[House Report 110-459]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-459
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BUREAU OF RECLAMATION SITE SECURITY COSTS ACT OF 2007
_______
December 4, 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. 1662]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 1662) to amend the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of
1978 to authorize improvements for the security of dams and
other facilities, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended
do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bureau of Reclamation Site Security
Costs Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF CAPITAL COSTS.
Costs incurred by the Secretary of the Interior for the physical
fortification of Bureau of Reclamation facilities to satisfy increased
post-September 11, 2001, security needs, including the construction,
modification, upgrade, or replacement of such facility fortifications,
shall be nonreimbursable.
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF SECURITY-RELATED OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS.
(a) Reimbursable Costs.--The Secretary of the Interior shall include
no more than $18,900,000 per fiscal year, indexed each fiscal year
after fiscal year 2008 according to the preceding year's Consumer Price
Index, of those costs incurred for increased levels of guards and
patrols, training, patrols by local and tribal law enforcement
entities, operation, maintenance, and replacement of guard and response
force equipment, and operation and maintenance of facility
fortifications at Bureau of Reclamation facilities after the events of
September 11, 2001, as reimbursable operation and maintenance costs
under Reclamation law.
(b) Costs Collected Through Water Rates.--In the case of the Central
Valley Project of California, site security costs allocated to
irrigation and municipal and industrial water service in accordance
with this Act shall be collected by the Secretary exclusively through
inclusion of these costs in the operation and maintenance water rates.
SEC. 4. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) Policies and Procedures.--The Secretary is authorized to develop
policies and procedures with project beneficiaries, consistent with the
requirements of subsections (b) and (c), to provide for the payment of
the reimbursable costs described in section 3.
(b) Notice.--On identifying a Bureau of Reclamation facility for a
site security measure, the Secretary shall provide to the project
beneficiaries written notice--
(1) describing the need for the site security measure and the
process for identifying and implementing the site security
measure; and
(2) summarizing the administrative and legal requirements
relating to the site security measure.
(c) Consultation.--The Secretary shall--
(1) provide project beneficiaries an opportunity to consult
with the Bureau of Reclamation on the planning, design, and
construction of the site security measure; and
(2) in consultation with project beneficiaries, develop and
provide timeframes for the consultation described in paragraph
(1).
(d) Response; Notice.--Before incurring costs pursuant to activities
described in section 3, the Secretary shall consider cost containment
measures recommended by a project beneficiary that has elected to
consult with the Bureau of Reclamation on such activities. The
Secretary shall provide to the project beneficiary--
(1) a timely written response describing proposed actions, if
any, to address the recommendation; and
(2) notice regarding the costs and status of such activities
on a periodic basis.
(e) Report.--The Secretary shall report annually to the Natural
Resources Committee of the House of Representatives and the Energy and
Natural Resources Committee of the Senate on site security actions and
activities undertaken pursuant to this Act for each fiscal year. The
report shall include a summary of Federal and non-Federal expenditures
for the fiscal year and information relating to a 5-year planning
horizon for the program, detailed to show pre-September 11, 2001, and
post-September 11, 2001, costs for the site security activities.
SEC. 5. PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 SECURITY COST LEVELS.
Reclamation project security costs at the levels of activity that
existed prior to September 11, 2001, shall remain reimbursable.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to seek
limited reimbursement for site security activities, and for
other purposes.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The primary purpose of H.R. 1662, as amended by the
Committee on Natural Resources, is to provide Bureau of
Reclamation project beneficiaries a statutory certainty
regarding their obligations to pay for certain site security
activities at Bureau of Reclamation facilities.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Since September 11, 2001, the Bureau of Reclamation has
maintained heightened security at its facilities to protect the
public, its employees and facilities. Additional patrols and
guards have been stationed where appropriate, and many
facilities have or will receive ``facility fortification.'' The
Bureau of Reclamation's total projected program cost for site
security activities in Fiscal Year 2008 is $47,100,000.
