II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3483 

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 

AUGUST 2, 2012 

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’’. 

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 submitted to the Federal Energy Regu16 latory Commission relating to hydropower de17 velopment (including turbines and appurtenant 

18 facilities) at Bowman Dam, the applicant, in 

19 consultation with the Director of the Bureau of 

20 Land Management, shall— 

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

22 recreational, and fishery resource values of 

23 the Crooked River from the center crest of 

Bowman Dam to a point 1 24 ⁄4-mile down25 stream that may be caused by the proVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:44 Aug 08, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3483.IS S3483

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1 posed hydropower development, including 

2 the future need to undertake routine and 

3 emergency repairs; 

4 ‘‘(ii) propose measures to minimize 

5 and mitigate any impacts analyzed under 

6 clause (i); and 

7 ‘‘(iii) propose designs and measures to 

8 ensure that any access facilities associated 

9 with hydropower development at Bowman 

10 Dam shall not impede the free-flowing na11 ture of the Crooked River below Bowman 

12 Dam.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. CITY OF PRINEVILLE WATER SUPPLY. 

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

15 1058; 73 Stat. 554; 78 Stat. 954) is amended— 

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

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

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘With19 out further action by the Secretary of the Interior, 

20 beginning on the date of enactment of the Crooked 

21 River Collaborative Water Security Act, 5,100 acre22 feet of water shall be annually released from the 

23 project to serve as mitigation for City of Prineville 

24 groundwater pumping, pursuant to and in a manner 

25 consistent with Oregon State law, including any 


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1 shaping of the release of the water. The City of 

2 Prineville shall make payments to the Secretary for 

3 the water, in accordance with the Bureau of Rec4 lamation document entitled ‘Water and Related Con5 tract and Repayment Principles and Requirements’, 

6 the Bureau of Reclamation Manual Directives and 

7 Standards numbered PEC 05–01 and dated Sep8 tember 12, 2006, and the document entitled ‘Eco9 nomic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines 

10 for Water and Related Land Resources Implementa11 tion Studies’ and dated March 10, 1983. Consistent 

12 with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

13 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species 

14 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and other ap15 plicable Federal laws, the Secretary may contract ex16 clusively with the City of Prineville for additional 

17 quantities of water, at the request of the City of 

18 Prineville.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

20 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize construction 

21 by the Secretary of the Interior of the Crooked River Fed22 eral reclamation project, Oregon’’, approved August 6, 

23 1956 (70 Stat. 1058; chapter 980; 73 Stat. 554; 78 Stat. 

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


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

2 ‘‘Other than the 10 cubic feet per second release pro3 vided for in section 4, and subject to compliance with the 

4 flood curve requirements of the Corps of Engineers, the 

5 Secretary shall, on a ‘first fill’ priority basis, store in and 

6 release from Prineville Reservoir, whether from carryover, 

7 infill, or a combination of both, the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) 68,273 acre-feet of water annually to fulfill 

9 all 16 Bureau of Reclamation contracts existing as 

10 of January 1, 2011. 

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

12 annually to supply the McKay Creek land, in accord13 ance with section 5 of the Crooked River Collabo14 rative Water Security Act. 

15 ‘‘(3) 10,000 acre-feet of water annually, to be 

16 made available first to the North Unit Irrigation 

17 District, and subsequently to any other holders of 

18 Reclamation contracts existing as of January 1, 

19 2011 (in that order), pursuant to Temporary Water 

20 Service Contracts, on the request of the North Unit 

21 Irrigation District or the contract holders, consistent 

22 with the same terms and conditions as prior such 

23 contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and 

24 District or contract holders, as applicable. 


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1 ‘‘(4) 5,100 acre-feet of water annually to miti2 gate the City of Prineville groundwater pumping 

3 under section 4. 

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

5 WATER QUANTITIES. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Other than the quantities pro7 vided for in section 4 and the ‘first fill’ quantities provided 

8 for in section 6, and subject to compliance with the flood 

9 curve requirements of the Corps of Engineers, the Sec10 retary shall store in and release from Prineville Reservoir 

11 all remaining stored water quantities for the benefit of 

12 downstream fish and wildlife. 

