To authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to provide cost sharing for the endangered fish recovery implementation programs for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins.
PL 106-392 (H.R.2348), enacted 10/30/2000

114 STAT. 1602 
PUBLIC LAW 106-392—OCT. 30, 2000 
Public Law 106-392 
106th Congress 
An Act 
J-. . „- n-_. 
To authorize the Biireau of Reclamation to provide cost sharing for the endangered 
:—'. 
fish 
recovery implementation programs for the Upper Colorado and San Juan 
[H.R. 2348] 
River Basins. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to authorize and provide funding 
for the Bureau of Reclamation to continue the implementation 
of the endangered fish recovery implementation programs for the 
Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins in order to accomplish 
the objectives of these programs within a currently established 
time schedule. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this Act: 
(1) The term "Recovery Implementation Programs" means 
the intergovernmental programs established pursuant to the 
1988 Cooperative Agreement to implement the Recovery 
Implementation Program for the Endangered Fish Species in 
the Upper Colorado River dated September 29, 1987, and the 
1992 Cooperative Agreement to implement the San Juan River 
Recovery Implementation Program dated October 21, 1992, and 
as they may be amended by the parties thereto. 
(2) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the 
Interior. 
(3) The term "Upper Division States" means the States 
of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. 
(4) The term "Colorado River Storage Project" or "storage 
project" means those dams, reservoirs, power plants, and other 
appurtenant project facilities and features authorized by and 
constructed in accordance with the Colorado River Storage 
Project Act (43 U.S.C. 620 et seq.). 
(5) The term "capital projects" means planning, design, 
permitting or other compliance, pre-construction activities, 
construction, construction management, and replacement of 
facilities, and the acquisition of interests in land or water, 
as necessary to carry out the Recovery Implementation Pro-
grams. 
(6) The term "facilities" includes facilities for the genetic 
conservation or propagation of the endangered fishes, those 
for the restoration of floodplain habitat or fish passage, those 
for control or supply of instream flows, and those for the 
removal or translocation of nonnative fishes. 
PUBLIC LAW 106-392—OCT. 30, 2000 
114 STAT. 1603 
(7) The term "interests in land and water" includes, but 
is not limited to, long-term leases and easements, and long-
term enforcement, or other agreements protecting instream 
flows. 
(8) The term "base funding" means funding for operation 
and maintenance of capital projects, implementation of recovery 
actions other than capital projects, monitoring and research 
to evaluate the need for or effectiveness of any recovery action, 
and program management, as necessary to carry out the 
Recovery Implementation Programs. Base funding also includes 
annual funding provided under the terms of the 1988 Coopera-
tive Agreement and the 1992 Cooperative Agreement. 
(9) The term "recovery actions other than capital projects" 
includes short-term leases and agreements for interests in land, 
water, and facilities; the reintroduction or augmentation of 
endangered fish stocks; and the removal, translocation, or other 
control of nonnative fishes. 
(10) The term "depletion charge" means a one-time con-
tribution in dollars per acre-foot to be paid to the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service based on the average annual 
new depletion by each project. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO FUND RECOVERY PROGRAMS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FEDERAL PARTICI-
PATION IN CAPITAL PROJECTS.—(1) There is hereby authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary, $46,000,000 to undertake capital 
projects to carry out the purposes of this Act. Such funds shall 
be considered a nonreimbursable Federal expenditure. 
(2) The authority of the Secretary, acting through the Bureau 
of Reclamation, under this or any other provision of law to imple-
ment capital projects for the Recovery Implementation Program 
for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin 
shall expire in fiscal year 2005 unless reauthorized by an Act 
of Congress. 
(3) The authority of the Secretary to implement the capital Expiration date. 
projects for the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation 
Program shall expire in fiscal year 2007 unless reauthorized by 
an Act of Congress. 
