59–010 

Calendar No. 247 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–114 

TUMALO WATER CONSERVATION PROJECT ACT OF 2007 

JUNE 28, 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. 1037] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 1037) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to assist in the planning, design, and construction of the Tumalo 

Irrigation District Water Conservation Project in Deschutes County, Oregon, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 

without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 1037 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assist in the planning, design, and construction of the 

Tumalo Irrigation District Water Conservation Project in 

Deschutes County, Oregon. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Tumalo Irrigation District (TID or District), located near 

Bend, Oregon, serves 635 land owners on approximately 8,000 irrigated acres with over 80 miles of canals, laterals, and ditches. In 

March 2005, TID completed its Bend Feed Canal Project (authorized by P.L. 106–496) and now seeks to begin its larger Water Conservation Project (Project). The goals of the Project are to enhance 

the flows in the middle basin of the Deschutes River, a major tributary to the Columbia River in Oregon, between Lake Billy Chinook 

and the City of Bend, and to eliminate water loss, enhance public 

safety, and conserve energy. 

The project will pipe about 6 miles of open canals; enhance pressurized water to TID irrigators (in lieu of pumping systems) even 

in drought years; and provide in-stream flow benefits for Tumalo 


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Creek and the Deschutes River. Although historically productive 

for trout and anadromous fisheries, the Middle Deschutes River 

has recently experienced reduced seasonal flows as low as 30 cubic 

feet per second (cfs). TID’s goal for the Middle Deschutes basin is 

to achieve flows of 250 cfs, and the District estimates that the 

Project will provide 20 cfs in water savings for an in-stream transfer in Tumalo Creek and the Deschutes River. The total estimated 

cost associated with the Project is $16 million. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1037 was introduced on March 29, 2007 by Senator Smith for 

himself and Senator Wyden, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The Water and Power Subcommittee 

held a hearing on S. 1037 on April 25, 2007. At the business meeting on May 23, 2007, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1037 favorably reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business meeting on May 23, 2007, by voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1037. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title. 

Section 2 sets forth definitions. 

Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the Tumalo Irrigation District 

Water Conservation Project in Oregon, in cooperation with the District. 

Section 3(b) requires that the Federal share of the total cost of 

the Project be 25 percent, nonreimbursable to the United States, 

and credits toward the non-Federal share of the Project any 

amounts that the District provides toward the design, planning, 

and construction before the date of enactment of this Act. 

Section 3(c) requires that the District hold title to any facilities 

constructed under the Act. 

Section 3(d) requires that the District pay the operation and 

maintenance costs of the Project. 

Section 3(e) declares that any assistance provided under the Act 

shall not be considered to be a supplemental or additional benefit 

under Federal reclamation law. 

Section 4 authorizes $4,000,000 to be appropriated for the Federal share of the cost of the Project. 

Section 5 declares that the authority in the Act expires 10 years 

after the date of enactment. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: 


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JUNE 1, 2007. 

Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN, 

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. 1037, the Tumalo Water 

Conservation Project Act of 2007. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Tyler Kruzich. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG. 

Enclosure. 

S. 1037—Tumalo Water Conservation Project Act of 2007 

Summary: S. 1037 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the 

Tumalo Irrigation District Water Conservation Project in 

Deschutes County, Oregon. The bill would authorize the appropriation of $4 million for that purpose, and CBO estimates that implementing S. 1037 would cost $4 million over the 2008–2012 period. 

Enacting the bill would have no effect on direct spending or revenues. 

S. 1037 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA); 

any costs incurred by the Tumalo Irrigation District would result 

from complying with conditions of federal assistance. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1037 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources 

and environment). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Estimated Authorization Level ...................................................................... 1 1 1 1 0 

Estimated Outlays ......................................................................................... 1 1 1 1 0 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted before the start of fiscal year 2008 and that 

the authorized funding will be provided over the 2008–2011 period. 

S. 1037 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the Tumalo Irrigation District Water Conservation Project in Deschutes County, Oregon. Based on information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO 

expects that this work would be completed over four or five years. 

Under the legislation, the federal share of the cost of the project 

would be 25 percent, and federal funds would not be available for 

operation and maintenance of the project. Assuming appropriation 

of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the 

legislation would cost $4 million over the 2008–2012 period. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1037 contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. 

Any costs that the Tumalo Irrigation District might incur, includVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:10 Jun 30, 2007 Jkt 059010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR114.XXX SR114

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ing matching funds, would result from complying with conditions 

of federal assistance. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Tyler Kruzich; Impact on 

State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-Branum; Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz. 

Estimate 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. 1037. 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. 1037. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION

The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at the 

Subcommittee hearing on S. 1037 follows: 

STATEMENT OF ROBERT JOHNSON, COMMISSIONER, BUREAU

OF RECLAMATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

I am Robert Johnson, Commissioner of the Bureau of 

Reclamation. I appreciate the opportunity to provide the 

Department’s views on S. 1037, legislation to authorize the 

Secretary to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the Tumalo Irrigation District Water Conservation Project in Deschutes County, Oregon. The Department cannot support S. 1037. 

The Tumalo Irrigation District (District) and the facilities in question are not part of a Reclamation project. During the 1990’s the District did have a repayment contract 

for rehabilitation of Crescent Lake Dam. The District satisfied its repayment obligation to the United States in 

1998, and holds title to all project facilities. 

The Tumalo Irrigation District Water Conservation 

Project (Project) would convert approximately 6 miles of 

open canal in the District into a pipeline. It is Reclamation’s understanding that the Project, known locally as the 

Tumalo Feed Canal pipeline, would conserve up to 20 

cubic feet per second (cfs) of water for instream use. The 

Administration supports the objective of the District to 

conserve water and to improve instream flows while not 

diminishing the amount of water available for agricultural 

uses. Furthermore, we recognize the improvements made 

in S. 1037 over legislation introduced in the previous Congress. 

S. 1037 authorizes the Secretary to participate in the 

planning, design, and construction of the Project and provides authorization for $4.0 million to be appropriated for 


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the Federal share of the Project. Project sponsors anticipate the Federal share of the Project would be made in the 

form of a grant; however, the language in Section 3(a)(1) 

does not clearly give the Secretary such authority. 

Most importantly, the Department is concerned that use 

of Reclamation funds on non-Reclamation projects would 

adversely impact water projects which Congress has 

charged Reclamation with operating and maintaining. Reclamation activities are targeted to perform essential functions at Federal projects, such as security, operations and 

maintenance (O&M), resource management, dam safety, 

and construction. 

As conceived, the District’s water conservation project 

may be ideally suited to compete for funds within the Department of the Interior’s existing water conservation programs like the Water 2025 Program. Through such conservation programs, local entities develop innovative onthe-ground solutions to water supply problems with financial assistance from Reclamation. However, because of the 

reasons stated above, the Department cannot support the 

legislation. 

This 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. 1037, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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