[House Report 106-805]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-805
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DESCHUTES RESOURCES CONSERVANCY REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1999
_______
September 6, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1027]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 1027) to reauthorize the participation of the Bureau of
Reclamation in the Deschutes Resources Conservancy, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of S. 1027 is to reauthorize the participation
of the Bureau of Reclamation in the Deschutes Resources
Conservancy and for other purposes.
Background
The Deschutes Resources Conservancy was authorized in 1996
as a five-year pilot project designed to achieve local
consensus on projects to improve ecosystem health in the
Deschutes River basin. The Deschutes River drains Oregon's high
desert along the eastern front of the Cascade Mountains and
eventually flows into the Columbia River. The river basin is
used for recreation, irrigation, contains hundreds of thousands
of acres of productive forest and rangelands, serves the treaty
fishing and water rights of the Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs, and has Oregon's largest non-federal hydroelectric
project.
Projects funded through the Conservancy demonstration
include: piping for irrigation district delivery systems to
prevent water loss; securing water rights for instream flows to
restore flows to Squaw Creek; providing fencing of riparian
areas to protect riverbanks; working with private timberland
owners to restore riparian and wetlands areas; and seeking
donated water rights to enhance instream flows in the Deschutes
River basin.
The existing authorization provides up to $1 million each
year for projects. Funding is provided through the Bureau of
Reclamation, the lead federal agency. S. 1027 would reauthorize
the five-year pilot project from 2002 to 2006 and increase the
authorization ceiling to $2 million annually.
Companion legislation, H.R. 1787, was introduced in the
House of Representatives by Congressman Walden (R-OR).
Committee Action
S. 1027 was introduced on May 12, 1999, by Senator Gordon
Smith (R-OR). On July 1, 1999, the Senate passed S. 1027 by
unanimous consent. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Water and Power. On July 26, 2000, the Resources Committee met
to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Water and Power 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 Analysis
Section 1. Short title
The short title of the bill is ``Deschutes Resources
Conservancy Reauthorization Act of 1999''.
Section 2. Extension of participation of Bureau of Reclamation in
Deschutes Resources Conservancy.
This section reauthorizes the project for an additional
five years. This section also raises the authorization ceiling
from $1 million to $2 million annually.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(l) of rule X and clause 3(c)(l) 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
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings.--Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
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 3, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1027, the Deschutes
Resources Conservancy Reauthorization Act of 1999.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Rachel
Applebaum.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
S. 1027--Deschutes Resources Conservancy Reauthorization Act of 1999
Summary: S. 1027 would authorize the appropriation of $10
million over the 2002-2006 period for ecosystem restoration
projects in the Deschutes River basin in Oregon. Assuming
appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that
implementing S. 1027 would cost $7 million over the 2002-2005
period, with the remaining $3 million to be spent after 2005.
The legislation would not affect direct spending or receipts;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
S. 1027 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
State and local governments would probably incur some costs to
match the funds authorized by this act, but these costs would
be voluntary.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this
estimate, CBO assumes that the amounts authorized in the act
will be appropriated for each year and that outlays will follow
the historical spending pattern for similar activities. The
estimated budgetary impact of S. 1027 is shown in the following
table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget
function 300 (natural resources and the environment).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-----------------------------------------------------
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
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SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Spending under current law:
Authorization level \1\............................... 1 1 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays..................................... 1 1 (\2\) (\2\) 0 0
Proposed changes:
Authorization level................................... 0 0 2 2 2 2
Estimated Outlays..................................... 0 0 1 2 2 2
Spending Under S. 1027:
Authorization level \1\............................... 1 1 2 2 2 2
Estimated Outlays..................................... 1 1 2 2 2 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2000 level is the amount appropriated for that year for restoration projects in the Deschutes basin.
\2\ Less than $500,000.
Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1027
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA. State and local governments would probably
incur some costs to match the funds authorized by this act, but
these costs would be voluntary. Under current law, all federal
expenditures for restoration projects in the Deschutes basin
must be matched by an equal amount of nonfederal contributions,
including in-kind contributions. This requirement would apply
to the funds authorized by this act.
Previous CBO estimate: On June 27, 2000, CBO transmitted a
cost estimate for H.R. 1787, the Deschutes Resources
Conservancy Reauthorization Act of 1999, as ordered reported by
the House Committee on Resources on June 21, 2000. On June 21,
1999, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1027 as ordered
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources on June 16, 1999. All versions of this legislation
are nearly identical, and their estimated costs are the same.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs; Rachel Applebaum;
impact on State, local and tribal governments: Marjorie Miller,
impact on the private sector: Lauren Marks.
Estimate 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 (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 301 OF THE OREGON RESOURCE CONSERVATION ACT OF 1996
SEC. 301. DESCHUTES BASIN ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROJECTS.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(b) In General.--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) The Bureau of Reclamation shall pay from funds
authorized under subsection (h) of this title up to 50 percent
of the cost of performing any project proposed by the Working
Group and approved by the Secretary, up to a total amount of
$1,000,000 during each of the fiscal years 1997 through 2001,
and up to a total amount of $2,000,000 during each of fiscal
years 2002 through 2006.
* * * * * * *
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this title $1,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 1997 through 2001 and $2,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2002 through 2006.