I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1833 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to engage in a feasibility study 

relating to long-term water needs for the area served by the FryingpanArkansas Project, Colorado, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2007 

Mr. SALAZAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to engage in 

a feasibility study relating to long-term water needs for 

the area served by the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, Colorado, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FEASIBILITY STUDY. 

4 (a) STUDY.—Pursuant to Federal reclamation law 

5 (the Act of June 7, 1902, and all Acts amendatory thereof 

6 or supplementary thereto), the Secretary, acting through 

7 the Bureau of Reclamation, is authorized to conduct a fea8 sibility study to determine the most feasible method of 


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1 meeting the present and future water supply and related 

2 storage requirements within the area served by the 

3 Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, including the potential en4 largement of Fryingpan-Arkansas facilities. The feasibility 

5 study shall— 

6 (1) be conducted consistent with the document 

7 titled ‘‘Economic and Environmental Principles and 

8 Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources 

9 Implementation Studies’’ (United States Water Re10 sources Council, 1983, United States Government 

11 Printing Office), any subsequent modifications of 

12 that document, and all applicable Federal statutes; 

13 and 

14 (2) include, but not be limited to, an evaluation 

15 of existing and reasonably feasible and practicable 

16 potential water supplies, uses, and management op17 tions as they relate to meeting the document re18 ferred to in paragraph (1). 

19 (b) SUBMISSION OF STUDY.—The Secretary shall 

20 submit the feasibility study authorized by this section to 

21 the President and the President Pro Tempore of the Sen22 ate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

23 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—No Federal funds shall be ex24 pended for the construction of enlargements or any other 

25 alternative identified in the feasibility study authorized by 


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1 this section for which authority does not before the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, without further authorization 

3 by Congress. 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; MATCH5 ING REQUIREMENT.—There is authorized to be appro6 priated to the Secretary $4,000,000 to conduct the feasi7 bility study authorized by this section. All Federal funds 

8 made available to conduct that study shall be matched in 

9 equal amount by non-Federal funds. 

10 (e) LIMITATION ON CONSTRUCTION.—No construc11 tion to enlarge the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project may be 

12 conducted until the studies referred to in section 3 are 

13 completed. 

14 SEC. 2. SECRETARY AUTHORIZED TO FOLLOW ORIGINAL 

15 CONGRESSIONAL INTENT OF PROJECT. 

16 Not withstanding other provisions of law, the Sec17 retary shall not enter into any new contracts, contract ex18 tensions, or contract renewals— 

19 (1) with entities for use of excess capacity space 

20 in Fryingpan-Arkansas facilities to store water or 

21 for use outside of the natural basins of the Arkansas 

22 or Colorado rivers; or 

23 (2) that use the Fryingpan-Arkansas facilities 

24 or water rights for beneficial use outside the natural 

25 Basins of the Arkansas River or the Colorado River. 


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1 SEC. 3. STATE OF COLORADO STUDIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

3 provide financial assistance to the State of Colorado, 

4 under the direction of the Governor of that State, to con5 duct a study, or choose an appropriate organization such 

6 as Colorado State University-Pueblo to conduct a study, 

7 to identify the cumulative impacts of past, current, or pro8 posed transfers of water from the Arkansas and Colorado 

9 River basins to communities not located in the natural ba10 sins of the Arkansas River or the Colorado River, and 

11 from agriculturally based communities within the Arkan12 sas River basin to expanding municipalities within the Ar13 kansas River basin. 

14 (b) STUDY CRITERIA.—The study authorized under 

15 this section shall evaluate the following: 

16 (1) Environmental impacts such as impacts on 

17 water quality and wildlife habitat, and water supply 

18 both for human and environmental and recreational 

19 uses. 

20 (2) Social, cultural, recreational and economic 

21 impacts, including any disproportionate impacts of 

22 minority and/or low-income populations that result 

23 from actual or proposed water exchanges, water 

24 trades, and out-of-basin transfers from the Arkansas 

25 River basin and the Colorado River basin. 


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1 (3) The financial effects of water transfers out 

2 of the Arkansas River basin and the Colorado River 

3 basin for the sending and receiving communities. 