(b) COST OF CAPITAL PROJECTS.—The total costs of the capital 
projects undertaken for the Recovery Implementation Programs 
receiving assistance under this Act shall not exceed $100,000,000 
of which— 
(1) costs shall not exceed $82,000,000 for the Recovery 
Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the 
Upper Colorado River Basin through fiscal year 2005; and 
(2) costs shall not exceed $18,000,000 for the San Juan 
River Recovery Implementation Program through fiscal year 
2007. 
The amounts set forth in this subsection shall be adjusted by 
the Secretary for inflation in each fiscal year beginning after the 
enactment of this Act. 
(c) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO CAPITAL PROJECTS.—(1) 
The Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, may 
accept contributed funds from the Upper Division States, or political 
subdivisions or organizations with the Upper Division States, pursu-
ant to agreements that provide for the contributions to be used 
114 STAT. 1604 
PUBLIC LAW 106-392—OCT. 30, 2000 
Contracts. 
Deadline. 
Effective date. 
for capital projects costs. Such non-Federal contributions shall not 
exceed $17,000,000. 
(2) In addition to the contribution described in paragraph (1), 
the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Western Area Power 
Administration, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 
the Bureau of Reclamation, maj' utilize power revenues collected 
pursuant to the Colorado River Storage Project Act to carry out 
the purposes of this subsection. Such funds shall be treated as 
reimbursable costs assigned to power for repayment under section 
5 of the Colorado River Storage Project Act. This additional con-
tribution shall not exceed $17,000,000. Such funds shall be consid-
ered a non-Federal contribution for the purposes of this Act. The 
funding authorized by this paragraph over any 2-fiscal-year period 
shall be made available in amounts equal to the contributions 
for the same 2-fiscal-year period made by the Upper Division States 
pursuant to paragraph (1). 
(3) The additional funding provided pursuant to paragraph 
(2) may be provided through loans from the Colorado Water Con-
servation Board Construction Fund (37-60-121 C.R.S.) to the 
Western Area Power Administration in lieu of funds which would 
otherwise be collected from power revenues and used for storage 
project repayments. The Western Area Power Administration is 
authorized to repay such loan or loans from power revenues col-
lected beginning in fiscal year 2012, subject to an agreement 
between the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Western Area 
Power Administration, and the Bureau of Reclamation. The agree-
ment and any future loan contracts that may be entered into 
by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Western Area Power 
Administration, and the Bureau of Reclamation shall be negotiated 
in consultation with Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects Firm 
Power Contractors. The agreement and loan contracts shall include 
provisions designed to minimize impacts on electrical power rates 
and shall ensure that loan repayment to the Colorado Water Con-
servation Board, including principal and interest, is completed no 
later than September 30, 2057. 'rfie Western Area Power Adminis-
tration is authorized to include in power rates such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this paragraph and paragraph (2). 
(4) All contributions made pursuant to this subsection shall 
be in addition to the cost of replacement power purchased due 
to modifying the operation of the Colorado River Storage Project 
and the capital cost of water from Wolford Mountain Reservoir 
in Colorado. Such costs shall be considered as non-Federal contribu-
tions, not to exceed $20,000,000. 
(d) BASE FUNDING.—(1) Beginning in the first fiscal year com-
mencing after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
may utilize power revenues collected pursuant to the Colorado 
River Storage Project Act for the annual base funding contributions 
to the Recovery Implementation Programs by the Bureau of Rec-
lamation. Such funding shall be treated as nonreimbursable and 
as having been repaid and returned to the general fund of the 
Treasury as costs assigned to power for repayment under section 
5 of the Colorado River Storage Project Act. 
