[House Report 113-534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 113-534
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AMENDING THE EAST BENCH IRRIGATION DISTRICT WATER CONTRACT EXTENSION
ACT TO PERMIT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO EXTEND THE CONTRACT FOR
CERTAIN WATER SERVICES
_______
July 17, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4508]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 4508) to amend the East Bench Irrigation
District Water Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary
of the Interior to extend the contract for certain water
services, 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. 4508 is to amend the East Bench
Irrigation District Water Contract Extension Act to permit the
Secretary of the Interior to extend the contract for certain
water services.
Background and Need for Legislation
H.R. 4508 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
extend a water contract between the United States and the East
Bench Irrigation District until December 31, 2019. An extension
will allow water to continue to be delivered to nearly 60,000
acres in the Beaverhead Valley of Montana.
The Bureau of Reclamation's Clark Canyon Dam and Reservoir
are located in southwestern Montana. This federal project
annually supplies irrigation water for 28,000 acres within the
East Bench Irrigation District (EBID) pursuant to a 1958
contract. The contract expired on December 31, 2005, prompting
EBID and Reclamation to negotiate a new contract. Under Section
1 of the Act of May 15, 1922 (42 Stat. 541), Section 46 of the
Omnibus Adjustment Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 649), and Section 85-
7-1957, Montana Code Annotated, execution of a new contract
between the United States and any irrigation district requires
confirmation by a Montana District court. In 2006, EBID filed a
petition with the Montana Fifth Judicial District Court seeking
confirmation of the execution of its renewed contract with
Reclamation. The Court convened a hearing in December 2006 and
one objection to the confirmation was filed. Due to this
objection, the case has been referred to the Montana Water
Court, which has yet to rule on this case.
Congress has extended the 1958 contract several times since
its expiration. Under federal law, extensions provide an
irrigation district an absolute right under federal law to
negotiate a new contract with Reclamation as long as the
existing contract is still valid and binding on all parties.
H.R. 4508 adds six additional years to the last extension
(Public Law 112-139), thereby extending the 1958 contract until
December 31, 2019, or until a new contract is executed. This
legislation does not prejudice the Montana Fifth Judicial
District Court or the Montana Water Court and simply holds the
1958 contract in place while water adjudication is resolved at
the state level. Meanwhile, water will continue to be delivered
from a federal project to thousands of irrigated acres.
Committee Action
H.R. 4508 was introduced on April 29, 2014, by Congressman
Steve Daines (R-MT). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Water and Power. On June 10, 2014, the Subcommittee on Water
and Power held a hearing on the bill. On June 19, 2014, the
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee on Water and Power was discharged by unanimous
consent. The bill was adopted and 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. 4508--A bill to amend the East Bench Irrigation District Water
Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary of the Interior
to extend the contract for certain water services
H.R. 4508 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to extend the water
contract between the United States and the East Bench
Irrigation District for six additional years or until a new
long-term contract is executed, whichever is earlier. Based on
information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that
enacting the legislation would not affect the federal budget.
Enacting H.R. 4508 would not affect revenues or direct
spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
The Bureau of Reclamation supplies irrigation water from
the Clark Canyon Dam and Reservoir project to the East Bench
Irrigation District under an interim contract negotiated in
2006 after the original contract expired. Although the interim
contract expired at the end of 2013, both the bureau and the
district continue to operate under the terms of the expired
contract and expect to do so until a new contract is executed.
H.R. 4508 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
On June 26, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
1965, a bill to amend the East Bench Irrigation District Water
Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary of the Interior
to extend the contract for certain water services, as ordered
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resource
on June 18, 2014. The text of the two pieces of legislation is
identical, and the CBO cost estimates are the same.
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
enacting the legislation would not affect the federal budget.
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 amend the East Bench Irrigation
District Water Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary
of the Interior to extend the contract for certain water
services.
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.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
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):
EAST BENCH IRRIGATION DISTRICT WATER CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO EXTEND WATER CONTRACT.
The Secretary of the Interior may extend the contract for
water services between the United States and the East Bench
Irrigation District, numbered 14-06-600-3593, until the earlier
of--
(1) the date that is [4 years] 10 years after the
date on which the contract would have expired if this
Act had not been enacted; or
(2) the date on which a new long-term contract is
executed by the parties to the contract.