[Senate Report 115-235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 390
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-235
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TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO AMEND THE DEFINITE PLAN
REPORT FOR THE SEEDSKADEE PROJECT TO ENABLE THE USE OF THE ACTIVE
CAPACITY OF THE FONTENELLE RESERVOIR
_______
April 25, 2018.--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 H.R. 648]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (H.R. 648) to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to amend the Definite Plan Report for the Seedskadee
Project to enable the use of the active capacity of the
Fontenelle Reservoir, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 648 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to amend the Definite Plan Report for the
Seedskadee Project to enable the use of the active capacity of
the Fontenelle Reservoir.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Fontenelle Reservoir in the State of Wyoming is a principal
feature of the Seedskadee Project, one of the initial projects
authorized under the Colorado River Storage Project Act of
1956. Authorized uses of Fontenelle Reservoir storage water
include irrigation, fish and wildlife, recreation, flood
control, and municipal and industrial water use, as primary
purposes, with power generation specified as the only secondary
purpose.
Currently, Wyoming has the perpetual right to market
120,000 acre-feet of the original 190,250 acre-feet active
capacity from the reservoir. However, in order to increase the
use of water storage and supplies from the reservoir,
infrastructure improvements must be made to prevent erosion.
H.R. 648 would authorize the Secretary to enter into an
agreement with the State of Wyoming to make infrastructure
improvements to enable the use of all active storage capacity
of Fontenelle Dam and Reservoir, including the placement of
sufficient riprap on the upstream face of Fontenelle Dam, on
the condition that the State pay for the entire project,
including the study, design, planning, and construction of the
project.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 648 was introduced by Representative Cheney on January
24, 2017, and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.
On March 15, 2017, H.R. 648 was passed by the House of
Representatives by a vote of 408-0.
Companion legislation, S. 199, was introduced by Senator
Barrasso on January 24, 2017. The Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources met in open business session on March 30,
2017, and ordered S. 199 favorably reported (S. Rept. 115-96).
Similar language is included in section 9001 of S. 1460, the
Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017 (Cal. 162).
In the 114th Congress, similar legislation, H.R. 2273, was
introduced by Representative Lummis in the House of
Representatives on May 12, 2015, and referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources. The Subcommittee on Water, Power, and
Oceans held a legislative hearing on H.R. 2273 on June 25,
2015. The Committee on Natural Resources reported H.R. 2273, as
amended, on March 14, 2016 (H. Rept. 114-450), and the House of
Representatives passed the bill, as amended, by voice vote on
July 5, 2016.
Companion legislation, S. 1305, was introduced by Senator
Barrasso on May 12, 2015. The Subcommittee on Water and Power
held a hearing on S. 1305 on June 18, 2015. The Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources met in open business session on
July 30, 2015, and ordered S. 1305 favorably reported as
amended (S. Rept. 114-135). The measure was also included in
Amendment No. 3234, which the Senate agreed to on April 19,
2016, as an amendment to S. 2012, the Energy Policy
Modernization Act of 2016, which the Senate passed, as amended,
on April 20, 2016.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 8, 2018, and ordered H.R. 648
favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on March 30, 2018, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R.
648.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Authority to make entire active capacity of Fontenelle
Reservoir available for use
Section 1(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
work with the State of Wyoming through cooperative agreements
to enable the use of all active storage capacity of the
Fontenelle Dam and Reservoir.
Subsection (b) outlines the minimally required components
of the agreements, including that the State of Wyoming shall be
responsible for all funding of activities carried out under
this act.
Section 2. Savings provisions
Section 2 includes savings provisions specifying that
nothing in this act modifies, conflicts with, preempts, or
otherwise affects the Boulder Canyon Project Act; the Colorado
River Compact of 1922; the Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment
Act; the Treaty between the U.S. and Mexico relating to the
utilization of waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of
the Rio Grande; the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact; the
Colorado River Storage Project Act; the Colorado River Basin
Project Act; or any State of Wyoming or other State water law.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 648 would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to
plan and construct a project to expand water storage at
Fontenelle Dam and Reservoir in southwestern Wyoming. Under
current law, the amount of water storage available to the State
of Wyoming at the reservoir is the difference between full
capacity and the lowest water level that allows all of the
authorized purposes of the Fontenelle project to be performed.
