In the Senate of the United States,
October 13 (legislative day, October 2), 1998.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 3267) entitled ‘‘An Act to direct the Secretary of
the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to
conduct a feasibility study and construct a project to reclaim
the Salton Sea.’’, do pass with the following
AMENDMENTS:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Salton Sea Reclamation Act of 1998’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
TITLE I—SALTON SEA FEASIBILITY STUDY
Sec. 101. Salton Sea Feasibility study authorization.
Sec. 102. Concurrent wildlife resources studies.
Sec. 103. Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge renamed as Sonny Bono Salton
Sea National Wildlife Refuge.
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TITLE II—EMERGENCY ACTION TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY IN
THE ALAMO RIVER AND NEW RIVER
Sec. 201. Alamo River and New River irrigation drainage water.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Committees’’ means the Commit-
tee on Resources and the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
sources and the Committee on Environmental and
Public Works of the Senate.
(2) The term ‘‘Salton Sea Authority’’ means the
Joint Powers Authority by that name established
under the laws of the State of California by a Joint
Power Agreement signed on June 2, 1993.
(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of
the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclama-
tion.
TITLE I—SALTON SEA
FEASIBILITY STUDY
SEC. 101. SALTON SEA FEASIBILITY STUDY AUTHORIZA-
TION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No later than January 1, 2000, the
Secretary, in accordance with this section, shall complete
all feasibility studies and cost analyses for the options set
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forth in subsection (b)(2)(A) necessary for Congress to fully
evaluate such options.
(b) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—
(A) The Secretary shall complete all studies,
including, but not limited to environmental and
other reviews, of the feasibility and benefit-cost of
various options that permit the continued use of
the Salton Sea as a reservoir for irrigation
drainage and (i) reduce and stabilize the overall
salinity of the Salton Sea, (ii) stabilize the sur-
face elevation of the Salton Sea, (iii) reclaim, in
the long term, healthy fish and wildlife resources
and their habitats, and (iv) enhance the poten-
tial for recreational uses and economic develop-
ment of the Salton Sea.
(B) Based solely on whatever information is
available at the time of submission of the report,
the Secretary shall (i) identify any options he
deems economically feasible and cost effective,
(ii) identify any additional information nec-
essary to develop construction specifications, and
(iii) submit any recommendations, along with
the results of the study to the Committees no
later than January 1, 2000.
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(C)(i) The Secretary shall carry out the fea-
sibility study in accordance with a memoran-
dum of understanding entered into by the Sec-
retary, the Salton Sea Authority, and the Gov-
ernor of California.
(ii) The memorandum of understanding
shall, at a minimum, establish criteria for eval-
uation and selection of options under subpara-
graph (2)(A), including criteria for determining
benefit and the magnitude and practicability of
costs of construction, operation, and mainte-
nance of each option evaluated.
(2) OPTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED.—Options con-
sidered in the feasibility study—
(A) shall consist of, but need not be limited
to—
(i) use of impoundments to segregate a
portion of the waters of the Salton Sea in
one or more evaporation ponds located in
the Salton Sea basin;
(ii) pumping water out of the Salton
Sea;
(iii) augmented flows of water into the
Salton Sea;
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(iv) a combination of the options re-
ferred to in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii); and
(v) any other economically feasible re-
mediation option the Secretary considers
appropriate and for which feasibility analy-
ses and cost estimates can be completed by
January 1, 2000;
(B) shall be limited to proven technologies;
and
(C) shall not include any option that—
(i) relies on the importation of any
new or additional water from the Colorado
River; or
(ii) is inconsistent with the provisions
of subsection (c).
(3) ASSUMPTIONS.—In evaluating options, the
Secretary shall apply assumptions regarding water
inflows into the Salton Sea Basin that encourage
water conservation, account for transfers of water out
of the Salton Sea Basin, and are based on a maxi-
mum likely reduction in inflows into the Salton Sea
Basin which could be 800,000 acre-feet or less per
year.
(4) CONSIDERATION OF COSTS.—In evaluating
the feasibility of options, the Secretary shall consider
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the ability of Federal, tribal, State and local govern-
ment sources and private sources to fund capital con-
struction costs and annual operation, maintenance,
energy, and replacement costs and shall set forth the
basis for any cost sharing allocations as well as an-
ticipated repayment, if any, of Federal contributions.
(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—
(1) RECLAMATION LAWS.—Activities authorized
by this Act shall not be subject to the Act of June 17,
1902 (32 Stat. 388; 43 U.S.C. 391 et seq.), and Acts
amendatory 
thereof 
and 
supplemental 
thereto.
