II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1876

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain lands and facilities 

of the Provo River Project. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2003

Mr. BENNETT introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain 

lands and facilities of the Provo River Project.

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 ‘‘Provo River Project 

5 Transfer Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 For purposes of this Act: 

8 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 
2

•S 1876 IS 

1 (2) RECLAMATION.—The term ‘‘Reclamation’’ 

2 means the Bureau of Reclamation. 

3 (3) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘‘Association’’ 

4 means the Provo River Water Users Association, a 

5 nonprofit corporation organized and existing under 

6 the laws of the State of Utah. 

7 (4) DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘District’’ means the 

8 Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy, 

9 a political subdivision of the State of Utah. 

10 (5) PROVO RESERVOIR CANAL.—The term 

11 ‘‘Provo Reservoir Canal’’ means the canal, and asso12 ciated lands, rights-of-way, and facilities acquired, 

13 constructed, or improved by the United States as 

14 part of the Provo River Project, Deer Creek Divi15 sion, extending from, and including, the Murdock 

16 Diversion Dam at the mouth of Provo Canyon, 

17 Utah, to and including the Provo Reservoir Canal 

18 Siphon and Penstock. 

19 (6) PLEASANT GROVE PROPERTY.—The term 

20 ‘‘Pleasant Grove Property’’ means a 3.79-acre parcel 

21 of land acquired by the United States for the Provo 

22 River Project, Deer Creek Division, located at ap23 proximately 285 West 1100 North, Pleasant Grove, 

24 Utah, including the office building and shop complex 

25 constructed by the Association. 
3

•S 1876 IS 

1 (7) SALT LAKE AQUEDUCT.—The term ‘‘Salt 

2 Lake Aqueduct’’ means the aqueduct and associated 

3 lands, rights-of-way, and facilities acquired, con4 structed or improved by the United States as part 

5 of the Provo River Project, Aqueduct Division, ex6 tending from, and including, the Salt Lake Aqueduct 

7 Intake at the base of Deer Creek Dam to and in8 cluding the Terminal Reservoir located at 3300 

9 South and I–215 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

10 (8) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 

11 means Contract No. lllllllll, dated 

12 lllllllll, and entitled ‘‘Agreement 

13 Among the United States, the Provo River Water 

14 Users Association and the Metropolitan Water Dis15 trict of Salt Lake & Sandy to Transfer Title to Cer16 tain Lands and Facilities of the Provo River 

17 Project’’. 

18 SEC. 3. TRANSFER. 

19 (a) PROVO RESERVOIR CANAL.—The Secretary shall 

20 convey to the Association, pursuant to the terms and con21 ditions of the Agreement, all right, title, and interest of 

22 the United States in and to the Provo Reservoir Canal, 

23 as it exists on the date of enactment of this Act and as 

24 generally depicted on the Map marked Exhibit A attached 

25 to the Agreement, when the Association has certified to 
4

•S 1876 IS 

1 the Secretary that agreements have been entered into sat2 isfactory to the Association, the District, Central Utah 

3 Water Conservancy District, Jordan Valley Water Conser4 vancy District providing for operation of the Provo Res5 ervoir Canal after title transfer, and future ownership, fi6 nancing, and improvement of the Provo Reservoir Canal. 

7 (b) PLEASANT GROVE PROPERTY.—The Secretary 

8 shall convey to the Association, pursuant to the terms and 

9 conditions of the Agreement, all right, title, and interest 

10 of the United States in and to the Pleasant Grove Prop11 erty, as it exists on the date of enactment of this Act and 

12 as generally depicted on the Map marked Exhibit B at13 tached to the Agreement. 