4 (4) The impacts, including cumulative effects, 

5 of proposed water supply and storage methods on 

6 the area served by the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project 

7 and the natural basins of the Arkansas River and 

8 the Colorado River within Colorado that may be im9 pacted by the implementation of such water supply 

10 and storage methods, taking into account the hydro11 logic conditions during the period from 1982 to the 

12 date the study is conducted. 

13 (5) The impacts of return and exchange flows 

14 in the Fountain Creek due to proposed and past 

15 transfers and exchanges of water from the Arkansas 

16 River to municipalities and entities, including the 

17 municipality of Colorado Springs, including but not 

18 limited to— 

19 (A) the effects on water quality and flood 

20 potential; and 

21 (B) mitigation alternatives for identified 

22 impacts, including flood control storage facili23 ties on the Fountain Creek. 


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1 (6) Any effect to stream flows in the Roaring 

2 Fork River due to any expansions of the Fryingpan3 Arkansas facilities. 

4 (7) Feasible options to resolve or mitigate the 

5 impacts and effects evaluated in the study. 

6 (c) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—As a condition of as7 sistance under the section, the Governor of Colorado shall 

8 submit a report of the results of the study funded under 

9 this section to the President and the President Pro Tem10 pore of the United States Senate and the Speaker of the 

11 United States House of Representatives upon completion 

12 of the study. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 

15 this section. 

16 SEC. 4. COLORADO RIVER BASIN PROTECTION. 

17 (a) USE OF WATER STORAGE CAPACITY.—Any ex18 cess water storage capacity of the Fryingpan-Arkansas 

19 Project to divert, store, impound, pump, exchange, or con20 vey nonproject water made available under contracts shall 

21 not be used so as to increase diversion of nonproject water 

22 from the natural basin of the Colorado River within Colo23 rado into another river basin for delivery or storage un24 less— 


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1 (1) the diversion is the subject of a decree en2 tered before the date of the enactment of this Act 

3 for which no new infrastructure or legal approvals 

4 are necessary to divert the water out of the natural 

5 basin of the Colorado River; 

6 (2) the diversion is the subject of an agreement 

7 in existence on the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act, contemplating additional diversions diverted 

9 through or stored in the facilities studied by this 

10 Act, between the beneficiary of such transbasin di11 version and the water conservation district, as de12 fined under Colorado law, from within whose bound13 aries the waters are proposed for diversion; 

14 (3) the diversion is the subject of an intergov15 ernmental agreement or other contractual arrange16 ment executed after the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act, between the beneficiary of such transbasin 

18 diversion and the water conservation district, as de19 fined under Colorado law, from within whose bound20 aries the waters are proposed for diversion; or 

21 (4) the beneficiary of such transbasin diversion 

22 provides compensatory storage or alternate water 

23 supply in an amount equal to the quantity diverted 

24 out of the basin for the benefit of the water con25 servation district, as defined under Colorado law, 


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1 from within whose boundaries the waters are pro2 posed for diversion. 

3 (b) SUBMISSION OF AGREEMENTS REQUIRED.— 

4 Prior to executing any agreement or arrangement for pro5 vision of compensatory storage or alternative water supply 

6 that allows for increased diversions of nonproject water 

7 as described in subsection (a), the parties to such agree8 ments or arrangements shall submit the agreement or ar9 rangement to the Secretary of the Interior, who, within 

10 30 days, shall submit such agreement or arrangement to 

11 the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker 

12 of the House of Representatives for a period of not less 

13 than 60 days. 

14 (c) NO PRECEDENT.—This section shall not be con15 sidered as precedent for any other congressionally author16 ized project. 

17 SEC. 5. CONTRACTS WITH IN-BASIN ENTITIES. 

18 The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter 

19 into contracts with an entity, private or public, for the 

20 use of excess capacity in the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project 

21 for the purpose of diverting, storing, impounding, pump22 ing, exchanging, or conveying nonproject water for irriga23 tion, domestic, municipal and industrial, or any other benVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:55 Apr 05, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1833.IH H1833

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1 eficial purpose within the natural basin of the Arkansas 

2 River within Colorado. 

Æ 


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