II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1800 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a report 

on the efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation to manage its infrastructure 

assets. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 11, 2013 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a report on the efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation to manage its infrastructure assets. 

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 ‘‘Bureau of Reclamation 

5 Transparency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the water resources infrastructure of the 

9 Bureau of Reclamation provides important benefits 


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1 related to irrigated agriculture, hydropower, and 

2 recreation in the 17 Reclamation States; 

3 (2) as of 2013, the combined replacement value 

4 of the infrastructure assets of the Bureau of Rec5 lamation was $94,500,000,000; 

6 (3) the majority of the water resources infra7 structure facilities of the Bureau of Reclamation are 

8 at least 60 years old; 

9 (4) the Bureau of Reclamation has previously 

10 undertaken efforts to better manage the assets of 

11 the Bureau of Reclamation, including an annual re12 view of asset maintenance activities of the Bureau of 

13 Reclamation known as the ‘‘Asset Management 

14 Plan’’; and 

15 (5) actionable information on infrastructure 

16 conditions at the project level, including information 

17 on maintenance needs and potential public safety 

18 threats at individual projects due to aging infra19 structure, is needed for Congress to conduct over20 sight of Reclamation facilities and meet the needs of 

21 the public. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) ASSET MANAGEMENT REPORT.—The term 

25 ‘‘Asset Management Report’’ means— 


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1 (A) the annual plan prepared by the Bu2 reau of Reclamation known as the ‘‘Asset Man3 agement Plan’’; and 

4 (B) any publicly available information re5 lating to the plan described in subparagraph 

6 (A) that summarizes the efforts of the Bureau 

7 of Reclamation to evaluate and manage infra8 structure assets of the Bureau of Reclamation. 

9 (2) MAJOR REPAIR AND REHABILITATION

10 NEED.—The term ‘‘major repair and rehabilitation 

11 need’’ means a significant maintenance need at a 

12 Reclamation facility, including maintenance related 

13 to the safety of dams, extraordinary operations at 

14 and maintenance of dams, deferred maintenance, 

15 and all other significant repairs and extraordinary 

16 maintenance. 

17 (3) RECLAMATION FACILITY.—The term ‘‘Rec18 lamation facility’’ means each of the infrastructure 

19 assets that are owned by the Bureau of Reclamation 

20 at a Reclamation project. 

21 (4) RECLAMATION PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Rec22 lamation project’’ means a project that is owned by 

23 the Bureau of Reclamation, including all reserved 

24 works and transferred works owned by the Bureau 

25 of Reclamation. 


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1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 SEC. 4. ASSET MANAGEMENT REPORT ENHANCEMENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

6 to Congress a report that— 

7 (1) describes the efforts of the Bureau of Rec8 lamation— 

9 (A) to manage all Reclamation facilities; 

10 and 

11 (B) to standardize and streamline data re12 porting and processes across regions and areas 

13 for the purpose of managing Reclamation facili14 ties; and 

15 (2) expands on the information otherwise pro16 vided in Asset Management Reports, in accordance 

17 with subsection (b). 

18 (b) INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE NEEDS AS19 SESSMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report submitted under 

21 subsection (a) shall include— 

22 (A) a detailed assessment of major repair 

23 and rehabilitation needs at all Reclamation 

24 projects; and 


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1 (B) to the extent practicable, an itemized 

2 list of major repair and rehabilitation needs of 

3 individual Reclamation facilities at each Rec4 lamation project. 

5 (2) INCLUSIONS.—To the extent practicable, 

6 the itemized list of major repair and rehabilitation 

7 needs under paragraph (1)(B) shall include— 

8 (A) a cost estimate of the expenditures 

9 needed to complete each item; and 

10 (B) an assignment of a categorical rating 

11 of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 for each item, consistent with 

12 paragraph (3). 

13 (3) RATING REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The system for assign15 ing ratings under paragraph (2)(B) shall be— 

16 (i) consistent with existing uniform 

17 categorization systems for the safety of 

18 dams projects; and 

19 (ii) subject to any regulations issued 

20 under subparagraph (B). 

21 (B) REGULATIONS.—As soon as prac22 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

23 the Secretary shall issue regulations that de24 scribe the applicability of the rating system apVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:35 Dec 14, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1800.IS S1800

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1 plicable under paragraph (2)(B) to Reclamation 

2 facilities. 

3 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Except as provided 

4 in paragraph (5), the Secretary shall make publically 

5 available, including on the Internet, the report re6 quired under subsection (a). 

7 (5) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Subject to the discre8 tion of the Secretary, the Secretary may exclude 

9 from the public version of the report made available 

10 under paragraph (4) any information that the Sec11 retary identifies as sensitive or classified, but shall 

12 make available to the Committee on Energy and 

13 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

14 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa15 tives a version of the report containing the sensitive 

16 or classified information. 

17 (c) UPDATES.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

18 on which the report is submitted under subsection (a) and 

19 biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall update the re20 port, subject to the requirements of subsection (b). 

21 (d) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

22 with the Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief 

23 of Engineers) to the extent that the consultation would 


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1 assist the Secretary in preparing the report under sub2 section (a) and updates to the report under subsection (c). 

Æ 


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