14 (c) SALT LAKE AQUEDUCT.—The Secretary shall 

15 convey to the District, pursuant to the terms and condi16 tions of the Agreement, all right, title, and interest of the 

17 United States in and to Salt Lake Aqueduct, as it exists 

18 on the date of enactment of this Act and as generally de19 picted on the Map marked Exhibit C attached to the 

20 Agreement. 

21 SEC. 4. EXISTING CONTRACTS CONFIRMED. 

22 Notwithstanding any transfer provided for in this 

23 Act, those portions of the Deer Creek Division, Provo 

24 River Project, Utah, that are not transferred shall con25 tinue to be operated and maintained by the Association, 
5

•S 1876 IS 

1 pursuant to the Contract Between the United States and 

2 Provo River Water Users Association Providing for the 

3 Construction of the Deer Creek Division of the Provo 

4 River Project, Utah, Contract No. Ilr–874, dated June 27, 

5 1936, including any amendments or supplements thereto 

6 or extensions thereof. This Act shall not be construed to 

7 impair any existing contracts, including subscription con8 tracts, that allow for or create a right to convey water 

9 through the Provo Reservoir Canal. 

10 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

11 If conveyance of any of the lands and facilities re12 quired by this Act and described in the Agreement is not 

13 completed within 18 months following the date of enact14 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to 

15 the Congress that describes the status of the conveyance, 

16 any obstacles to completion of the conveyance, and an an17 ticipated date for completion of the conveyance. 

18 SEC. 6. COSTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require, as a 

20 condition of the conveyance under section 3, that the Asso21 ciation and the District pay or contribute to administra22 tive costs, real estate transfer costs, and the costs associ23 ated with compliance with the National Environmental 

24 Policy Act of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 
6

•S 1876 IS 

1 the National Historic Preservation Act, and other Federal 

2 cultural resource laws, all as described in the Agreement. 

3 (b) VALUE OF FACILITIES TO BE TRANSFERRED.—

4 (1) PAYMENT BY ASSOCIATION.—In addition to 

5 subsection (a), the Secretary shall also require, as a 

6 condition of the conveyance under section 3(a), that 

7 the Association pay to the United States the net 

8 present value of the Provo Reservoir Canal and the 

9 Pleasant Grove Property, as described in the Agree10 ment: Provided, however, That the Association may 

11 deduct from the net present value such sums as are 

12 required to accomplish the reimbursement described 

13 in the Contributed Funds Act Agreement. 

14 (2) PAYMENT BY DISTRICT.—In addition to 

15 subsection (a) the Secretary shall also require, as a 

16 condition of the conveyance under section 3(b), that 

17 the District pay the United States the net present 

18 value of the Salt Lake Aqueduct, as described in the 

19 Agreement: Provided, however, That the District 

20 may deduct from the net present value such sums as 

21 are required to accomplish the reimbursement de22 scribed in the Contributed Funds Act Agreement. 

23 SEC. 7. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT. 

24 Prior to any conveyance under this Act, the Secretary 

25 shall complete all actions required under the National En-
7

•S 1876 IS 

1 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (72 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

2 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

3 seq.), and all other applicable laws. 

4 SEC. 8. LIABILITY. 

5 Effective on the date of the conveyance required by 

6 this Act, the United States shall not be held liable by any 

7 court for damages of any kind arising out of any act, omis8 sion, or occurrence relating to the transferred lands and 

9 facilities, except for damages caused by acts of negligence 

10 committed by the United States or by its employees or 

11 agents prior to the date of conveyance. Nothing in this 

12 section shall be considered to increase the liability of the 

13 United States beyond that currently provided in chapter 

14 171 of title 28, United States Code, popularly known as 

15 the ‘‘Federal Tort Claims Act’’. 

16 SEC. 9. FUTURE BENEFITS. 

17 Upon conveyance of the lands and facilities by the 

18 Secretary under this Act, the transferred facilities and 

19 lands shall no longer be part of a Federal reclamation 

20 project and the Association and the District shall not be 

21 entitled to receive any future reclamation benefits with re22 spect to the transferred facilities and lands, except those 

23 benefits that would be available to other nonreclamation 

24 facilities.

Æ