[House Report 107-648]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-648
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HUMBOLDT PROJECT CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
September 9, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5039]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 5039) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey
title to certain irrigation project property in the Humboldt
Project, Nevada, to the Pershing County Water Conservation
District, Pershing County, Lander County, and the State of
Nevada, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Humboldt Project Conveyance Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(2) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Nevada.
(3) PCWCD.--The term ``PCWCD'' means the Pershing County
Water Conservation District, a public entity organized under
the laws of the State of Nevada.
(4) Pershing county.--The term ``Pershing County'' means the
Pershing County government, a political subunit of the State of
Nevada.
(5) Lander county.--The term ``Lander County'' means the
Lander County government, a political subunit of the State of
Nevada.
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY TITLE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after
the date of enactment of this Act, convey, all right, title, and
interest in and to the lands and features of the Humboldt Project,
including all water rights for storage and diversion, to PCWCD, the
State, Pershing County, and Lander County, consistent with the terms
and conditions set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement between PCWCD
and Lander County dated January 24, 2000, the Conceptual Agreement
between PCWCD and the State dated October 18, 2001, and the Letter of
Agreement between Pershing County and the State dated April 16, 2002.
(b) Compliance With Agreements.--All parties to the conveyance under
subsection (a) shall comply with the terms and conditions of the
agreements cited in subsection (a).
(c) Report.--If the conveyance required by this section has not been
completed within 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate that describes--
(1) the status of the conveyance;
(2) any obstacles to completion of the conveyance; and
(3) the anticipated date for completion of the conveyance.
SEC. 4. PAYMENT.
(a) In General.--As consideration for any conveyance required by
section 3, PCWCD shall pay to the United States the net present value
of miscellaneous revenues associated with the lands and facilities to
be conveyed.
(b) Withdrawn Lands.--As consideration for any conveyance of
withdrawn lands required by section 3, the entity receiving title shall
pay the United States (in addition to amounts paid under subsection
(a)) the fair market value for any such lands conveyed that were
withdrawn from the public domain pursuant to the Secretarial Orders
dated March 16, 1934, and April 6, 1956.
(c) Administrative Costs.--Administrative costs for conveyance of any
land or facility under this Act shall be paid in equal shares by the
Secretary and the entity receiving title to the land or facility,
except costs identified in subsections (d) and (e).
(d) Real Estate Transfer Costs.--As a condition of any conveyance of
any land or facility required by section 3, costs of all boundary
surveys, title searches, cadastral surveys, appraisals, and other real
estate transactions required for the conveyance shall be paid by the
entity receiving title to the land or facility.
(e) NEPA Costs.--Costs associated with any review required under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for conveyance of any land or
facility under section 3 shall be paid in equal shares by the Secretary
and the entity receiving title to the land or facility.
(f) State of Nevada.--The State shall not be responsible for any
payments for land or facilities under this section. Any proposal by the
State to reconvey to another entity land conveyed by the Secretary
under this Act shall be pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary
providing for fair market value to the United States for the lands, and
for continued management of the lands for recreation, wildlife habitat,
wetlands, or resource conservation.
SEC. 5. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS.
Following the conveyance required by section 3, the district, the
State, Pershing County, and Lander County shall, with respect to the
interests conveyed, comply with all requirements of Federal, State, and
local law applicable to non-Federal water distribution systems.
SEC. 6. REVOCATION OF WITHDRAWALS.
Effective on the date of the conveyance required by section 3, the
Secretarial Orders dated March 16, 1934, and April 6, 1956, that
withdrew public lands for the Rye Patch Reservoir and the Humboldt
Sink, are hereby revoked.
SEC. 7. LIABILITY.
Effective on the date of the conveyance required by section 3, the
United States shall not be held liable by any court for damages of any
kind arising out of any act, omission, or occurrence relating to the
Humboldt Project, except for damages caused by acts of negligence
committed by the United States or by its employees or agents prior to
the date of conveyance. Nothing in this section shall be considered to
increase the liability of the United States beyond that currently
provided in chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, popularly
known as the Federal Tort Claims Act.
SEC. 8. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT.
Prior to conveyance the Secretary shall complete all actions as may
be required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
SEC. 9. FUTURE BENEFITS.
