II 

Calendar No. 512 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1771 

[Report No. 113–225] 

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 

JULY 31, 2014 

Reported by Ms. LANDRIEU, without amendment 

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’’. 


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

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

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

4 and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(72) CROOKED, OREGON.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The 14.75-mile seg7 ment from the National Grassland boundary to 

8 Dry Creek, to be administered by the Secretary 

9 of the Interior in the following classes: 

10 ‘‘(i) The 7-mile segment from the Na11 tional Grassland boundary to River Mile 8 

12 south of Opal Spring, as a recreational 

13 river. 

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

point 1 15 ⁄4-mile downstream from the center 

16 crest of Bowman Dam, as a recreational 

17 river. 

18 ‘‘(B) HYDROPOWER.—In any license appli19 cation relating to hydropower development (in20 cluding turbines and appurtenant facilities) at 

21 Bowman Dam, the applicant, in consultation 

22 with the Director of the Bureau of Land Man23 agement, shall— 

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

25 recreational, and fishery resource values of 

26 the Crooked River from the center crest of 


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Bowman Dam to a point 1 1 ⁄4-mile down2 stream that may be caused by the pro3 posed hydropower development, including 

4 the future need to undertake routine and 

5 emergency repairs; 

6 ‘‘(ii) propose measures to minimize 

7 and mitigate any impacts analyzed under 

8 clause (i); and 

9 ‘‘(iii) propose designs and measures to 

10 ensure that any access facilities associated 

11 with hydropower development at Bowman 

12 Dam shall not impede the free-flowing na13 ture of the Crooked River below Bowman 

14 Dam.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. CITY OF PRINEVILLE WATER SUPPLY. 

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

17 1058; 73 Stat. 554; 78 Stat. 954), is amended— 

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

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

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘With21 out further action by the Secretary of the Interior, 

22 beginning on the date of enactment of the Crooked 

23 River Collaborative Water Security Act of 2013, 

24 5,100 acre-feet of water shall be annually released 

25 from the project to serve as mitigation for City of 


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1 Prineville groundwater pumping, pursuant to and in 

2 a manner consistent with Oregon State law, includ3 ing any shaping of the release of the water. The City 

4 of Prineville shall make payments to the Secretary 

5 for the water, in accordance with applicable Bureau 

6 of Reclamation policies, directives, and standards. 

7 Consistent with the National Environmental Policy 

8 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endan9 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

10 and other applicable Federal laws, the Secretary 

11 may contract exclusively with the City of Prineville 

12 for additional quantities of water, at the request of 

13 the City of Prineville.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

15 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize construction 

16 by the Secretary of the Interior of the Crooked River Fed17 eral reclamation project, Oregon’’, approved August 6, 

18 1956 (70 Stat. 1058; chapter 980; 73 Stat. 554; 78 Stat. 

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

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

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

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

23 compliance with the flood curve requirements of the Corps 

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

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


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

2 combination of both, the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) 68,273 acre-feet of water annually to fulfill 

4 all 16 Bureau of Reclamation contracts existing as 

5 of January 1, 2011. 

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

7 annually to supply the McKay Creek land, in accord8 ance with section 5 of the Crooked River Collabo9 rative Water Security Act of 2013. 

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

11 made available first to the North Unit Irrigation 

12 District, and subsequently to any other holders of 

13 Reclamation contracts existing as of January 1, 

14 2011 (in that order), pursuant to Temporary Water 

15 Service Contracts, on the request of the North Unit 

16 Irrigation District or the contract holders, consistent 

17 with the same terms and conditions as prior such 

18 contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and 

19 District or contract holders, as applicable. 

20 ‘‘(4) 5,100 acre-feet of water annually to miti21 gate the City of Prineville groundwater pumping 

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

23 occur not based on an annual call, but instead pur24 suant to section 4 and the release schedule developed 

25 pursuant to section 7(c). 


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

2 called for and released after the end of the irrigation sea3 son (either as City of Prineville groundwater pumping 

4 mitigation or as a voluntary release, in accordance with 

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

6 Collaborative Water Security Act of 2013, respectively), 

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

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

9 year shall be— 

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

11 which, for accounting purposes, shall be considered 

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

13 ending September 30, consistent with Oregon State 

14 law; and 

15 ‘‘(2) accounted for as part of the ‘first fill’ stor16 age quantities of the subsequent water year, but not 

17 to exceed the maximum ‘first fill’ storage quantities 

18 described in subsection (a). 

