II

Calendar No. 938

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2882

[Report No. 106–489]

To authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to conduct certain feasibility studies

to augment water supplies for the Klamath Project, Oregon and California, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 17, 2000

Mr. SMITH of Oregon (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and

Natural Resources

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to conduct certain

feasibility studies to augment water supplies for the

Klamath Project, Oregon and California, 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,
2

S 2882 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Klamath Basin Water

3 Supply Enhancement Act of 2000’’.

4 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION TO CONDUCT FEASIBILITY STUD5 IES.

6 In order to help meet the growing water supply and

7 water quality needs of the Klamath River basin, to facili8 tate the efforts of the State of Oregon to resolve water

9 rights claims in the Upper Klamath River Basin including

10 facilitation of Klamath tribal water rights claims, and to

11 reduce conflicts over water between the Upper and Lower

12 Klamath Basins, the Secretary of the Interior (hereafter

13 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is authorized and directed,

14 in consultation with affected state, local and tribal inter15 ests, to engage in feasibility studies of the following pro16 posals related to the Upper Klamath Basin and the Klam17 ath Project, a federal reclamation project in Oregon and

18 California:

19 (1) increasing the storage capacity and/or the

20 yield of the Klamath Project, including, but not lim21 ited to, the facilities of Gerber Reservoir, Upper

22 Klamath Lake, and Clear Lake;

23 (2) the potential for development of additional

24 Klamath Basin groundwater supplies to improve

25 water quantity and quality, including the effect of
3

S 2882 RS

1 such groundwater development on both groundwater

2 and surface water supplies.

3 (3) various alternatives for the use or disposi4 tion of water made available by the activities author5 ized by this Act.

6 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon completion of the applicable

8 feasibility study, the Secretary is authorized to plan, de9 sign and construct modifications to existing facilities, and

10 to develop groundwater supplies. The Secretary shall bal11 ance construction and funding between project and non12 project lands, and activities for the non-project lands shall

13 be coordinated through the Oregon State Department of

14 Water Resources. Implementation of such projects shall

15 be in accordance with applicable state and local laws and

16 regulations. The Secretary may not obligate funds for

17 such projects until—

18 (1) the requirements of applicable federal laws,

19 including the National Environmental Policy Act,

20 have been met; and

21 (2) the applicable feasibility study has been pre22 pared and submitted to the Congress for a period of

23 not less than ninety calendar days.

24 (b) PROJECTS NOT AUTHORIZED FOR CONSTRUC25 TION.—Nothing in this Act authorizes the construction of
4

S 2882 RS

1 any new projects other than the modifications of existing

2 facilities and the development of groundwater supplies

3 meeting the criteria of subsection (a), or that are other4 wise authorized under the Act of June 17, 1902 (82 Stat.

5 388) and all Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary

6 thereto.

7 (c) LIMITATION.—Activities funded under this Act

8 shall not be considered a supplemental or additional ben9 efit under the Act of June 17, 1902 (82 Stat. 388) and

10 all Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.

11 SEC. 4. SURVEYS.

12 To further the purposes of this Act, the Secretary

13 is authorized to compile information on native fish species

14 in the Upper Klamath River Basin upstream of Upper

15 Klamath Lake, including surveys already completed by

16 Federal agencies and other stakeholders in the Basin, and

17 is directed to complete ongoing hydrologic surveys in the

18 Klamath River Basin currently being conducted by the

19 U.S. Geological Survey.

20 SEC. 5. WATER RIGHTS

21 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—

22 (1) create, by implication or otherwise, any re23 served water right or other right to the use of water;
5

S 2882 RS

1 (2) invalidate, preempt, or create any exception

2 to State water law or an interstate compact gov3 erning water;

4 (3) alter the rights of any State to any appro5 priated share of the waters of any body or surface

6 or groundwater, whether determined by past or fu7 ture interstate compacts or by past or future legisla8 tive or final judicial allocations;

9 (4) preempt or modify any State or Federal law

10 or interstate compact dealing with water quality or

11 disposal; or

12 (5) confer upon any non-Federal entity the abil13 ity to exercise any Federal right to the waters of any

14 stream or to any groundwater resources.