Upon conveyance of the lands and facilities by the Secretary under
this Act, the Humboldt Project shall no longer be a Federal reclamation
project and the district shall not be entitled to receive any future
reclamation benefits with respect to that project, except those
benefits that would be available to other nonreclamation districts.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 5039, is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey title to certain irrigation project property
in the Humboldt Project, Nevada to the Pershing County Water
Conservation District, Pershing County, Lander County, and the
State of Nevada.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Bureau of Reclamation began work on the Humboldt
Project in 1933. Rye Patch Dam, the main feature of the
Humboldt Project, was completed in 1936 and has a capacity of
213,000 acre-feet of water. The Pershing County Water
Conservation District (PCWCD) provides water to approximately
38,000 acres of irrigated crop and pasture land located in the
Lovelock Valley. PCWCD has operated and maintained the
facilities associated with the Humboldt Project since January
15, 1941. The project has been completely repaid including the
1976 rehabilitation of Rye Patch Dam.
H.R. 5039 provides for the transfer of lands and facilities
to the PCWCD, Pershing County, Lander County and the State of
Nevada. It requires that the title transfer shall be consistent
with terms and conditions of several existing agreements. If
the transfer is not completed within a specified time frame,
H.R. 5039 requires that a report be submitted to the
appropriate committees of the Congress describing the current
status.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5039 was introduced on June 27, 2002, by Congressman
Jim Gibbons. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Water and Power. On July 9, 2002, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill. On July 24, 2002, the Full Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Water
and Power was discharged from further consideration of the bill
by unanimous consent. Congressman Gibbons offered an amendment
to address cost share issues and the time frame for the
transfer to occur. It was agreed to by unanimous consent. The
bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the ``Humboldt Project Conveyance
Act''.
Section 2. Definitions
This section defines terms utilized in the Act.
Section 3. Authority to convey title
This Section authorizes the secretary to transfer the
property as soon as practicable following completion of all
associated surveys and requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act.
Section 4. Payment
This section calls for payment of the net present value of
lands and facilities to be conveyed. Administrative costs for
conveyance shall be paid in equal share by the Secretary and
the entity receiving title to the land or facility. Costs of
all boundary surveys, title searches, cadastral surveys,
appraisals, and other real estate transaction costs shall be
paid by the entity receiving title. All costs associated with
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act shall be
paid in equal amounts by the Secretary and the receiving
entity. The State of Nevada shall not be responsible for any of
the above costs.
Section 5. Compliance with other laws
This section specifies that the receiving entities shall
comply with all Federal, State and local law applicable to non-
Federal water distribution systems.
Section 6. Revocation of withdrawals
Effective on the date of conveyance, the Secretarial orders
that withdrew public lands of the Rye Patch Reservoir and the
Humboldt Sink are revoked.
Section 7. Liability
Effective on the date of conveyance, the United States
shall not be held liable for damages of any kind arising out of
any act, omission, or occurrence relating to the Humboldt
Project, except for damages caused by acts of negligence
committed by the United States or by its employees or agents
prior to the date of conveyance.
Section 8. Existing rights not affected
Nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of any person
except as provided in the Act. Nothing in the Act shall affect
or abrogate any provision of any contract regarding any
person's right to use water.
Section 9. National Environmental Policy Act
Prior to conveyance the Secretary shall complete all
actions as may be required under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the
lands being transferred produce a few hundred dollars a year to
the federal government, however, enacting H.R. 5039 would have
no significant effect on the federal budget.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to convey title to certain irrigation
project property in the Humboldt Project, Nevada to the
Pershing County Water Conservation District, Pershing County,
Lander County, and the State of Nevada.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 5, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5039, the Humboldt
Project Conveyance Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Hadley.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 5039--Humboldt Project Conveyance Act
H.R. 5039 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
transfer title to the lands and facilities that make up the
Humboldt Project to the Pershing County Water Conservation
District, the state of Nevada, and Pershing and Lander
counties. As a condition of conveyance, the district, the
state, and the counties would pay the federal government the
net present value of miscellaneous receipts associated with the
lands and facilities they would receive.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5039 would have no
significant effect on the federal budget. Based on information
from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that costs of
transferring the real estate, conducting environmental reviews,
and other administrative expenses would be less than $500,000.
Because enacting H.R. 5039 would affect direct spending, pay-
as-you-go procedures would apply, but CBO estimates that any
such impact would be negligible. The government currently
collects a few hundred dollars a year from these lands for
grazing permits and leases for utility rights to way. A receipt
of the net present value of those amounts would be negligible.
H.R. 3509 contains no intergovernment or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The conveyance authorized by this bill would benefit the state
of Nevada and the local governments that would receive title to
lands and facilities. Any costs that these governments would
incur to meet the conditions imposed by the bill would be
voluntary.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Hadley.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.