Amounts expended for those activities shall be consid-
ered nonreimbursable for purposes of those laws and
shall not be considered to be a supplemental or addi-
tional benefit for purposes of the Reclamation Reform
Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 1263; 43 U.S.C. 390aa et seq.).
(2) PRESERVATION OF RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
WITH RESPECT TO THE COLORADO RIVER.—This Act
shall not be considered to supersede or otherwise affect
any treaty, law, decree, contract, or agreement gov-
erning use of water from the Colorado River. All ac-
tivities taken under this Act must be carried out in
a manner consistent with rights and obligations of
persons under those treaties, laws, decrees, contracts,
and agreements.
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SEC. 102. CONCURRENT WILDLIFE RESOURCES STUDIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide for the
conduct, concurrently with the feasibility study under sec-
tion 101(b), of studies of hydrology, wildlife pathology, and
toxicology relating to wildlife resources of the Salton Sea
by Federal and non-Federal entities.
(b) SELECTION
OF TOPICS
AND MANAGEMENT
OF
STUDIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish
a committee to be known as the ‘‘Salton Sea Research
Management Committee’’. The committee shall select
the topics of studies under this section and manage
those studies.
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall consist
of the following five members:
(A) The Secretary.
(B) The Governor of California.
(C) The Executive Director of the Salton
Sea Authority.
(D) The Chairman of the Torres Martinez
Desert Cahuilla Tribal Government.
(E) The Director of the California Water
Resources Center.
(c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall require that
studies under this section are coordinated through the
Science Subcommittee which reports to the Salton Sea Re-
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search Management Committee. In addition to the member-
ship provided for by the Science Subcommittee’s charter,
representatives shall be invited from the University of Cali-
fornia, Riverside; the University of Redlands; San Diego
State University; the Imperial Valley College; and Los Ala-
mos National Laboratory.
(d) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary shall require that
studies under this section are subjected to peer review.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For wild-
life resources studies under this section there are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary, through accounts with-
in the Fish and Wildlife Service Exclusively, $5,000,000.
(f) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The committee, and
its activities, are not subject to the Federal Advisory Com-
mission Act (5 U.S.C. app.).
SEC. 103. SALTON SEA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE RE-
NAMED AS SONNY BONO SALTON SEA NA-
TIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
(a) REFUGE RENAMED.—The Salton Sea National
Wildlife Refuge, located in Imperial County, California, is
hereby renamed and shall be known as the ‘‘Sonny Bono
Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge’’.
(b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any statute, rule,
regulation, executive order, publication, map, or paper or
other document of the United States to the Salton Sea Na-
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tional Wildlife Refuge is deemed to refer to the Sonny Bono
Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge.
TITLE II—EMERGENCY ACTION
TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY
IN THE ALAMO RIVER AND
NEW RIVER
SEC. 201. ALAMO RIVER AND NEW RIVER IRRIGATION
DRAINAGE WATER.
(a) RIVER ENHANCEMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized
and directed to promptly conduct research and con-
struct river reclamation and wetlands projects to im-
prove water quality in the Alamo River and New
River, Imperial County, California, by treating water
in those rivers and irrigation drainage water that
flows into those rivers.
(2) ACQUISITIONS.—The Secretary may acquire
equipment, real property from willing sellers, and in-
terests in real property (including site access) from
willing sellers as needed to implement actions under
this section if the State of California, a political sub-
division of the State, or Desert Wildlife Unlimited
has entered into an agreement with the Secretary
under which the State, subdivision, or Desert Wildlife
Unlimited, respectively, will, effective 1 year after the
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date that systems for which the acquisitions are made
are operational and functional—
(A) accept all right, title, and interest in
and to the equipment, property, or interests; and
(B) assume responsibility for operation and
maintenance of the equipment, property, or in-
terests.
(3) TRANSFER OF TITLE.—Not later than 1 year
after the date a system developed under this section
is operational and functional, the Secretary shall
transfer all right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to all equipment, property, and inter-
ests acquired for the system in accordance with the
applicable agreement under paragraph (2).
(4) MONITORING
AND
OTHER
ACTIONS.—The
Secretary shall establish a long-term monitoring pro-
gram to maximize the effectiveness of any wetlands
developed under this title and may implement other
actions to improve the efficacy of actions implemented
pursuant to this section.
(b) COOPERATION.—The Secretary shall implement
subsection (a) in cooperation with the Desert Wildlife Un-
limited, the Imperial Irrigation District, California, and
other interested persons.