mexico. Congress authorized construction of the scaled-down 

Animas La Plata Project in the Colorado Ute Settlement Act 

Amendments of 2000, and construction began in November 2001. 

The principal component of the scaled-down project will be the 

Ridges Basin Reservoir. 

S. 2508 renames the Ridges Basin Reservoir the ‘‘Lake 

Nighthorse’’ in honor of Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Senator 

Campbell was the principal author of both the Colorado Ute Indian 

Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (while he was a Member of 

the House of Representatives) and the Colorado Ute Settlement Act 

Amendments of 2000. The Committee believes that renaming the 

Ridges Basin Reservoir for Senator Campbell is a fitting tribute to 

the instrumental role he played in the Colorado Ute settlement and 

the construction of the Animas La Plata Project, and to his service 

in the United States Congress. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 2508 was introduced by Senator Domenici on June 7, 2004 and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Senator Allard is a cosponsor. The Subcommittee on Water and Power 

held a hearing on S. 2508 on June 17, 2004. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 2508, as amended, favorably reported on July 14, 2004. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business meeting on July 14, 2004, by a voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2508, if 

amended as described herein. Senator Campbell abstained from 

voting on S. 2508. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During the consideration of S. 2508, the Committee adopted an 

amendment that clarifies the location of the reservoir. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 renames the Ridges Basin Reservoir in Colorado ‘‘Lake 

Nighthorse.’’ 

Section 2 requires that any reference to the reservoir shall be a 

reference to ‘‘Lake Nighthorse.’’

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office:

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CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, U.S. CONGRESS, Washington, DC, July 16, 2004. 

Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2508, a bill to redesignate 

the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake Nighthorse. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Julie Middleton. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

S. 2508—A bill to redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, 

as Lake Nighthorse 

S. 2508 would rename the Ridges Basin Reservoir located on 

Basin Creek, a tributary to the Animas River in Colorado. The new 

name of the reservoir would be Lake Nighthorse. CBO estimates 

that implementing the bill would have no significant impact on the 

federal budget; the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

S. 2508 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local or tribal governments. 

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

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. 2508. 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 S. 2508. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On June 16, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth executive views on S. 2508. These reports had not been received at the 

time the report on S. 2508 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. No testimony 

was provided by the Department of the Interior at the Subcommittee hearing. 

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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. 2508, as ordered reported.

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