Under the act, BOR would coordinate with the State of Wyoming
to design and construct modifications to the Fontenelle Dam and
Reservoir to allow the project to operate at a lower water
level, thus expanding the amount of storage available to the
state. H.R. 648 also would require the state to contribute 100
percent of the costs to design and construct the project. Those
contributions would be classified as offsetting receipts, which
are treated as reductions in direct spending, and would
subsequently be spent without further appropriation.
Enacting H.R. 648 would increase receipts and the
associated direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures
apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effect on the budget
would be negligible. Enacting H.R. 648 would not affect
revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not
increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of
the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 648 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The
act would benefit the State of Wyoming by authorizing a
cooperative agreement for upgrading the power plant at the
Fontenelle Dam. Any costs incurred by the state to fund the
project or participate in the cooperative agreement would
result from complying with conditions of federal assistance.
On April 11, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
199, a bill to authorize the use of the active capacity of the
Fontenelle Reservoir, as ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 30, 2017.
The two pieces of legislation are similar and CBO's estimates
of their budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Aurora Swanson
(for federal costs) and Zachary Byrum (for mandates). The
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director 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 H.R. 648.
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 H.R. 648, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTED SPENDING
H.R. 648, 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 H.R. 648 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
Bureau of Reclamation at the hearing before the Subcommittee on
Water and Power on June 18, 2015, follows:
Statement of Dionne Thompson, Deputy Commissioner for External and
Intergovernmental Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the
Interior
The amendment authorizes Reclamation to increase the active
capacity and, as a result, the amount of water developed by
Fontenelle Reservoir in Wyoming. With the concerns described
below appropriately noted, the Department does not oppose S.
1305 in its current form. Fontenelle Reservoir is part of the
Seedskadee Project, a participating project under P.L. 84-485.
The dam and reservoir are located in the Upper Green River
Basin in southwestern Wyoming about 50 miles from Rock Springs.
Fontenelle Dam is an embankment dam standing 139 feet high with
a crest length of over a mile (5,421 feet). Fontenelle
Reservoir has a total capacity of 345,360 acre-feet and is
operated for municipal and industrial water use, power
production, flood control, and fish and wildlife--in support of
the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Recreation facilities
at Fontenelle Reservoir are managed by the Bureau of Land
Management under an agreement with Reclamation.
The intent of S. 1305 is to increase the yield of
Fontenelle Reservoir, further developing the State of Wyoming's
allocation of Colorado River water under the Colorado River
Compact. To understand how S. 1305 would increase the water
available to Wyoming, it is important to review some basic
engineering features associated with Fontenelle Dam.
In general, the active capacity of a reservoir is the space
between the highest elevation at which water can be stored and
the lowest elevation from which water can be released so as to
allow operation for all authorized purposes. Power is an
authorized purpose of the Seedskadee Project. The lowest
elevation at which Fontenelle Powerplant can be safely operated
is approximately 40 feet above the bottom elevation of the
inlet to the powerplant, and is referred to as ``minimum power
pool elevation.''
In order to protect the upstream face of a dam from erosion
caused by wave action, large stones that are resistant to
erosion and wave action are placed on the upstream side of the
dam. These stones are referred to as ``riprap''. In keeping
with engineering practices, Fontenelle Dam includes riprap
protection on the upstream face of the embankment. Because the
dam would not be operated with any frequency below the lowest
power production elevation, original construction and
subsequent modifications did not include placing riprap on the
upstream face of dam below minimum power pool elevation.
For some years, the State of Wyoming has expressed interest
in placing riprap below the minimum power pool elevation, and
this project has come to be known as the ``Riprap Project.'' By
doing so, it would be possible to operate the reservoir within
a greater range of elevations--increasing the operating range
and yield of the reservoir. S. 1305 would authorize the
Department to undertake the ``study, planning, design and
construction activities'' necessary to consider and implement
the Riprap Project (a lowering of the elevation of the riprap).
In considering the Riprap Project, Reclamation has had
concerns, and we appreciate the chance to review this
legislation as it was drafted over the past several months. We
are pleased to note that each of these concerns appears to be
addressed in the introduced language of S. 1305.
