II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1771 

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to adjust the Crooked River 

boundary, to provide water certainty for the City of Prineville, Oregon, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2013 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to adjust the 

Crooked River boundary, to provide water certainty for 

the City of Prineville, Oregon, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crooked River Collabo5 rative Water Security Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER; CROOKED, OREGON. 

7 Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 

8 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (72) 

9 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(72) CROOKED, OREGON.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The 14.75-mile seg3 ment from the National Grassland boundary to 

4 Dry Creek, to be administered by the Secretary 

5 of the Interior in the following classes: 

6 ‘‘(i) The 7-mile segment from the Na7 tional Grassland boundary to River Mile 8 

8 south of Opal Spring, as a recreational 

9 river. 

10 ‘‘(ii) The 7.75-mile segment from a 

point 1 11 ⁄4-mile downstream from the center 

12 crest of Bowman Dam, as a recreational 

13 river. 

14 ‘‘(B) HYDROPOWER.—In any license appli15 cation relating to hydropower development (in16 cluding turbines and appurtenant facilities) at 

17 Bowman Dam, the applicant, in consultation 

18 with the Director of the Bureau of Land Man19 agement, shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) analyze any impacts to the scenic, 

21 recreational, and fishery resource values of 

22 the Crooked River from the center crest of 

Bowman Dam to a point 1 23 ⁄4-mile down24 stream that may be caused by the pro25 posed hydropower development, including 


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1 the future need to undertake routine and 

2 emergency repairs; 

3 ‘‘(ii) propose measures to minimize 

4 and mitigate any impacts analyzed under 

5 clause (i); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) propose designs and measures to 

7 ensure that any access facilities associated 

8 with hydropower development at Bowman 

9 Dam shall not impede the free-flowing na10 ture of the Crooked River below Bowman 

11 Dam.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. CITY OF PRINEVILLE WATER SUPPLY. 

13 Section 4 of the Act of August 6, 1956 (70 Stat. 

14 1058; 73 Stat. 554; 78 Stat. 954), is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘during those months’’ and all 

16 that follows through ‘‘purpose of the project’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘With18 out further action by the Secretary of the Interior, 

19 beginning on the date of enactment of the Crooked 

20 River Collaborative Water Security Act of 2013, 

21 5,100 acre-feet of water shall be annually released 

22 from the project to serve as mitigation for City of 

23 Prineville groundwater pumping, pursuant to and in 

24 a manner consistent with Oregon State law, includ25 ing any shaping of the release of the water. The City 


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1 of Prineville shall make payments to the Secretary 

2 for the water, in accordance with applicable Bureau 

3 of Reclamation policies, directives, and standards. 

4 Consistent with the National Environmental Policy 

5 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endan6 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

7 and other applicable Federal laws, the Secretary 

8 may contract exclusively with the City of Prineville 

9 for additional quantities of water, at the request of 

10 the City of Prineville.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

12 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize construction 

13 by the Secretary of the Interior of the Crooked River Fed14 eral reclamation project, Oregon’’, approved August 6, 

15 1956 (70 Stat. 1058; chapter 980; 73 Stat. 554; 78 Stat. 

16 954), is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 6. FIRST FILL STORAGE AND RELEASE. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Other than the 10 cubic feet per 

19 second release provided for in section 4, and subject to 

20 compliance with the flood curve requirements of the Corps 

21 of Engineers, the Secretary shall, on a ‘first fill’ priority 

22 basis, store in and when called for in any year release from 

23 Prineville Reservoir, whether from carryover, infill, or a 

24 combination of both, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) 68,273 acre-feet of water annually to fulfill 

2 all 16 Bureau of Reclamation contracts existing as 

3 of January 1, 2011. 

4 ‘‘(2) Not more than 2,740 acre-feet of water 

5 annually to supply the McKay Creek land, in accord6 ance with section 5 of the Crooked River Collabo7 rative Water Security Act of 2013. 

