[House Report 108-259]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 108-259
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AMENDING THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1998 TO
EXTEND CERTAIN CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION AND CERTAIN
IRRIGATION WATER CONTRACTORS IN THE STATES OF WYOMING AND NEBRASKA
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September 4, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2040]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2040) to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension
Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of
Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in the
States of Wyoming and Nebraska, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2040 is to amend the Irrigation Project
Contract Extension Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts
between the Bureau of Reclamation and certain irrigation water
contractors in the States of Wyoming and Nebraska.
Background and Need for Legislation
Glendo Dam, part of the integrated Glendo Unit on the
Platte River, was authorized in 1944 as part of the Pick-Sloan
Missouri Basin Program. Construction was completed in 1958. The
multi-purpose Glendo Dam provides water for irrigation,
hydropower generation, flood control and recreation. Under the
North Platte Supreme Court decree, up to 25,000 acre-feet water
are available to Nebraska irrigation districts and 15,000 acre-
feet to Wyoming irrigation districts.
Glendo Dam is one of seven Bureau of Reclamation facilities
currently being evaluated under a cooperative agreement signed
in July 1997 between the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, and
Colorado and the Department of the Interior. The agreement is a
framework for a joint, basin-wide research effort to improve
the habitat of four threatened and endangered species (the
whooping crane, interior least tern, piping plover and the
pallid sturgeon) in the central Platte River. The original term
of the agreement was three years, or until June 30, 2000.
However, a number of factors--including continuing research on
current milestones and the creation of tasks for new
milestones--have led to a three-year extension of the
agreement, which expired on June 30, 2003. The four parties
have agreed to extend the agreement in an attempt to finish the
forthcoming Platte River Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
and Record of Decision (ROD) required under the National
Environmental Policy Act expected to be completed in 2005.
While the agreement process continues, nine Glendo water
contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation have been up for
renewal. Since future contracts will probably have to be
modified as a result of additional water needs for endangered
species habitat recovery programs set forth in the EIS and
subsequent ROD, the irrigators are reluctant to enter into new
contracts without a clear water use and delivery roadmap set
forth in the EIS. This uncertainty has led Congress to extend
the current Glendo contracts in 1998 (Public Law 105-293) and
2000 (Public Law 106-377). H.R. 2040 would continue these
Congressional actions by extending current Glendo contracts
through December 31, 2005, when agreement parties believe
habitat recovery plans will be completed. The contract
extension in this bill will give Glendo irrigators time to
renegotiate current contracts once the agreement is completed.
Committee Action
H.R. 2040 was introduced by Congressman Tom Osborne (R-NE)
on May 8, 2003. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee the Subcommittee on Water
and Power. On June 24, 2003, the Subcommittee held a hearing on
the bill. On July 9, 2003, the Full Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged from further
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments
were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
Section-by-Section
Section 1. Extension of Certain Irrigation Project Contracts
This section provides for the extension of certain
contracts (eight water service contracts and one repayment
contract) through December 31, 2005, between the Bureau of
Reclamation and irrigation water contractors in Wyoming and
Nebraska that receive water from Glendo Reservoir.
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, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this
bill would result in a loss of offsetting receipts (less than
$500,000) but it would match a reduction in spending.
Therefore, enactment of H.R. 2040 ``would have no significant
impact on the federal budget.''
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
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, August 29, 2003.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
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. 2040, a bill to
amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to
extend certain contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and
certain irrigation water contractors in the states of Wyoming
and Nebraska.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact for federal
costs is Julie Middleton. The contact for the impact on state
and local governments is Marjorie Miller.
Sincerely,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2040--A bill to amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension
Act of 1998 to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of
Reclamation and certain irrigation water contractors in the
states of Wyoming and Nebraska
H.R. 2040 would extend--for up to two years--contracts
between the Bureau of Reclamation and purchasers of irrigation
water in Wyoming and Nebraska that receive water from the
Glendo Reservoir. The existing contracts will expire on
December 31, 2003; however, the Secretary of the Interior has
the authority under current law to renew these contracts on an
annual basis. Such annual renewals require the Secretary to
prepare an environmental impact statement and carry out
mitigation efforts. Under H.R. 2040, the bureau would avoid the
costs associated with annual renewals.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2040 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Based on information
provided by the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that
enacting H.R. 2040 would allow the bureau to avoid costs of
less than $500,000 in 2004 and smaller amounts in future years.
Those costs are subject to the availability of appropriated
funds, but the agency is reimbursed by individuals contracting
for water and the reimbursements are deposited in the Treasury
as offsetting receipts (a form of direct spending). The
potential loss of offsetting receipts would match the potential
reduction in spending subject to appropriation, and we estimate
that both would be insignificant.
H.R. 2040 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
Enacting this bill would benefit the contractors affected by
this bill, which are generally governmental entities, because
it would allow them to avoid the costs of annual renewals.
The CBO staff contact for federal costs is Julie Middleton.
The contact for the impact on state and local governments is
Marjorie Miller. 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 Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 2 OF THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1998
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF CONTRACTS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall extend
each of the water service or repayment contracts for the Glendo
Unit of the Missouri River Basin Project identified in
subsection (c) until [December 31, 2003] December 31, 2005.
(b) Extensions Coterminous With Cooperative
Agreement.--If the cooperative agreement entitled ``Cooperative
Agreement for Platte River Research and other Efforts Relating
to Endangered Species Habitats Along the Central Platte River,
Nebraska'', entered into by the Governors of the States of
Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado and the Secretary of the
Interior, is extended for a term beyond December 31, 2000, the
contracts identified in subsection (c) shall be extended for
the same term, but not to go [beyond December 31, 2003] beyond
December 31, 2005. If the cooperative agreement terminates
[prior to December 31, 2003] before December 31, 2005, the
contracts identified in subsection (c) shall be subject to
renewal on the date that the cooperative agreement terminates.
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