[House Report 109-288]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 109-288
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YAKIMA-TIETON IRRIGATION DISTRICT CONVEYANCE ACT OF 2005
_______
November 10, 2005.--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. 1564]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1564) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
convey certain buildings and lands of the Yakima Project,
Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District, 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. 1564 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to convey certain buildings and lands of the
Yakima Project, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation
District.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Yakima Project, owned and constructed by the Bureau of
Reclamation of the Department of the Interior, was completed in
the 1930s and provides irrigation water for approximately
450,000 acres of land on both sides of the Yakima River in
south-central Washington. The Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District
is one of the main divisions of the Project. The delivery of
Project water to the District began in 1910 and the District
assumed operation and maintenance of their water conveyance
facilities in 1947. The District has repaid its Project capital
repayment obligations to the United States.
H.R. 1564 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey
all federal right, title and interests of certain buildings and
nine acres associated with the Yakima Project to the District.
The terms of the transfer are included in a formal agreement
between the Bureau of Reclamation and the District. Since
Congressional approval is necessary for these transfers to take
place, this legislation authorizes this specific transfer.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1564 was introduced on April 12, 2005, by
Congressional Doc Hastings (R-WA). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Water and Power. On September 27, 2005, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On October 19, 2005,
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. 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
Section 1 cites the bill as the ``Yakima-Tieton Irrigation
District Conveyance Act of 2005.''
Section 2. Conveyance of certain buildings and lands of the Yakima
project, Washington
Section 2 directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer
all right, title and interest in and to the buildings and lands
of the Yakima Project in accordance with Contract No. 5-07-20-
L1658 (an agreement between the United States and the
District). The section releases the United States from any
liability once the transfer takes place except for damages
caused by acts of negligence before the transfer. After the
conveyance, the transferred buildings and lands shall not be
considered to be a part of the Yakima Project, and the District
will not be eligible to receive any federal benefits with
respect to the conveyed items. The section further requires the
Secretary of the Interior to issue a report to Congress if the
transfer does not take place within one year after the date of
enactment of the bill. The report shall explain the reasons why
the transfer has not been completed and state the date for the
transfer.
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 revenues or tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
enactment of this bill would result in a ``negligible''
increase in mandatory spending.
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:
H.R. 1564--Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District Conveyance Act of 2005
H.R. 1564 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey certain lands and buildings comprising a portion of the
Yakima Project in Yakima County, Washington, to the Yakima-
Tieton Irrigation District. Based on information from the
Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1564
would have no significant effect on the federal budget.
This bill would transfer title for approximately nine acres
of land and several buildings to the irrigation district. Other
parts of the project, including the Tieton diversion dam and
associated canals, would not be affected. The district has
fully complied with all repayment agreements associated with
the project, and currently makes only small payments to
reimburse the Bureau of Reclamation for operations and
maintenance of Yakima-Tieton facilities. Such payments are
mandatory receipts to the Reclamation Fund, and would no longer
be made if this bill were enacted, decreasing receipts and
resulting in a negligible increase in mandatory spending. Under
the bill, the bureau would no longer be responsible for the
minor discretionary costs associated with operations and
maintenance of the conveyed facilities.
H.R. 1564 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.
The land conveyance authorized by this bill would be voluntary
on the part of the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District. Any costs
they might incur to comply with the conditions of the
conveyance would be incurred voluntarily.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mike Waters. The
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.