15 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There are authorized such sums as necessary to carry

17 out the purposes of this Act. Activities conducted under

18 this Act shall be non-reimbursable and non-returnable.

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

20 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Klamath Basin Water

21 Supply Enhancement Act of 2000’’.

22 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION TO CONDUCT FEASIBILITY STUD23 IES.

24 In order to help meet the growing water needs in the

25 Klamath River basin, to improve water quality, to facili-
6

S 2882 RS

1 tate the efforts of the State of Oregon to resolve water rights

2 claims in the Upper Klamath River Basin including facili3 tation of Klamath tribal water rights claims, and to reduce

4 conflicts over water between the Upper and Lower Klamath

5 Basins, the Secretary of the Interior (hereafter referred to

6 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is authorized and directed, in consulta7 tion with affected state, local and tribal interests, stake8 holder groups and the interested public, to engage in feasi9 bility studies of the following proposals related to the Upper

10 Klamath Basin and the Klamath Project, a federal reclama11 tion project in Oregon and California:

12 (1) Increasing the storage capacity, and/or the

13 yield of the Klamath Project facilities while improv14 ing water quality, consistent with the protection of

15 fish and wildlife.

16 (2) The potential for development of additional

17 Klamath Basin groundwater supplies to improve

18 water quantity and quality, including the effect of

19 such groundwater development on non-project lands,

20 groundwater and surface water supplies, and fish and

21 wildlife.

22 (3) The potential for further innovations in the

23 use of existing water resources, or market-based ap24 proaches, in order to meet growing water needs con25 sistent with state water law.
7

S 2882 RS

1 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL STUDIES.

2 (a) NON-PROJECT LANDS.—The Secretary may enter

3 into an agreement with the Oregon Department of Water

4 Resources to fund studies relating to the water supply needs

5 of non-project lands in the Upper Klamath Basin.

6 (b) SURVEYS.—To further the purposes of this Act, the

7 Secretary is authorized to compile information on native

8 fish species in the Upper Klamath River Basin, upstream

9 of Upper Klamath Lake. Wherever possible, the Secretary

10 should use data already developed by Federal agencies and

11 other stakeholders in the Basin.

12 (c) HYDROLOGIC STUDIES.—The Secretary is directed

13 to complete ongoing hydrologic surveys in the Klamath

14 River Basin currently being conducted by the U.S. Geologi15 cal Survey.

16 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall

17 submit the findings of the studies conducted under section

18 2 and Section 3(a) of this Act to the Congress within 90

19 days of each study’s completion, together with any rec20 ommendations for projects.

21 SEC. 4. LIMITATION.

22 Activities funded under this Act shall not be considered

23 a supplemental or additional benefit under the Act of June

24 17, 1902 (82 Stat. 388) and all Acts amendatory thereof

25 or supplementary thereto.
8

S 2882 RS

1 SEC. 5. WATER RIGHTS

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—

3 (1) create, by implication or otherwise, any re4 served water right or other right to the use of water;

5 (2) invalidate, preempt, or create any exception

6 to State water law or an interstate compact gov7 erning water;

8 (3) alter the rights of any State to any appro9 priated share of the waters of any body or surface or

10 groundwater, whether determined by past or future

11 interstate compacts or by past or future legislative or

12 final judicial allocations;

13 (4) preempt or modify any State or Federal law

14 or interstate compact dealing with water quality or

15 disposal; or

16 (5) confer upon any non-Federal entity the abil17 ity to exercise any Federal right to the waters of any

18 stream or to any groundwater resources.

19 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 There are authorized such sums as necessary to carry

21 out the purposes of this Act. Activities conducted under this

22 Act shall be non-reimbursable and nonreturnable.

Calendar No. 938

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2882

[Report No. 106–489]

A BILL

To authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to conduct

certain feasibility studies to augment water supplies for the Klamath Project, Oregon and California, and for other purposes.

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported with an amendment