[Senate Report 115-53]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 66
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-53
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BOLTS DITCH ACCESS AND USE ACT
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May 9, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 285]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 285) to insure adequate use and access to
the existing Bolts Ditch headgate and ditch segment within the
Holy Cross Wilderness in Eagle County, Colorado, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 285 is to ensure adequate use and access
to the existing Bolts Ditch headgate and ditch segment within
the Holy Cross Wilderness in Eagle County, Colorado.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
When Congress authorized and designated the Holy Cross
Wilderness Area in 1980, Bolts Ditch was inadvertently not
included on the list of existing water facilities. Bolts Lake
is an existing water facility in Minturn, Colorado, outside of
the Wilderness Area, which can only be filled using the Bolts
ditch and headgate. S. 285 would allow for a special use permit
to be granted to the Town of Minturn, Colorado, for access to
the ditch and headgate within the Wilderness Area.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 285 was introduced by Senator Gardner on February 2,
2017.
An identical bill, H.R. 689, was introduced in the House of
Representatives by Representative Polis on January 24, 2017.
H.R. 689 passed the House on February 6, 2017.
In the 114th Congress, a similar measure, S. 2524, was
introduced by Senators Gardner and Bennet on February 9, 2016.
On May 17, 2016, the Subcommittee on Water and Power held a
hearing on S. 2524. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources met in open business session on July 13, 2016, and
ordered S. 2524 favorably reported as amended.
A companion measure, H.R. 4510, was introduced in the House
of Representatives by Representatives Polis, Lamborn, and
Tipton on February 9, 2016. On February 25, 2016, the House
Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Federal Lands held
a hearing on H.R. 4510.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered S. 285 and H.R.
689 favorably reported without amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
285.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides a short title.
Section 2. Bolts Ditch access
Section 2 grants access and use by special use
authorization to Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate
within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado as designated by
Public Law 96-560 and as depicted on the referenced map for the
purposes of the diversion of water and use, maintenance, and
repair of such ditch and headgate to the Town of Minturn,
Colorado.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 285--Bolts Ditch Access and Use Act
S. 285 would require the Forest Service to provide a
special use authorization to the town of Minturn, Colorado, to
allow the town to manage and maintain a headgate used to divert
water to Bolts Lake. Based on an analysis of information from
the Forest Service, CBO estimates that enacting the legislation
would increase offsetting receipts from annual fees associated
with the authorization by about $150 a year; therefore, pay-as-
you-go procedures apply. Enacting the legislation would not
affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 285 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 285 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would benefit the town of Minturn, Colorado; it would give the
town easier access to the Bolts Ditch headgate so that it could
repair and maintain the town's water supply.
On April 7, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
689, the Bolts Ditch Access and Use Act, as ordered reported by
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March
30, 2017. S. 285 and H.R. 689 are similar and CBO's cost
estimate for each piece of legislation is the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 285. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 285, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 285, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
Because S. 285 is similar to legislation considered by the
Committee in the 114th Congress, the Committee did not request
Executive Agency views. The testimony provided by the U.S.
Forest Service at the hearing before the Subcommittee on Water
and Power hearing on May 17, 2016, follows:
Statement of Leslie Weldon, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, U.S.
Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
S. 2524 seeks to resolve issues associated with the use and
maintenance of Bolts Ditch near the Town of Minturn, Colorado.
The headgate and approximately 450 lineal feet of the ditch are
located within the Holy Cross Wilderness on the White River
National Forest. The United States opposed two water rights
application cases associated with this ditch in 2006 and 2007.
Subsequently, the United States and the applicants reached a
stipulated agreement and settlement in both cases; where it was
agreed that the point of diversion would be removed from the
Holy Cross Wilderness unless (1) the point of diversion in the
Holy Cross Wilderness is specifically authorized by the
President, (2) the Holy Cross Wilderness boundary is altered to
exclude the point of diversion from the Wilderness area, or (3)
the point of diversion is confirmed by Congress to be
specifically included as a part of the authorization of the
Homestake Reservoir Project within the Holy Cross Wilderness
Area.
S. 2524 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue
a special use permit to the Town of Minturn authorizing non-
motorized access to use and perform routine maintenance on the
Bolts Ditch headgate and 450 lineal feet of Bolts Ditch in
accordance with US Forest Service wilderness regulation. This
bill does not authorize new construction or reconstruction.
S. 2524 has the support of Eagle County, the Colorado River
District, and local and national wilderness advocacy
organizations.
The Department does not oppose S. 2524.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered
reported.