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Union Calendar No. 376 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5079 

[Report No. 109–636] 

To provide for the modification of an amendatory repayment contract between 

the Secretary of the Interior and the North Unit Irrigation District, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 4, 2006 

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Resources 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 4, 2006] 

A BILL 

To provide for the modification of an amendatory repayment 

contract between the Secretary of the Interior and the 

North Unit Irrigation District, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oregon Water Resources 

3 Management Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PARTICIPATION OF BUREAU OF REC5 LAMATION IN DESCHUTES RIVER CONSER6 VANCY. 

7 Section 301 of the Oregon Resource Conservation Act 

8 of 1996 (division B of Public Law 104–208; 110 Stat. 

9 3009–534) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘Deschutes 

11 River Basin Working Group’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘Deschutes River Conservancy Working Group’’; 

13 (2) by amending the text of subsection (a)(1)(B) 

14 to read as follows: ‘‘4 representatives of private inter15 ests including two from irrigated agriculture who ac16 tively farm more than 100 acres of irrigated land and 

17 are not irrigation district managers and two from the 

18 environmental community;’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting before the 

20 final period the following: ‘‘, and up to a total 

21 amount of $2,000,000 during each of fiscal years 

22 2006 through 2015’’; and 

23 (4) in subsection (h), by inserting before the pe24 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, and $2,000,000 for 

25 each of fiscal years 2006 through 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. WALLOWA LAKE DAM REHABILITATION ACT. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi3 nitions apply: 

4 (1) ASSOCIATED DITCH COMPANIES, INCOR5 PORATED.—The term ‘‘Associated Ditch Companies, 

6 Incorporated’’ means the nonprofit corporation estab7 lished under the laws of the State of Oregon that oper8 ates Wallowa Lake Dam. 

9 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Com11 missioner of Reclamation. 

12 (3) WALLOWA LAKE DAM REHABILITATION PRO13 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Wallowa Lake Dam Rehabilita14 tion Program’’ means the program for the rehabilita15 tion of the Wallowa Lake Dam in Oregon, as con16 tained in the engineering document titled, ‘‘Phase I 

17 Dam Assessment and Preliminary Engineering De18 sign’’, dated December 2002, and on file with the Bu19 reau of Reclamation. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION TO PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAM.— 

21 (1) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

22 The Secretary may provide grants to, or enter into 

23 cooperative or other agreements with, tribal, State, 

24 and local governmental entities and the Associated 

25 Ditch Companies, Incorporated, to plan, design, and 


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1 construct facilities needed to implement the Wallowa 

2 Lake Dam Rehabilitation Program. 

3 (2) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of providing 

4 funds under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure 

5 that— 

6 (A) the Wallowa Lake Dam Rehabilitation 

7 Program and activities under this section meet 

8 the standards of the dam safety program of the 

9 State of Oregon; 

10 (B) the Associated Ditch Companies, Incor11 porated, agrees to assume liability for any work 

12 performed, or supervised, with Federal funds 

13 provided to it under this section; and 

14 (C) the United States shall not be liable for 

15 damages of any kind arising out of any act, 

16 omission, or occurrence relating to a facility re17 habilitated or constructed with Federal funds 

18 provided under this section, both while and after 

19 activities are conducted using Federal funds pro20 vided under this section. 

21 (3) COST SHARING.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

23 costs of activities authorized under this section 

24 shall not exceed 50 percent. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSIONS FROM FEDERAL SHARE.— 

2 There shall not be credited against the Federal 

3 share of such costs— 

4 (i) any expenditure by the Bonneville 

5 Power Administration in the Wallowa 

6 River watershed; and 

7 (ii) expenditures made by individual 

8 agricultural producers in any Federal com9 modity or conservation program. 

10 (4) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAW.—The Sec11 retary, in carrying out this section, shall comply with 

12 applicable Oregon State water law. 

13 (5) PROHIBITION ON HOLDING TITLE.—The Fed14 eral Government shall not hold title to any facility re15 habilitated or constructed under this section. 

16 (6) PROHIBITION ON OPERATION AND MAINTE17 NANCE.—The Federal Government shall not be re18 sponsible for the operation and maintenance of any 

19 facility constructed or rehabilitated under this sec20 tion. 

21 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Activities funded 

22 under this section shall not be considered a supplemental 

23 or additional benefit under Federal reclamation law (the 

24 Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and 


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1 Acts supplemental to and amendatory of that Act (43 

2 U.S.C. 371 et seq.)). 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to pay the 

5 Federal share of the costs of activities authorized under this 

6 section, $6,000,000. 

7 (e) SUNSET.—The authority of the Secretary to carry 

8 out any provisions of this section shall terminate 10 years 

9 after the date of the enactment of this section. 

10 SEC. 4. LITTLE BUTTE/BEAR CREEK SUBBASINS, OREGON, 

11 WATER RESOURCE STUDY. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of the Interior, 

13 acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, may participate 

14 in the Water for Irrigation, Streams and the Economy 

15 Project water management feasibility study and environ16 mental impact statement in accordance with the ‘‘Memo17 randum of Agreement Between City of Medford and Bureau 

18 of Reclamation for the Water for Irrigation, Streams, and 

19 the Economy Project’’, dated July 2, 2004. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap22 propriated to the Bureau of Reclamation $500,000 to 

23 carry out activities under this section. 

24 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal share 

2 shall be 50 percent of the total costs of the Bu3 reau of Reclamation in carrying out subsection 

4 (a). 

