I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1031

To direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to take certain actions to protect the White Bluffs, located

on the Columbia River in the State of Washington.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 9, 1999

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the

Bureau of Reclamation, to take certain actions to protect

the White Bluffs, located on the Columbia River in the

State of Washington.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘White Bluffs Protec5 tion Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) The White Bluffs, located on the Columbia

2 River from river mile 354 to river mile 376 in the

3 State of Washington, are a scenic example of pris4 tine landscapes that should be protected.

5 (2) The White Bluffs have been eroding at a

6 more rapid rate since the construction of the Colum7 bia Basin Project by the Bureau of Reclamation.

8 (3) Federal and local officials have identified

9 the erosive action of the Columbia River and return

10 flows associated with the Columbia Basin Project as

11 two of the factors contributing to the movement of

12 ancient landslide masses in the White Bluffs area.

13 (4) The movement of large landslide masses of

14 the White Bluffs may change the course of the Co15 lumbia River to some degree, damaging the opposite

16 south shore and degrading the quality of Columbia

17 River water by slide debris and aggradation of the

18 Columbia River channel downstream, both of which

19 could endanger salmon spawning grounds of the

20 Hanford Reach.

21 (5) The largest, closest source of Columbia

22 Basin Project water to the White Bluffs is the prod23 uct of two canal wasteways.

24 (6) These two canal wasteways can be modified

25 to reduce the standing water above the White Bluffs.
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1 SEC. 3. ACTIONS BY BUREAU OF RECLAMATION TO PRO2 TECT WHITE BLUFFS, WASHINGTON.

3 (a) WASTEWAY MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary of

4 the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation—

5 (1) may construct a channel for the Wahluke

6 Branch 10 Wasteway of the Columbia Basin Project,

7 that will effectively drain all standing water above

8 the White Bluffs within the Wahluke Slope Habitat

9 Management Area, Washington; and

10 (2) may take such steps as are necessary to

11 eliminate the White Bluffs Wasteway.

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the

14 Interior, to remain available until expended—

15 (1) $4,000,000 to carry out subsection (a)(1);

16 and

17 (2) $1,000,000 to carry out subsection (a)(2).

18 SEC. 4. STUDY OF THE WAHLUKE SLOPE.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior

21 shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy

22 of Sciences to conduct a study of the land use options for

23 the land owned by the Department of Energy within the

24 Hanford Reservation known as Wahluke Slope in the

25 State of Washington.
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1 (b) STUDY CONTENTS.—The study under subsection

2 (a) shall include the following:

3 (1) Examination of the potential environmental,

4 economic, and cultural impacts of various land use

5 options for the Wahluke Slope region, such as agri6 culture (including grazing, mining, and farming), in7 dustry, recreation, specific preservation, and use as

8 a buffer zone for the Department of Energy’s radio9 active waste management efforts.

10 (2) Review of existing land use plans, environ11 mental impact studies, and scientific and technical

12 literature.

13 (3) Convening of workshops, as necessary, to

14 assess the following impacts (positive or negative)

15 for each option:

16 (A) The impact on current water rights,

17 future water needs, and water management al18 ternatives.

19 (B) The impact on habitat and federally

20 protected species.

21 (C) The impact on the White Bluffs.

22 (D) The impact on the local economy.

23 (E) The Impact of existing archeological

24 resources.

25 (c) REPORT.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after

2 the date on which the Secretary of the Interior en3 ters into the agreement under subsection (a), the

4 National Academy of Sciences shall submit a report

5 concerning the study to the Committee on Resources

6 of the House of Representatives and the Committee

7 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.

8 (2) USE OF PREVIOUS STUDIES.—The report

9 under paragraph (1) may be based in part on, but

10 may not be limited to, the work and scope of pre11 vious studies, including any of the following:

12 (A) The Hanford Reach of the Columbia

13 River comprehensive conservation study and en14 vironmental impact statement.

15 (B) The Hanford Reach protection and

16 management program’s interim action plan.

17 (C) The study known as the ‘‘Red Zone’’

18 study.

19 (D) The Hanford remedial action and land

20 use.

21 (E) The Wahluke 2000 proposal.

22 (F) The Nature Conservancy biological in23 ventories.

24 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The report under para25 graph (1) shall set forth the findings, conclusions,
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1 and recommendations of the National Academy of

2 Sciences regarding future land use options, including

3 the need for any congressional action.

4 (d) SUSPENSION OF CHANGES IN MANAGEMENT OR

5 USE OF WAHLUKE SLOPE.—No change may be made in

6 the management or use of the Wahluke Slope before the

7 expiration of the one-year period beginning on the date

8 of the submission of the report under subsection (c).

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the

11 Interior $600,000 for the study under this section.

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