S. 1305 amends P.L. 84-485 to authorize consideration and
implementation of the Riprap Project. In doing so, it grounds
the Riprap Project on the statute that originally authorized
the Seedskadee Project. S. 1305 relies upon the authority of
the Contributed Funds Act (Act of March 4, 1921) as the means
for the State of Wyoming to provide the funding to consider and
undertake the Riprap Project. With this arrangement,
Reclamation believes that the Riprap Project can be implemented
without any request for new appropriations, and with no
foreseeable impact to Reclamation's already constrained budget.
It is unlikely that the Riprap Project will adversely
affect other states dependent on the Colorado River or Mexico
beyond what they would face when the Upper Basin States make
full utilization of their apportionments, considering their
apportionments and required releases from the Upper Basin to
the Lower Basin under current operational guidelines that
implement key provisions of the Law of the River including the
Colorado River Compact. Having said that, if S. 1305 becomes
law, it will be important to conduct additional analysis to
ensure that other interests are protected. S. 1305 includes the
following elements that should provide some assurance of no
adverse impacts to other water uses.
First, S. 1305 appears to create robust sideboards to
prevent the Riprap Project from conflicting with law, compacts,
and treaties. This protects against Wyoming expanding its
entitlement to Colorado River water. In Section 2, S. 1305
provides reassurance that it will not modify, conflict with,
preempt, or otherwise affect any applicable federal statutes or
decrees, including, but not limited to:
Boulder Canyon Project Act
Colorado River Compact of 1922
Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act
Treaty between the United States of America
and Mexico relating to the utilization of waters of the
Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande
Upper Colorado River Basin Compact
Colorado River Storage Project Act (P.L. 84-
485), other than as indicated in Section 1 of S. 130
Colorado River Basin Project Act (P.L. 90-
537; 82 Stat. 885)
Any State of Wyoming or other State water
law
Second, S. 1305 amends P.L. 84-485 to authorize the
planning, design, and construction of the Riprap Project. The
bill's stated purposes include ``making it possible for the
States of the Upper Basin to utilize, consistently with the
provisions of the Colorado River Compact, the apportionments
made to and among them in the Colorado River Compact and the
Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, respectively.'' P.L. 84-485
sets a clear boundary around the Riprap Project; it cannot
permit Wyoming to expand its entitlements under the Colorado
River Compact and the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact.
Another important element of S. 1305 is the definition of
active storage capacity. Although active capacity can generally
be understood as the difference between the upper and lower
elevations at which a reservoir may be operated, the elevation
of both the upper and lower limit may also be defined by
considerations beyond engineering. Other considerations often
limit the degree to which a reservoir may be drained. These
considerations include issues of law, hydrology, economics, and
environment. S. 1305 acknowledges these limitations; in the
bill ``active storage capacity'' is ``defined or limited by
legal, hydrologic, structural, engineering, economic, and
environmental considerations.''
Environmental compliance concerns also are addressed under
S. 1305. The bill requires compliance under the National
Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the
National Historic Preservation Act.
While S. 1305 is clearly written to integrate with existing
law, regulations and contracts, there are some questions
associated with operation and design that may limit the scope
of the Riprap Project. Reclamation has not studied the
operation of Fontenelle Dam at the lower elevations proposed
under the Riprap Project. The original planning and design for
the facility did not include operations at such low levels.
Operation at lower levels could raise the following issues that
should be explored by the study to be authorized by this Act:
Water Delivery Requirements--At lower reservoir elevations,
the rate at which the reservoir can be drained is slowed
(because of the reduced hydraulic head). Without the study and
planning that would be conducted pursuant to this bill,
Reclamation does not know whether water can be delivered at
such rates as would be necessary.
Instream Flows--Under current operations and agreements,
Reclamation is required to deliver 5,000 acre-feet to the
Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge for fish and wildlife
purposes on an annual basis. As noted above, without additional
study Reclamation does not know whether it will be able to meet
these flow requirements at lower reservoir levels.
Power Generation--Operating the reservoir at lower
elevations will affect powerplant operations. There would be
periods when the powerplant cannot be operated efficiently and
when the powerplant cannot be operated at all. The result will
be impacts on Reclamation's ability to generate and deliver
power under P.L. 84-485. There is a potential for impacts to
irrigators and municipalities that use Colorado River Storage
Project power as well as to the members of the Colorado River
Energy Distributors Association, which rely upon and purchase
the power.
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.
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