5 (B) FORM.—The non-Federal share required 

6 under subparagraph (A) may be in the form of 

7 any in-kind services that the Secretary of the In8 terior determines would contribute substantially 

9 toward the conduct and completion of the study 

10 and environmental impact statement required 

11 under subsection (a). 

12 (c) SUNSET.—The authority of the Secretary to carry 

13 out any provisions of this section shall terminate 10 years 

14 after the date of the enactment of this section. 

15 SEC. 5. NORTH UNIT IRRIGATION DISTRICT. 

16 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

17 ‘‘North Unit Irrigation District Act of 2006’’. 

18 (b) AMENDMENT.—The Act of August 10, 1954 (68 

19 Stat. 679, chapter 663), is amended— 

20 (1) in the first section— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘(referred to in this Act as 

22 the ‘District’)’’ after ‘‘irrigation district’’; and 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘(referred to in this Act as 

24 the ‘Contract’)’’ after ‘‘1953’’; and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL TERMS. 

2 ‘‘On approval of the District directors and notwith3 standing project authorizing legislation to the contrary, the 

4 Contract is modified, without further action by the Sec5 retary of the Interior, to include the following modifica6 tions: 

7 ‘‘(1) In Article 8(a) of the Contract, by deleting 

8 ‘a maximum of 50,000’ and inserting ‘approximately 

9 59,000’ after ‘irrigation service to’. 

10 ‘‘(2) In Article 11(a) of the Contract, by deleting 

11 ‘The classified irrigable lands within the project com12 prise 49,817.75 irrigable acres, of which 35,773.75 

13 acres are in Class A and 14,044.40 in Class B. These 

14 lands and the standards upon which the classification 

15 was made are described in the document entitled 

16 ‘‘Land Classification, North Unit, Deschutes Project, 

17 1953’’ which is on file in the office of the Regional 

18 Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Boise, Idaho, and 

19 in the office of the District’ and inserting ‘The classi20 fied irrigable land within the project comprises 

21 58,902.8 irrigable acres, all of which are authorized 

22 to receive irrigation water pursuant to water rights 

23 issued by the State of Oregon and have in the past 

24 received water pursuant to such State water rights.’. 

25 ‘‘(3) In Article 11(c) of the Contract, by deleting 

26 ‘, with the approval of the Secretary,’ after ‘District 


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1 may’, by deleting ‘the 49,817.75 acre maximum limit 

2 on the irrigable area is not exceeded’ and inserting 

3 ‘irrigation service is provided to no more than ap4 proximately 59,000 acres and no amendment to the 

5 District boundary is required’ after ‘time so long as’. 

6 ‘‘(4) In Article 11(d) of the Contract, by insert7 ing ‘, and may further be used for instream purposes, 

8 including fish or wildlife purposes, to the extent that 

9 such use is required by Oregon State law in order for 

10 the District to engage in, or take advantage of, con11 served water projects as authorized by Oregon State 

12 law’ after ‘herein provided’. 

13 ‘‘(5) By adding at the end of Article 12(d) the 

14 following: ‘(e) Notwithstanding the above subsections 

15 of this Article or Article 13 below, beginning with the 

16 irrigation season immediately following the date of 

17 enactment of the North Unit Irrigation District Act 

18 of 2006, the annual installment for each year, for the 

19 District, under the Contract, on account of the Dis20 trict’s construction charge obligation, shall be a fixed 

21 and equal annual amount payable on June 30 the 

22 year following the year for which it is applicable, 

23 such that the District’s total construction charge obli24 gation shall be completely paid by June 30, 2044.’. 


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1 ‘‘(6) In Article 14(a) of the Contract, by insert2 ing ‘and for instream purposes, including fish or 

3 wildlife purposes, to the extent that such use is re4 quired by Oregon State law in order for the District 

5 to engage in, or take advantage of, conserved water 

6 projects as authorized by Oregon State law,’ after 

7 ‘and incidental stock and domestic uses’, by inserting 

8 ‘and for instream purposes as described above,’ after 

9 ‘irrigation, stock and domestic uses’, and by inserting 

10 ‘, including natural flow rights out of the Crooked 

11 River held by the District’ after ‘irrigation system’. 

12 ‘‘(7) In Article 29(a) of the Contract, by insert13 ing ‘and for instream purposes, including fish or 

14 wildlife purposes, to the extent that such use is re15 quired by Oregon State law in order for the District 

16 to engage in, or take advantage of, conserved water 

17 projects as authorized by Oregon State law’ after 

18 ‘provided in article 11’. 

19 ‘‘(8) In Article 34 of the Contract, by deleting 

20 ‘The District, after the election and upon the execu21 tion of this contract, shall promptly secure final de22 cree of the proper State court approving and con23 firming this contract and decreeing and adjudging it 

24 to be a lawful, valid, and binding general obligation 

25 of the District. The District shall furnish to the 


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1 United States certified copies of such decrees and of 

2 all pertinent supporting records.’ after ‘for that pur3 pose.’. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 4. FUTURE AUTHORITY TO RENEGOTIATE. 

5 ‘‘The Secretary of the Interior (acting through the 

6 Commissioner of Reclamation) may in the future renego7 tiate with the District such terms of the Contract as the 

8 District directors determine to be necessary, only upon the 

9 written request of the District directors and the consent of 

10 the Commissioner of Reclamation.’’. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to update the 

management of Oregon water resources, and for other 

purposes.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 376 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5079 

[Report No. 109

–636] 

A BILL 

To provide for the modification of an amendatory 

and for other purposes. Interior and the North Unit Irrigation District, repayment contract between the Secretary of the 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:49 Sep 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H5079.RH H5079

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