(2) For the Recovery Implementation Program for the Endan-
gered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin, the contribu-
tions to base funding referred to in paragraph (1) shall not exceed 
$4,000,000 per year. For the San Juan River Recovenr Implementa-
tion Program, such contributions shall not exceed $2,000,000 per 
PUBLIC LAW 106-392—OCT. 30, 2000 
114 STAT. 1605 
year. The Secretary shall adjust such amounts for inflation in 
fiscal years commencing after the enactment of this Act. The utiliza-
tion of power revenues for annual base funding shall cease after 
the fiscal year 2011, unless reauthorized by Congress; except that 
power revenues may continue to be utilized to fund the operation 
and maintenance of capital projects and monitoring. No later than Deadline, 
the end of fiscal year 2008, the Secretary shall submit a report Reports, 
on the utilization of power revenues for base funding to the appro-
priate Committees of the United States Senate and the House 
of Representatives. The Secretary shall also make a recommenda-
tion in such report regarding the need for continued base funding 
after fiscal year 2011 that may be required to fulfill the goals 
of the Recovery Implementation Programs. Nothing in this Act 
shall otherwise modify or amend existing agreements among partici-
pants regarding base funding and depletion charges for the Recovery 
Implementation Programs. 
(3) The Western Area Power Administration and the Bureau 
of Reclamation shall maintain sufficient revenues in the Colorado 
River Basin Fund to meet their obligation to provide base funding 
in accordance with paragraph (2). If the Western Area Power 
Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation determine that the 
funds in the Colorado River Basin Fund will not be sufficient 
to meet the obligations of section 5(c)(1) of the Colorado River 
Storage Project Act for a 3-year period, the Western Area Power 
Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation shall request appro-
priations to meet base funding obligations. 
(e) AUTHORITY TO RETAIN APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—At the end 
of each fiscal year any unexpended appropriated funds for capital 
projects under this Act shall be retained for use in future fiscal 
years. Unexpended funds under this Act that are carried over 
shall continue to be used to implement the capital projects needed 
for the Recovery Implementation Programs. 
(f) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—^The Secretary may enter into 
agreements and contracts with Federal and non-Federal entities, 
acquire and transfer interests in land, water, and facilities, and 
accept or give grants in order to carry out the purposes of this 
Act. 
(g) INDIAN TRUST ASSETS.—^The Congress finds that much of 
the potential water development in the San Juan River Basin 
and in the Duchesne River Basin (a subbasin of the Green River 
in the Upper Colorado River Basin) is for the benefit of Indian 
tribes and most of the federally designated critical habitat for 
the endangered fish species in the San Juan River Basin is on 
Indian trust lands, and 2V2 miles of critical habitat on the Duchesne 
River is on Indian Trust Land. Nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued to restrict the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Rec-
lamation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, from funding activities 
or capital projects in accordance with the Federal Government's 
Indian trust responsibility. 
(h) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—^All authorities provided by 
this section for the respective Recovery Implementation Program 
shall terminate upon expiration of the current time period for 
the respective Cooperative Agreement referenced in section 2(1) 
unless, at least 1 year prior to such expiration, the time period 
for the respective Cooperative Agreement is extended to conform 
with this Act. 
114 STAT. 1606 
PUBLIC LAW 106-392—OCT. 30, 2000 
SEC. 4. EFFECT ON RECLAMATION LAW. 
Specifically with regard to the acreage limitation provisions 
of Federal reclamation law, any action taken pursuant to or in 
furtherance of this title will not— 
(1) be considered in determining whether a district as 
defined in section 202(2) of the Reclamation Reform Act of 
1982 (43 U.S.C. 390bb) has discharged its obligation to repay 
the construction cost of project facilities used to make irrigation 
water available for delivery to land in the district; 
(2) serve as the basis for reinstating acreage limitation 
provisions in a district that has completed payment of its 
construction obligations; or 
(3) serve as the basis for increasing the construction repay-
ment obligation of the district and thereby extending the period 
during which the acreage limitation provisions will apply. 
Approved October 30, 2000. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 2348 (S. 2239): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 10&-791 (Comm. on Resources). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-403 accompanying S. 2239 (Comm. on Energy and 
Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 146 (2000): 
July 25, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 13, considered and passed Senate.