[House Report 110-126]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-126
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ALASKA WATER RESOURCES ACT OF 2007
_______
May 7, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1114]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1114) to require the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and the United States
Geological Survey, to conduct a study on groundwater resources
in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
H.R. 1114 requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Bureau of Reclamation and the United States
Geological Survey, to conduct a study of groundwater resources
in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Due to harsh climate and wild terrain, Alaska has unique
water needs. There is little information on size or recharge
capabilities of groundwater aquifers, or water treatment needs
and technologies in Alaska. H.R. 1114 addresses this lack of
information by requiring the Bureau of Reclamation to study
water supplies, water treatment, and distribution needs in
Alaska, as well as require USGS to assess the adequacy of their
streamflow data collection process.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1114 was introduced on February 16, 2007 by Rep. Don
Young (R-AK). This bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water and Power. On April
19, 2007, the Subcommittee met to consider the bill. The bill
was reported, by unanimous consent, to the Full committee
without amendment. On May 2, 2007, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments were offered,
and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent. Similar legislation (S.
1338) passed the Senate by unanimous consent in the 109th
Congress.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides the short title of the bill.
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 clarifies that the term ``Secretary'' refers to
the Secretary of the Interior, and the term ``State'' refers to
Alaska.
Section 3. Alaska water resources study
Section 3 provides that the Secretary, acting through the
Bureau of Reclamation and the United States Geological Survey,
is required to conduct a study that includes (1) a survey of
accessible water supplies, including aquifers, on the Kenai
Peninsula in the municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska-
Susitna Borough, the city of Fairbanks, and the Fairbanks
Northstar Borough; (2) a survey of water treatment needs and
technologies applicable to the water resources of Alaska; and
(3) a review of the need for enhancement of the streamflow
information collected by the Geological Survey in the state
relating to critical water needs in areas such as
infrastructure risks to state transportation, flood
forecasting, resource extraction, and fire management.
Sec. 3.(b) Report
Section 3(b) requires the Secretary to submit a report on
the findings of the study to Congress within 2 years.
Section 4. Sunset
Section 4 states that the authority to carry out the
provisions of this Act terminates 10 years after enactment.
Section 5. Authorization of appropriations
Section 5 authorizes Congress to appropriate such sums as
are necessary to carry out this Act.
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 Natural 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 require the Secretary of the
Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and the
United States Geological Survey, to conduct a study of
groundwater resources in the State of Alaska, and for other
purposes.
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. 1114--Alaska Water Resources Act of 2007
Summary: H.R. 1114 would direct the Secretary of the
Interior to conduct a study of water resources in five areas of
Alaska. The study, to be completed within two years of the
bill's enactment, would include a survey of accessible water
supplies and water treatment needs. Assuming appropriation of
the necessary funds, CBO estimates that conducting those
studies would cost $8 million over the 2008-2012 period.
Enacting H.R. 1114 would not affect direct spending to or
revenues.
H.R. 1114 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this
estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 1114 will be enacted before the
end of 2007. Based on the cost of similar studies, CBO
estimates that carrying out the proposed study would cost $8
million over the 2008-2012 period, assuming appropriation of
the necessary amounts. The estimated budgetary impact of H.R.
1114 is shown in the following table. The costs of this
legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources
and environment).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of
dollars--
---------------------------------------
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES TO SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated Authorization Level... 8 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays............... 4 4 0 0 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1114
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
Previous CBO estimate: On February 8, 2007, CBO transmitted
a cost estimate for S. 200, the Alaska Water Resources Act of
2007, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources on January 31, 2007. S. 200 and H.R. 1114 are
nearly identical, and the estimated costs of the two bills are
the same.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis. Impact
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-Branum.
Impact on the Private Sector: Craig Cammarata.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
EARMARK STATEMENT
H.R. 1114 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e) or (f) of rule XXI.
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.