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

20 WATER QUANTITIES. 

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

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

24 provided for in section 6, and subject to compliance 

25 with the flood curve requirements of the Corps of 


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1 Engineers, the Secretary shall store in and release 

2 from Prineville Reservoir all remaining stored water 

3 quantities for the benefit of downstream fish and 

4 wildlife. 

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall re6 lease the remaining stored water quantities under 

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

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

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

10 or an order of a court in a proceeding under that Act re11 quires releases of stored water from Prineville Reservoir 

12 for fish and wildlife downstream of Bowman Dam, the 

13 Secretary shall use uncontracted stored water. 

14 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL RELEASE SCHEDULE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Rec16 lamation shall develop annual release schedules for 

17 the remaining stored water quantities in subsection 

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

19 Prineville groundwater pumping pursuant to section 

20 4. 

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

22 practicable and unless otherwise prohibited by law, 

23 the Commissioner of Reclamation shall develop and 

24 implement the annual release schedules consistent 

25 with the guidance provided by the Confederated 


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1 Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon 

2 and the State of Oregon to maximize biological ben3 efit for downstream fish and wildlife, after taking 

4 into consideration multiyear water needs of down5 stream fish and wildlife. 

6 ‘‘(3) COMMENTS FROM FEDERAL FISH MANAGE7 MENT AGENCIES.—The National Marine Fisheries 

8 Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife 

9 Service shall have the opportunity to provide advice 

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

11 schedule developed by the Commissioner of Reclama12 tion under this subsection. 

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

14 of Reclamation shall perform traditional and routine ac15 tivities in a manner that coordinates with the efforts of 

16 the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation 

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

18 adjustments to releases for downstream fish and wildlife 

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

20 Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and the State of Or21 egon determine downstream fish and wildlife needs re22 quire. 

23 ‘‘(e) CARRYOVER.— 


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

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

3 during the water year— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall be carried over to the subse5 quent water year; and 

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

7 fish and wildlife resources, consistent with sub8 sections (c) and (d), until the reservoir reaches 

9 maximum capacity in the subsequent water 

10 year; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) once the reservoir reaches maximum 

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

13 the ‘first fill’ storage quantities, but not to ex14 ceed the maximum ‘first fill’ storage quantities 

15 described in section 6(a). 

16 ‘‘(f) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects the au17 thority of the Commissioner of Reclamation to perform all 

18 other traditional and routine activities of the Commis19 sioner of Reclamation. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 8. RESERVOIR LEVELS. 

21 ‘‘The Commissioner of Reclamation shall— 

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

23 course of the year; and 

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

25 available to— 


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

2 recreation interests, and municipal and irriga3 tion stakeholders); 

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

5 Fisheries Service; and 

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

7 Fish and Wildlife Service. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 9. EFFECT. 

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

10 in this Act— 

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

12 between contractors and the United States under 

13 Reclamation contracts; 

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

15 paragraph (1); or 

16 ‘‘(3) modifies any rights, obligations, or require17 ments that may be provided or governed by Federal 

18 or Oregon State law.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. OCHOCO IRRIGATION DISTRICT. 

20 (a) EARLY REPAYMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 213 

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

23 390mm), any landowner within Ochoco Irrigation 

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

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


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1 costs of the project facilities allocated to the land of 

2 the landowner within the district. 

3 (2) EXEMPTION FROM LIMITATIONS.—Upon 

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

5 the construction costs allocated to all land of the 

6 landowner in the district, the land shall not be sub7 ject to the ownership and full-cost pricing limitations 

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

9 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and Acts supple10 mental to and amendatory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 

11 371 et seq.)). 

12 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Upon the request of a land13 owner who has repaid, in full, the construction costs of 

14 the project facilities allocated to the land of the landowner 

15 within the district, the Secretary of the Interior shall pro16 vide the certification described in section 213(b)(1) of the 

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

18 390mm(b)(1)). 

