19–006

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ! 1st Session 108–259

AMENDING THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 

1998 TO EXTEND CERTAIN CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION AND CERTAIN IRRIGATION WATER CONTRACTORS IN THE 

STATES OF WYOMING AND NEBRASKA 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2003.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. POMBO, from the Committee on Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2040] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 2040) to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act 

of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in the States of Wyoming and Nebraska, having considered the same, report favorably 

thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 2040 is to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the 

Bureau of Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in 

the States of Wyoming and Nebraska. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Glendo Dam, part of the integrated Glendo Unit on the Platte 

River, was authorized in 1944 as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri 

Basin Program. Construction was completed in 1958. The multipurpose Glendo Dam provides water for irrigation, hydropower generation, flood control and recreation. Under the North Platte Supreme Court decree, up to 25,000 acre-feet water are available to 

Nebraska irrigation districts and 15,000 acre-feet to Wyoming irrigation districts. 

Glendo Dam is one of seven Bureau of Reclamation facilities currently being evaluated under a cooperative agreement signed in 

July 1997 between the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado 

and the Department of the Interior. The agreement is a framework 

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for a joint, basin-wide research effort to improve the habitat of four 

threatened and endangered species (the whooping crane, interior 

least tern, piping plover and the pallid sturgeon) in the central 

Platte River. The original term of the agreement was three years, 

or until June 30, 2000. However, a number of factors—including 

continuing research on current milestones and the creation of tasks 

for new milestones—have led to a three-year extension of the 

agreement, which expired on June 30, 2003. The four parties have 

agreed to extend the agreement in an attempt to finish the forthcoming Platte River Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and 

Record of Decision (ROD) required under the National Environmental Policy Act expected to be completed in 2005. 

While the agreement process continues, nine Glendo water contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation have been up for renewal. 

Since future contracts will probably have to be modified as a result 

of additional water needs for endangered species habitat recovery 

programs set forth in the EIS and subsequent ROD, the irrigators 

are reluctant to enter into new contracts without a clear water use 

and delivery roadmap set forth in the EIS. This uncertainty has led 

Congress to extend the current Glendo contracts in 1998 (Public 

Law 105–293) and 2000 (Public Law 106–377). H.R. 2040 would 

continue these Congressional actions by extending current Glendo 

contracts through December 31, 2005, when agreement parties believe habitat recovery plans will be completed. The contract extension in this bill will give Glendo irrigators time to renegotiate current contracts once the agreement is completed. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2040 was introduced by Congressman Tom Osborne (R–NE) 

on May 8, 2003. The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the Committee the Subcommittee on Water 

and Power. On June 24, 2003, the Subcommittee held a hearing on 

the bill. On July 9, 2003, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were 

offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 

Representatives by unanimous consent. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION

Section 1. Extension of Certain Irrigation Project Contracts 

This section provides for the extension of certain contracts (eight 

water service contracts and one repayment contract) through December 31, 2005, between the Bureau of Reclamation and irrigation 

water contractors in Wyoming and Nebraska that receive water 

from Glendo Reservoir. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in 

the body of this report. 

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CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States 

grants Congress the authority to enact this bill. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII 

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule 

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 

308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not 

contain any new budget authority, credit authority, or an increase 

or decrease in tax expenditures. According to the Congressional 

Budget Office, enactment of this bill would result in a loss of offsetting receipts (less than $500,000) but it would match a reduction 

in spending. Therefore, enactment of H.R. 2040 ‘‘would have no significant impact on the federal budget.’’

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does not 

authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the 

Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply. 

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 29, 2003. 

Hon. RICHARD POMBO, 

Chairman, Committee on Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2040, a bill to amend the 

Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to extend certain 

contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and certain irrigation 

water contractors in the states of Wyoming and Nebraska. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact for federal costs is Julie 

Middleton. The contact for the impact on state and local governments is Marjorie Miller. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, Director. 

Enclosure. 

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H.R. 2040—A bill to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the Bureau 

of Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in the 

states of Wyoming and Nebraska 

H.R. 2040 would extend—for up to two years—contracts between 

the Bureau of Reclamation and purchasers of irrigation water in 

Wyoming and Nebraska that receive water from the Glendo Reservoir. The existing contracts will expire on December 31, 2003; 

however, the Secretary of the Interior has the authority under current law to renew these contracts on an annual basis. Such annual 

renewals require the Secretary to prepare an environmental impact 

statement and carry out mitigation efforts. Under H.R. 2040, the 

bureau would avoid the costs associated with annual renewals. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2040 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Based on information provided 

by the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 

2040 would allow the bureau to avoid costs of less than $500,000 

in 2004 and smaller amounts in future years. Those costs are subject to the availability of appropriated funds, but the agency is reimbursed by individuals contracting for water and the reimbursements are deposited in the Treasury as offsetting receipts (a form 

of direct spending). The potential loss of offsetting receipts would 

match the potential reduction in spending subject to appropriation, 

and we estimate that both would be insignificant. 

H.R. 2040 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. Enacting this 

bill would benefit the contractors affected by this bill, which are 

generally governmental entities, because it would allow them to 

avoid the costs of annual renewals. 

The CBO staff contact for federal costs is Julie Middleton. The 

contact for the impact on state and local governments is Marjorie 

Miller. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

SECTION 2 OF THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT 

EXTENSION ACT OF 1998

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF CONTRACTS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall extend each 

of the water service or repayment contracts for the Glendo Unit of 

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the Missouri River Basin Project identified in subsection (c) until 

øDecember 31, 2003¿ December 31, 2005. (b) EXTENSIONS COTERMINOUS WITH COOPERATIVE

AGREEMENT.—If the cooperative agreement entitled ‘‘Cooperative 

Agreement for Platte River Research and other Efforts Relating to 

Endangered Species Habitats Along the Central Platte River, Nebraska’’, entered into by the Governors of the States of Wyoming, 

Nebraska, and Colorado and the Secretary of the Interior, is extended for a term beyond December 31, 2000, the contracts identified in subsection (c) shall be extended for the same term, but not 

to go øbeyond December 31, 2003¿ beyond December 31, 2005. If 

the cooperative agreement terminates øprior to December 31, 

2003¿ before December 31, 2005, the contracts identified in subsection (c) shall be subject to renewal on the date that the cooperative agreement terminates. 

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