[House Report 112-160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 112-160
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TO CLARIFY THE JURISDICTION OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR WITH
RESPECT TO THE C.C. CRAGIN DAM AND RESERVOIR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
July 20, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 489]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 489) to clarify the jurisdiction of the
Secretary of the Interior with respect to the C.C. Cragin Dam
and Reservoir, 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 H.R. 489 is to clarify the jurisdiction of
the Secretary of the Interior with respect to the C.C. Cragin
Dam and Reservoir.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Phelps Dodge, a large mining company, built what is now the
Cragin Project (Project) in the 1960's to supply water to its
Morenci Mine Complex. Phelps Dodge transferred ownership of the
Project to the Salt River Project (SRP) after the former
realized it was not necessary for mining operations. At the
request of SRP and with the support of Phelps Dodge and the
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Arizona Water Rights
Settlement Act (P.L. 108-451) authorized transfer of title of
the Project and associated lands from SRP to Reclamation in
2005. Even though the federal government owns the Project, SRP
still operates and maintains it pursuant to a 1917 contract
between SRP and the United States.
The Project consists of a number of facilities, including a
147-foot high dam, a 15,000 acre-foot reservoir, diversion
tunnel and pump shaft, pumping plant, priming reservoir, a 10-
mile long pipeline, electrical transmission line, and small
generating plant which supplies power to the Project's pumping
plant. The project helps SRP supply water to the Phoenix
metropolitan area and to the town of Payson and neighboring
communities in northern Gila County.
Implementation of the title transfer under P.L. 108-45 has
been controversial due to misunderstandings between the U.S.
Forest Service, Reclamation and SRP. The operation of the
Project is like that of all other Salt River Project-managed
Reclamation facilities located on U.S. Forest Service lands.
For those projects, Reclamation approves SRP's work plans,
environmental compliance, and other regulatory permitting
requirements associated with the project. The U.S. Forest
Service's responsibilities under those projects mainly include
recreation and fire suppression. However, with this Project,
the U.S. Forest Service also requires Reclamation to obtain a
special use permit to operate, maintain and repair the water
facilities.
This added permit requirement led to untimely delays and
cost increases when it came to a recent repair of the pipeline.
In light of these delays and out of concern for future
activities, SRP and Reclamation attempted to reach an
administrative agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to
resolve the jurisdictional dispute. However, these efforts were
not successful. This bill resolves this dispute and follows the
permitting and approval precedents by which other Salt River
federal Reclamation Project facilities are managed on U.S.
Forest Service lands consistent with the 1987 Interagency
Agreement between Reclamation and U.S. Forest Service
concerning all water resource related Reclamation projects
within or adjacent to U.S. Forest Service lands.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 489 was introduced on January 26, 2011, by Congressman
Paul Gosar (R-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittees on Water and Power and National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands. On May 12, 2011, the Subcommittee on Water
and Power held a hearing on the bill. On June 15, 2011, the
Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittees on Water and Power and National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands were discharged by unanimous consent. No
amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
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.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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. 489--A bill to clarify the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the
Interior with respect to the C.C. Cragin Dam and Reservoir
H.R. 489 would clarify that the Secretary of the Interior
has exclusive jurisdiction to manage the C.C. Cragin Dam and
Reservoir, an area consisting of approximately 512 acres of
land within the Coconino and Tonto National Forests in northern
Arizona. Based on information from the Bureau of Reclamation
and the Forest Service, CBO estimates that the legislation
would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Because
the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues,
pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
The Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004 transferred
administrative authority for the C.C. Cragin Dam, Reservoir,
and 10 miles of existing pipeline to the Bureau of Reclamation.
The legislation did not explicitly divest the Forest Service
from managing the underlying National Forest lands, resulting
in uncertainty over which agency has the authority to approve
management activities for the Cragin Project. The Cragin
Project involves operating and maintaining 10 miles of pipeline
and constructing 14.5 miles of additional pipeline to deliver
water to Northern Gila County. Currently, the project is
subject to the approval requirements of both agencies. The
legislation would clarify the authority of the Bureau of
Reclamation to be the sole manager of the project.
H.R. 489 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 Aurora Swanson.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of 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. CBO estimates that
the legislation would have no significant impact on the federal
budget. Because the legislation would not affect direct
spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
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.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
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.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
H.R. 489 would specify that the Bureau of Reclamation is
authorized to approve necessary operation and maintenance
activity for the C.C. Cragin Project on National Forest System
land. Last Congress, the Forest Service expressed concern
regarding the possibility that this legislation would set a
harmful precedent for management of other utility corridors on
Forest Service lands. Through negotiations with the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation, the Forest Service, the Salt River Project, and
Congress, amendments were made to the legislation in the 111th
Congress that addressed the Forest Service's concerns. Those
changes are reflected in H.R. 489 as introduced.
Edward J. Markey,
Ranking Member.