8 ‘‘(3) 10,000 acre-feet of water annually, to be 

9 made available first to the North Unit Irrigation 

10 District, and subsequently to any other holders of 

11 Reclamation contracts existing as of January 1, 

12 2011 (in that order), pursuant to Temporary Water 

13 Service Contracts, on the request of the North Unit 

14 Irrigation District or the contract holders, consistent 

15 with the same terms and conditions as prior such 

16 contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and 

17 District or contract holders, as applicable. 

18 ‘‘(4) 5,100 acre-feet of water annually to miti19 gate the City of Prineville groundwater pumping 

20 under section 4, with the release of this water to 

21 occur not based on an annual call, but instead pur22 suant to section 4 and the release schedule developed 

23 pursuant to section 7(c). 

24 ‘‘(b) CARRYOVER.—Except for water that may be 

25 called for and released after the end of the irrigation seaVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:17 Nov 27, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1771.IS S1771

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1 son (either as City of Prineville groundwater pumping 

2 mitigation or as a voluntary release, in accordance with 

3 section 4 of this Act and section 6(c) of the Crooked River 

4 Collaborative Water Security Act of 2013, respectively), 

5 any water stored under this section that is not called for 

6 and released by the end of the irrigation season in a given 

7 year shall be— 

8 ‘‘(1) carried over to the subsequent water year, 

9 which, for accounting purposes, shall be considered 

10 to be the 1-year period beginning October 1 and 

11 ending September 30, consistent with Oregon State 

12 law; and 

13 ‘‘(2) accounted for as part of the ‘first fill’ stor14 age quantities of the subsequent water year, but not 

15 to exceed the maximum ‘first fill’ storage quantities 

16 described in subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘SEC. 7. STORAGE AND RELEASE OF REMAINING STORED 

18 WATER QUANTITIES. 

19 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Other than the quantities 

21 provided for in section 4 and the ‘first fill’ quantities 

22 provided for in section 6, and subject to compliance 

23 with the flood curve requirements of the Corps of 

24 Engineers, the Secretary shall store in and release 

25 from Prineville Reservoir all remaining stored water 


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1 quantities for the benefit of downstream fish and 

2 wildlife. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall re4 lease the remaining stored water quantities under 

5 paragraph (1) consistent with subsection (c). 

6 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE LAW.—If a consultation under the 

7 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

8 or an order of a court in a proceeding under that Act re9 quires releases of stored water from Prineville Reservoir 

10 for fish and wildlife downstream of Bowman Dam, the 

11 Secretary shall use uncontracted stored water. 

12 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL RELEASE SCHEDULE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Rec14 lamation shall develop annual release schedules for 

15 the remaining stored water quantities in subsection 

16 (a) and the water serving as mitigation for City of 

17 Prineville groundwater pumping pursuant to section 

18 4. 

19 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE.—To the maximum extent 

20 practicable and unless otherwise prohibited by law, 

21 the Commissioner of Reclamation shall develop and 

22 implement the annual release schedules consistent 

23 with the guidance provided by the Confederated 

24 Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon 

25 and the State of Oregon to maximize biological benVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:17 Nov 27, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1771.IS S1771

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1 efit for downstream fish and wildlife, after taking 

2 into consideration multiyear water needs of down3 stream fish and wildlife. 

4 ‘‘(3) COMMENTS FROM FEDERAL FISH MANAGE5 MENT AGENCIES.—The National Marine Fisheries 

6 Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife 

7 Service shall have the opportunity to provide advice 

8 with respect to, and comment on, the annual release 

9 schedule developed by the Commissioner of Reclama10 tion under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED COORDINATION.—The Commissioner 

12 of Reclamation shall perform traditional and routine ac13 tivities in a manner that coordinates with the efforts of 

14 the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation 

15 of Oregon and the State of Oregon to monitor and request 

16 adjustments to releases for downstream fish and wildlife 

17 on an in-season basis as the Confederated Tribes of the 

18 Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and the State of Or19 egon determine downstream fish and wildlife needs re20 quire. 

