[House Report 109-339]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 109-339
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ARTHUR V. WATKINS DAM ENLARGEMENT ACT OF 2005
_______
December 13, 2005.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3626]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3626) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study
the feasibility of enlarging the Arthur V. Watkins Dam Weber
Basin Project, Utah, to provide additional water for the Weber
Basin Project to fulfill the purposes for which that project
was authorized, 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 ``Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act
of 2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Arthur V. Watkins Dam is a feature of the Weber Basin
Project, which was authorized by law on August 29, 1949.
(2) Increasing the height of Arthur V. Watkins Dam and
construction of pertinent facilities may provide additional
storage capacity for the development of additional water supply
for the Weber Basin Project for uses of municipal and
industrial water supply, flood control, fish and wildlife, and
recreation.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF FEASIBILITY STUDY.
The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of
Reclamation, is authorized to conduct a feasibility study on raising
the height of Arthur V. Watkins Dam for the development of additional
storage to meet water supply needs within the Weber Basin Project area
and the Wasatch Front. The feasibility study shall include such
environmental evaluation as required under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and a cost allocation as
required under the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485 et
seq.).
SEC. 4. COST SHARES.
(a) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the costs of the study
authorized in section 3 shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost
of the study.
(b) In-Kind Contributions.--The Secretary shall accept, as
appropriate, in-kind contributions of goods or services from the Weber
Basin Water Conservancy District. Such goods and services accepted
under this section shall be counted as part of the non-Federal cost
share for the study.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000
for the Federal cost share of the study authorized in section 3.
SEC. 6. SUNSET.
The authority of the Secretary to carry out any provisions of this
Act shall terminate 10 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 3626 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to study the feasibility of enlarging the Arthur
V. Watkins Dam Weber Basin Project, Utah, to provide additional
water for the Weber Basin Project to fulfill the purposes for
which that project was authorized.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Bureau of Reclamation's Weber Basin Project, located in
northern Utah, stores and delivers water from the Weber River
and its tributaries. Arthur V. Watkins Dam, part of the Weber
Basin Project, is an off-stream reservoir on the northeastern
edge of the Great Salt Lake. It is formed by a roughly
rectangular-shaped perimeter dam about 14.5 miles long. Water
from the Weber River near its outlet to the Great Salt Lake is
diverted into the reservoir via the Willard Canal, and pumped
from the reservoir via the same canal for multiple uses. In
addition to providing water supply, the reservoir is a popular
recreation facility.
Recent drought and a growing population in Utah have
highlighted the need for additional water storage. As a result,
the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, a water user which
manages Arthur V. Watkins Dam and Reservoir, desires the Bureau
of Reclamation's assistance in determining the feasibility of
adding water storage capacity to the Reservoir. H.R. 3626
authorizes such assistance.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3626 was introduced on July 29, 2005, by Congressman
Rob Bishop (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Water and Power. On November 9, 2005, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill. On November 16, 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. Congressman George Radanovich (R-CA)
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to specify
that up to $1 million is authorized for the bill's purpose and
is subject to a 50 percent federal cost-share. The amendment
also limited the bill's authorization to ten years. The
amendment was adopted 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 section cites the bill as the ``Arthur V. Watkins Dam
Enlargement Act of 2005.''
Section 2. Findings
This section contains findings relevant to the bill.
Section 3. Authorization of feasibility study
This section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct a
feasibility study on raising the height of Arthur V. Watkins
Dam to provide additional water storage. The feasibility study
shall include any environmental evaluation as required under
the National Environmental Policy Act and a cost allocation
required under the Reclamation Project Act of 1939.
Section 4. cost shares
This section directs the federal share of the cost of the
study to be no more than 50 percent. In-kind goods or services
provided by the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District may be
counted as part of the non-federal cost share.
Section 5. Authorization of appropriations
This section authorizes federal appropriations of $1
million for the feasibility study.
Section 6. Sunset
This section limits the federal authorization to ten years
after the date of enactment.
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
revenues or tax expenditures.
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 authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to study the feasibility of enlarging the Arthur V.
Watkins Dam, Weber Basin Project, Utah, to provide additional
water for the Weber Basin Project to fulfill the purposes for
which that project was authorized.
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. 3626--Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act of 2005
H.R. 3626 would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to
participate in a water management feasibility study of the
Arthur V. Watkins Dam in northern Utah. The study would
consider increasing the height of the Dam in order to increase
the water storage capacity of the Watkins Reservoir and the
water supply to the Weber Basin Project area and Wasatch Front.
H.R. 3626 would authorize the appropriation of $1 million for
the federal share of the cost of this study, which could not
exceed 50 percent of the total cost.
Assuming appropriation of the specified amount, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 3626 would cost $1 million
over the 2006-2007 period. Enacting H.R. 3626 would not affect
direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 3626 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.
Funds authorized in the bill to conduct a study of the Arthur
V. Watkins Dam would benefit the Weber Basin Water Conservancy
District. Any costs it might incur would result from complying
with conditions for receiving federal assistance.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Gregory Waring.
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 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.