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

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

15 or an order of a court in a proceeding under that Act re16 quires releases of stored water from Prineville Reservoir 

17 for fish and wildlife downstream of Bowman Dam, the 

18 Secretary shall use uncontracted stored water. 

19 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL RELEASE SCHEDULE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Rec21 lamation shall develop annual release schedules for 

22 the remaining stored water quantities and the water 

23 serving as mitigation for City of Prineville ground24 water pumping. 


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

2 practicable and unless otherwise prohibited by law, 

3 the Commissioner of Reclamation shall develop and 

4 implement the annual release schedules consistent 

5 with the guidance provided by the Confederated 

6 Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon 

7 and the State of Oregon to maximize biological ben8 efit for downstream resources, based on consider9 ation of the multiyear water needs of downstream 

10 fish and wildlife. 

11 ‘‘(3) COMMENTS FROM FEDERAL FISH MANAGE12 MENT AGENCIES.—The National Marine Fisheries 

13 Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife 

14 Service shall have the opportunity to provide advice 

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

16 schedule developed by the Commissioner of Reclama17 tion under this subsection. 

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

19 of Reclamation shall perform traditional and routine ac20 tivities in a manner that coordinates with and assists the 

21 Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of 

22 Oregon and the ability of the State of Oregon to monitor 

23 and request adjustments to releases for downstream fish 

24 and wildlife on an in-season basis as the Confederated 

25 Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and 


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1 the State of Oregon determine downstream fish and wild2 life needs require. 

3 ‘‘(e) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects the au4 thority of the Commissioner of Reclamation to perform all 

5 other traditional and routine activities of the Commis6 sioner of Reclamation. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 8. EFFECT. 

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

9 in this Act— 

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

11 between contractors and the United States under 

12 Reclamation contracts; 

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

14 paragraph (1); or 

15 ‘‘(3) modifies any rights, obligations, or require16 ments that may be provided or governed by Federal 

17 or Oregon State law.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. OCHOCO IRRIGATION DISTRICT. 

19 (a) EARLY REPAYMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 213 

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

22 390mm), any landowner within Ochoco Irrigation 

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

24 ‘‘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 sup10 plemental 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, irrigation districts, 

19 and other interested stakeholders, to plan for dry-year 

20 conditions. 

21 (b) FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS.—The Bureau of Rec22 lamation, in coordination with the parties referred to in 

23 subsection (a), shall participate in dry-year management 

24 planning meetings each year, in early spring and late sum25 mer, and as needed at other times. 


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1 (c) DRY-YEAR MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

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

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

4 Reclamation shall develop a dry-year management 

5 plan in coordination with the parties referred to in 

6 subsection (a). 

7 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan developed 

8 under paragraph (1) shall only recommend strate9 gies, measures, and actions that all parties referred 

10 to in subsection (a) voluntarily agree to implement. 

11 (3) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in the plan devel12 oped under paragraph (1) shall be mandatory or 

13 self-implementing. 

14 (d) VOLUNTARY RELEASE.—In any year, if North 

15 Unit Irrigation District or other eligible Bureau of Rec16 lamation contract holders have not initiated contracting 

17 with the Bureau of Reclamation for any quantity of the 

18 10,000 acre-feet of water described in paragraph (3) of 

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

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

21 with the voluntary agreement of North Unit Irrigation 

22 District and other Bureau of Reclamation contract holders 

23 referred to in that paragraph, the Secretary may release 

24 that quantity of water for the benefit of downstream fish 

25 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’’ amounts provided 

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

8 Stat. 1058) (as added by section 4) for any purposes 

9 other than the purposes provided for in that section, 

10 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 de18 veloped under section 6(c); and 

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

20 acre-feet for downstream fish and wildlife as 

21 provided for in section 6(d); 

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). 

Æ 


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