21 ‘‘(e) CARRYOVER.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any water stored under 

23 subsection (a) in 1 water year that is not released 

24 during the water year— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall be carried over to the subse2 quent water year; and 

3 ‘‘(B)(i) may be released for downstream 

4 fish and wildlife resources, consistent with sub5 sections (c) and (d), until the reservoir reaches 

6 maximum capacity in the subsequent water 

7 year; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) once the reservoir reaches maximum 

9 capacity under clause (i), shall be credited to 

10 the ‘first fill’ storage quantities, but not to ex11 ceed the maximum ‘first fill’ storage quantities 

12 described in section 6(a). 

13 ‘‘(f) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects the au14 thority of the Commissioner of Reclamation to perform all 

15 other traditional and routine activities of the Commis16 sioner of Reclamation. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 8. RESERVOIR LEVELS. 

18 ‘‘The Commissioner of Reclamation shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) project reservoir water levels over the 

20 course of the year; and 

21 ‘‘(2) make the projections under paragraph (1) 

22 available to— 

23 ‘‘(A) the public (including fisheries groups, 

24 recreation interests, and municipal and irriga25 tion stakeholders); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Director of the National Marine 

2 Fisheries Service; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the Director of the United States 

4 Fish and Wildlife Service. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 9. EFFECT. 

6 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this Act, nothing 

7 in this Act— 

8 ‘‘(1) modifies contractual rights that may exist 

9 between contractors and the United States under 

10 Reclamation contracts; 

11 ‘‘(2) amends or reopens contracts referred to in 

12 paragraph (1); or 

13 ‘‘(3) modifies any rights, obligations, or require14 ments that may be provided or governed by Federal 

15 or Oregon State law.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. OCHOCO IRRIGATION DISTRICT. 

17 (a) EARLY REPAYMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 213 

19 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 

20 390mm), any landowner within Ochoco Irrigation 

21 District, Oregon (referred to in this section as the 

22 ‘‘district’’), may repay, at any time, the construction 

23 costs of the project facilities allocated to the land of 

24 the landowner within the district. 


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1 (2) EXEMPTION FROM LIMITATIONS.—Upon 

2 discharge, in full, of the obligation for repayment of 

3 the construction costs allocated to all land of the 

4 landowner in the district, the land shall not be sub5 ject to the ownership and full-cost pricing limitations 

6 of Federal reclamation law (the Act of June 17, 

7 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and Acts supple8 mental to and amendatory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 

9 371 et seq.)). 

10 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Upon the request of a land11 owner who has repaid, in full, the construction costs of 

12 the project facilities allocated to the land of the landowner 

13 within the district, the Secretary of the Interior shall pro14 vide the certification described in section 213(b)(1) of the 

15 Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 

16 390mm(b)(1)). 

17 (c) CONTRACT AMENDMENT.—On approval of the 

18 district directors and notwithstanding project authorizing 

19 authority to the contrary, the Reclamation contracts of the 

20 district are modified, without further action by the Sec21 retary of the Interior— 

22 (1) to authorize the use of water for instream 

23 purposes, including fish or wildlife purposes, in order 

24 for the district to engage in, or take advantage of, 


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1 conserved water projects and temporary instream 

2 leasing as authorized by Oregon State law; 

3 (2) to include within the district boundary ap4 proximately 2,742 acres in the vicinity of McKay 

5 Creek, resulting in a total of approximately 44,937 

6 acres within the district boundary; 

7 (3) to classify as irrigable approximately 685 

8 acres within the approximately 2,742 acres of in9 cluded land in the vicinity of McKay Creek, with 

10 those approximately 685 acres authorized to receive 

11 irrigation water pursuant to water rights issued by 

12 the State of Oregon if the acres have in the past re13 ceived water pursuant to State water rights; and 

14 (4) to provide the district with stored water 

15 from Prineville Reservoir for purposes of supplying 

16 up to the approximately 685 acres of land added 

17 within the district boundary and classified as irri18 gable under paragraphs (2) and (3), with the stored 

19 water to be supplied on an acre-per-acre basis con20 tingent on the transfer of existing appurtenant 

21 McKay Creek water rights to instream use and the 

22 issuance of water rights by the State of Oregon for 

23 the use of stored water. 