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

20 district directors and notwithstanding project authorizing 

21 authority to the contrary, the Reclamation contracts of the 

22 district are modified, without further action by the Sec23 retary of the Interior— 

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

25 purposes, including fish or wildlife purposes, in order 


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

2 conserved water projects and temporary instream 

3 leasing as authorized by Oregon State law; 

4 (2) to include within the district boundary ap5 proximately 2,742 acres in the vicinity of McKay 

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

7 acres within the district boundary; 

8 (3) to classify as irrigable approximately 685 

9 acres within the approximately 2,742 acres of in10 cluded land in the vicinity of McKay Creek, with 

11 those approximately 685 acres authorized to receive 

12 irrigation water pursuant to water rights issued by 

13 the State of Oregon if the acres have in the past re14 ceived water pursuant to State water rights; and 

15 (4) to provide the district with stored water 

16 from Prineville Reservoir for purposes of supplying 

17 up to the approximately 685 acres of land added 

18 within the district boundary and classified as irri19 gable under paragraphs (2) and (3), with the stored 

20 water to be supplied on an acre-per-acre basis con21 tingent on the transfer of existing appurtenant 

22 McKay Creek water rights to instream use and the 

23 issuance of water rights by the State of Oregon for 

24 the use of stored water. 


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

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

3 (1) modifies contractual rights that may exist 

4 between the district and the United States under the 

5 Reclamation contracts of the district; 

6 (2) amends or reopens the contracts referred to 

7 in paragraph (1); or 

8 (3) modifies any rights, obligations, or relation9 ships that may exist between the district and any 

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

11 or governed by Federal or Oregon State law. 

12 SEC. 6. DRY-YEAR MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND VOL13 UNTARY RELEASES. 

14 (a) PARTICIPATION IN DRY-YEAR MANAGEMENT

15 PLANNING MEETINGS.—The Bureau of Reclamation shall 

16 participate in dry-year management planning meetings 

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

18 Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, municipal, agricul19 tural, conservation, recreation, and other interested stake20 holders to plan for dry-year conditions. 

21 (b) DRY-YEAR MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

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

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

24 Reclamation shall develop a dry-year management 


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1 plan in coordination with the participants referred to 

2 in subsection (a). 

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan developed 

4 under paragraph (1) shall only recommend strate5 gies, measures, and actions that the irrigation dis6 tricts and other Bureau of Reclamation contract 

7 holders voluntarily agree to implement. 

8 (3) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in the plan devel9 oped under paragraph (1) shall be mandatory or 

10 self-implementing. 

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

12 Unit Irrigation District or other eligible Bureau of Rec13 lamation contract holders have not initiated contracting 

14 with the Bureau of Reclamation for any quantity of the 

15 10,000 acre feet of water described in subsection (a)(3) 

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

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

18 with the voluntary agreement of North Unit Irrigation 

19 District and other Bureau of Reclamation contract holders 

20 referred to in that paragraph, the Secretary may release 

21 that quantity of water for the benefit of downstream fish 

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


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1 SEC. 7. RELATION TO EXISTING LAWS AND STATUTORY OB2 LIGATIONS. 

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

4 Act)— 

5 (1) provides to the Secretary the authority to 

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

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

8 Stat. 1058) (as added by section 4), for any pur9 poses other than the purposes provided for in that 

10 section, except for— 

11 (A) the potential instream use resulting 

12 from conserved water projects and temporary 

13 instream leasing as provided for in section 

14 5(c)(1); 

15 (B) the potential release of additional 

16 amounts that may result from voluntary actions 

17 agreed to through the dry-year management 

18 plan developed under section 6(b); and 

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

20 feet for downstream fish and wildlife as pro21 vided for in section 6(c); 

22 (2) alters any responsibilities under Oregon 

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

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

25 (3) alters the authorized purposes of the Crook26 ed River Project provided in the first section of the 


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

2 78 Stat. 954). 


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Calendar No. 512 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1771 

[Report No. 113–225] 

A BILL 

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to adjust 

for other purposes. certainty for the City of Prineville, Oregon, and the Crooked River boundary, to provide water 

JULY 31, 2014 

Reported without amendment 


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