Testimony submitted to the Subcommittee on Water and Power
at an oversight hearing in the 109th Congress (June 22, 2006)
demonstrated widespread dissatisfaction with the Bureau of
Reclamation's methodology and procedures for seeking
reimbursement from project water and power beneficiaries for
site security activities. Project beneficiaries suggested that
placing the Site Security Program within the Bureau of
Reclamation's existing Safety of Dams Program would provide a
more equitable framework for allocating the capital and
operations and maintenance costs of site security work. As
introduced in the 109th Congress (H.R. 6029) by Rep. George
Radanovich (R-CA), and in the 110th Congress by Rep. Grace
Napolitano (D-CA), H.R. 1662 would have amended the Reclamation
Safety of Dams Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to make modifications to preserve the site security of
Bureau of Reclamation dams and related facilities, and to
provide for the reimbursement of costs incurred for post-
September 11, 2001 site security activities.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1662
on March 23, 2007. H.R. 1662 was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Water and Power. As noted above, the Subcommittee on Water
and Power held an oversight hearing on site security issues on
June 22, 2006. No legislative hearing was held on H.R. 1662.
As introduced, H.R. 1662 would have amended the Reclamation
Safety of Dams Act of 1978 to: (1) authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to make modifications to preserve the site
security of Bureau of Reclamation dams and related facilities;
and (2) provide for the reimbursement of all costs incurred for
post-September 11, 2001 building and site security activities.
On April 19, 2007, the Subcommittee on Water and Power met
to consider H.R. 1662. The bill was forwarded to the Full
Committee on Natural Resources without amendment.
On November 7, 2007, the Full Natural Resources Committee
met to consider H.R. 1662. Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) offered
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute does
not include site security activities under the Bureau of
Reclamation's Safety of Dams program. Instead, the amendment
establishes an upper limit of $18,900,000 annually (indexed for
inflation) on the reimbursable operation and maintenance costs
of site security activities, and provides that the capital
construction costs of such activities shall be nonreimbursable.
As amended, H.R. 1662 requires the Secretary of the Interior to
report annually to Congress on site security actions and
activities. The Napolitano substitute amendment to H.R. 1662
was adopted by unanimous consent, and the bill as amended was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
unanimous consent.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 amends the short title of the bill as the
``Bureau of Reclamation Site Security Costs Act of 2007''.
Section 2. Treatment of capital costs
Section 2 provides that the capital construction costs
incurred by the Bureau of Reclamation after September 11, 2001
for the physical fortification of Bureau of Reclamation
facilities shall be non-reimbursable.
Section 3. Treatment of security-related operations and maintenance
costs
Section 3 sets a limit of $18,900,000 annually (indexed for
inflation) on the reimbursable operation and maintenance costs
related to site security at Bureau of Reclamation facilities.
This section also requires that site security costs allocated
to irrigation, municipal, and industrial water service in the
Central Valley Project, California, be collected by the
Secretary exclusively through inclusion of such costs in
operation and maintenance water rates.
Section 4. Treatment of security-related operations and maintenance
costs
Section 4 requires the Secretary to provide written notice
of any proposed site security measure to project beneficiaries.
The Secretary will also provide project beneficiaries with an
opportunity to consult with the Bureau of Reclamation in the
planning, design, and construction of site security measures
and timeframes. Under this section, the Secretary must consider
any cost containment recommendations offered by a project
beneficiary, and provide a timely written response to such
recommendations. This section also requires the Secretary to
report annually to specified committees of the Congress on site
security actions and activities.
Section 5. Pre-September 11, 2001 security costs
Section 5 requires that Bureau of Reclamation project
security costs at the levels of activity that existed prior to
September 11, 2001, shall remain reimbursable.
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 authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to seek limited reimbursement for site security
activities, 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. 1662--Bureau of Reclamation Site Security Costs Act of 2007
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11,2001, the
Bureau of Reclamation has enhanced security measures at its
dams and associated facilities. The costs ofthese security
measures fall into two general categories: capital costs such
as making physical improvements to infrastructure, and
operation and maintenance (O&M) costs such as increasing the
number of guards and patrols at the dams and facilities. Under
current law, entities that purchase water and hydroelectric
power associated with the operation of the dams and facilities
must reimburse the bureau for a portion of O&M costs.
H.R. 1662 would limit the total amount of security-related
O&M costs that such entities would pay to the bureau to $18.9
million a year, adjusted annually for inflation. The bureau
expects to charge the entities no more than that amount,
adjusted for inflation, over the next 10 years under current
law. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would
have no significant impact on the budget.
H.R. 1662 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 CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
EARMARK STATEMENT
H.R. 1662 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(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.