24 (d) LIMITATION.—Except as otherwise provided in 

25 subsections (a) and (c), nothing in this section— 


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1 (1) modifies contractual rights that may exist 

2 between the district and the United States under the 

3 Reclamation contracts of the district; 

4 (2) amends or reopens the contracts referred to 

5 in paragraph (1); or 

6 (3) modifies any rights, obligations, or relation7 ships that may exist between the district and any 

8 owner of land within the district, as may be provided 

9 or governed by Federal or Oregon State law. 

10 SEC. 6. DRY-YEAR MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND VOL11 UNTARY RELEASES. 

12 (a) PARTICIPATION IN DRY-YEAR MANAGEMENT

13 PLANNING MEETINGS.—The Bureau of Reclamation shall 

14 participate in dry-year management planning meetings 

15 with the State of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the 

16 Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, municipal, agricul17 tural, conservation, recreation, and other interested stake18 holders to plan for dry-year conditions. 

19 (b) DRY-YEAR MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Bureau of 

22 Reclamation shall develop a dry-year management 

23 plan in coordination with the participants referred to 

24 in subsection (a). 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan developed 

2 under paragraph (1) shall only recommend strate3 gies, measures, and actions that the irrigation dis4 tricts and other Bureau of Reclamation contract 

5 holders voluntarily agree to implement. 

6 (3) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in the plan devel7 oped under paragraph (1) shall be mandatory or 

8 self-implementing. 

9 (c) VOLUNTARY RELEASE.—In any year, if North 

10 Unit Irrigation District or other eligible Bureau of Rec11 lamation contract holders have not initiated contracting 

12 with the Bureau of Reclamation for any quantity of the 

13 10,000 acre feet of water described in subsection (a)(3) 

14 of section 6 of the Act of August 6, 1956 (70 Stat. 1058) 

15 (as added by section 4), by June 1 of any calendar year, 

16 with the voluntary agreement of North Unit Irrigation 

17 District and other Bureau of Reclamation contract holders 

18 referred to in that paragraph, the Secretary may release 

19 that quantity of water for the benefit of downstream fish 

20 and wildlife as described in section 7 of that Act. 

21 SEC. 7. RELATION TO EXISTING LAWS AND STATUTORY OB22 LIGATIONS. 

23 Nothing in this Act (or an amendment made by this 

24 Act)— 


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1 (1) provides to the Secretary the authority to 

2 store and release the ‘‘first fill’’ quantities provided 

3 for in section 6 of the Act of August 6, 1956 (70 

4 Stat. 1058) (as added by section 4), for any pur5 poses other than the purposes provided for in that 

6 section, except for— 

7 (A) the potential instream use resulting 

8 from conserved water projects and temporary 

9 instream leasing as provided for in section 

10 5(c)(1); 

11 (B) the potential release of additional 

12 amounts that may result from voluntary actions 

13 agreed to through the dry-year management 

14 plan developed under section 6(b); and 

15 (C) the potential release of the 10,000 acre 

16 feet for downstream fish and wildlife as pro17 vided for in section 6(c); 

18 (2) alters any responsibilities under Oregon 

19 State law or Federal law, including section 7 of the 

20 Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536); or 

21 (3) alters the authorized purposes of the Crook22 ed River Project provided in the first section of the 

23 Act of August 6, 1956 (70 Stat. 1058; 73 Stat. 554; 

24 78 Stat. 954). 

Æ 


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