[House Report 106-598]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-598
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AK-CHIN WATER USE AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1999
_______
May 2, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2647]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2647) to amend the Act entitled ``An Act relating to the
water rights of the Ak-Chin Indian Community'' to clarify
certain provisions concerning the leasing of such water rights,
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. 2647 is to amend the Act entitled ``An
Act relating to the water rights of the Ak-Chin Indian
Community'' to clarify certain provisions concerning the
leasing of such water rights, and for other purposes.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Ak-Chin Reservation in the State of Arizona consists of
approximately 22,000 acres, and was established by Executive
Order in 1912 for the Pima and Papago Indians.
Congress passed the Ak-Chin water rights settlement in
1978. However, due to the costs of the initial settlement and a
lack of anticipated water, Congress amended the Ak-Chin water
settlement in 1984. This amendment provided the tribe a means
to be compensated for the lack of water in the original
settlement and a way to fund and construct a permanent water
supply system. The settlement was again amended in 1992 to
allow off-reservation leasing of the Indian community's water
entitlement, but limited the period of lease to 100 years.
However, the 1992 amendment did not allow for an extension of
the lease after the 100 year period has ended.
In reference to this bill, the Arizona Department of Water
Resources, in a July 28, 1999, correspondence with the Arizona
Congressional delegation stated:
Arizona law and the Arizona Assured Water Supply
Program require new subdivisions in Active Management
Areas (AMAs) to show the continuous physical and legal
availability of water supplies that can be used
consistent with the management goals of the AMA. One
method of establishing such a supply is the execution
of a lease of Indian water delivered through the CAP.
This is complicated by the fact that Indian water right
settlement acts, such as the 1984 Ak-Chin Act, usually
limit the term of permissible Indian leases to terms
which shall not exceed 100 years. If such a lease is
procured in the early stages of development, the term
of the lease may have matured as much as five years of
more before application is made to the Arizona
Department of Water Resources (ADWR) for an Assured
Water Supply certificate. Under our statutes and
regulations, a lease with a remaining term of less than
100 years does not meet the test of continuous legal
and physical availability.
This legislation would provide a legal avenue for the Ak-
Chin tribe to extend or renew its existing lease with an
Arizona development company that must obtain a State of Arizona
Assured Water Supply certificate for municipal water use. No
water has been delivered under the existing arrangement.
Committee Action
H.R. 2647 was introduced on July 29, 1999, by Congressman
John Shadegg (R-AZ). H.R. 2647 was referred to the Committee on
Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Water
and Power. The Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill on
February 10, 2000. The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a
markup on the bill on March 9, 2000. No amendments were offered
and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the full
Resources Committee by voice vote. On April 5, 2000, the Full
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments
were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by voice vote.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Constitutional authority
This Section provides the Constitutional authority for this
Act, which is article I, section 8, authorizing Congress to
``regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian tribes''.
Section 2. Technical amendments to Ak-Chin Water Use Act of 1984
This Section provides the Ak-Chin tribe an extension to
lease water off-reservation after an initial 100 year lease has
concluded.
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. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
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:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 18, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources, House of Representatives, Washington,
DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2647, the Ak-Chin
Water Use Amendment Act of 1999.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lanette
Keith.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson,
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 2647--Ak-Chin Water Use Amendments Act of 1999
H.R. 2647 would allow the Ak-Chin Indian Community in
Arizona to extend and renew leases of its settlement water for
off-reservation use. Under current law, such leases may not
exceed 100 years. In addition, the bill would ratify and
approve a lease agreement among the Ak-Chin Indian Community,
the United States, and the Del Webb Corporation.
Based on information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO
expects that H.R. 2647 would have no significant effect on the
agency's administrative costs. Therefore, we estimate that any
impact on discretionary spending as a result of this
legislation would be negligible. CBO estimates that
implementing H.R. 2647 would have no effect on direct spending
or receipts, because any income resulting from additional
leases would be paid directly to the Ak-Chin Community. Hence,
pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply to the bill.
H.R. 2647 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 is Lanette Keith. This 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 Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 2 OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 19, 1984
AN ACT Relating to the water rights of the Ak-Chin Indian Community
Sec. 2. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(j) The Ak-Chin Indian Community (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ``Community'') shall have the right to
devote the permanent water supply provided for by this Act to
any use, including agricultural, municipal, industrial,
commercial, mining, recreational or other beneficial use, in
the areas initially designated as the Pinal, Phoenix and Tucson
Active Management Areas pursuant to the Arizona Groundwater
Management Act of 1980, laws 1980, fourth special session,
chapter 1. The community is authorized to lease or enter into
an option to lease, extend leases, exchange or temporarily
dispose of water to which it is entitled for beneficial use in
the areas initially designated as the Pinal, Phoenix and Tucson
Active Management Areas pursuant to the Arizona Groundwater
Management Act of 1980, laws 1980, fourth special session,
chapter 1: Provided, That the term of any such lease shall not
exceed 100 years and the Community may not permanently alienate
any water right. In the event the Community leases, extends
leases, exchanges or temporarily disposes of water, such action
shall be pursuant to a contract that has been accepted and
ratified by a resolution of the Ak-Chin Indian Community
Council and approved and executed by the Secretary.]
(j)(1) The Ak-Chin Indian Community (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ``Community`') shall have the right to
devote the permanent water supply provided for by this Act to
any use, including agricultural, municipal, industrial,
commercial, mining, recreational, or other beneficial use, in
the areas initially designated as the Pinal, Phoenix, and
Tucson Active Management Areas pursuant to the Arizona
Groundwater Management Act of 1980, laws 1980, fourth special
session, chapter 1. The Community is authorized to lease or
enter into options to lease, to renew options to lease, to
extend the initial terms of leases for the same or a lesser
term as the initial term of the lease, to renew leases for the
same or a lesser term as the initial term of the lease, to
exchange or temporarily dispose of water to which it is
entitled for the beneficial use in the areas initially
designated as the Pinal, Phoenix, and Tucson Active Management
Areas pursuant to the Arizona Groundwater Management Act of
1980, laws 1980, fourth special session, chapter 1.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the initial term of any
lease entered into under this subsection shall not exceed 100
years and the Community may not permanently alienate any water
right. In the event the Community leases, enters into an option
to lease, renews an option to lease, extends a lease, renews a
lease, or exchanges or temporarily disposes of water, such
action shall only be valid pursuant to a contract that has been
accepted and ratified by a resolution of the Ak-Chin Indian
Community Council and approved and executed by the Secretary.
* * * * * * *