[Senate Report 109-169]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 270
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-169
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NEBRASKA WATER SERVICE EXTENSION
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October 27, 2005.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 891]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 891) to extend the water service contract
for the Ainsworth Unit, Sandhills Division, Pick-Sloan Missouri
Basin Program, Nebraska, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of S. 891 is to extend the water service
contract for the Ainsworth Unit, Sandhills Division, Pick-Sloan
Missouri Basin Program, Nebraska.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The water service contract between the Ainsworth Irrigation
District (AID or District) and the Department of the Interior's
Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau or Reclamation) for the Ainsworth
Unit, Sandhills Division, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program,
Nebraska, is set to expire on December 31, 2006. AID receives
its project water from Merritt Dam and Reservoir, which is
located on the Snake River, a tributary of the Niobrara River.
The AID provides irrigation water to approximately 34,500 acres
of farmland in Brown and Rock Counties.
With passage of a formal resolution in November 2002, the
District decided to discontinue its water service contract with
the Bureau and instead seek title transfer of the Ainsworth
project facilities from Federal ownership. Until early in 2005,
AID worked with Reclamation in accordance with the Bureau's
Title Transfer Framework process to facilitate the title
transfer. However, on February 16, 2005, AID adopted a second
resolution to terminate the title transfer process in favor of
renewing its water service contract with the Bureau. The
enactment of S. 891 will extend AID's existing water service
contract in order to provide sufficient time to complete the
contract renewal process.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 891 was introduced by Senator Hagel on April 22, 2005,
and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
The Water and Power Subcommittee held a hearing on S. 891 on
July 12, 2005. At the business meeting on September 28, 2005,
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 891
favorably reported without amendment.
H.R. 1197, an identical bill, was introduced by
Representative Osborne (R-NE) on March 9, 2005 and referred to
the House Resources Committee.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on September 28, 2005, by unanimous vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 891.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 directs the Secretary of the Interior to extend
the existing water service contract between the Ainsworth
Irrigation District and Reclamation for an additional four
years. The existing water service contract is set to expire on
December 31, 2006.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
S. 891--A bill to extend the water service contract for the Ainsworth
Unit, Sandhills Division, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program,
Nebraska
S. 891 would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to extend
the water contract for the Ainsworth Unit of the Pick-Sloan
Missouri River Basin Program in Nebraska. This bill would
extend the contract for four years beyond the current
expiration date of December 31, 2006. CBO estimates that
enacting S. 891 would not have a significant effect on the
federal budget.
Under current law, the contract results in an annual
average payment to the federal government of about $20,000. If
this contract expires, the bureau has the authority to enter
into annual interim contracts with the water users under terms
similar to the present contracts. Consequently, payments to the
federal government under the bill are likely to be similar to
the payments that would be received under current law. Such
payments are recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts (a
credit against direct spending).
S. 891 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.
Enacting this bill would benefit the Ainsworth Irrigation
District by extending the existing water service contract for
an additional four years.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mike Waters.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
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. 891.
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. 891, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at
the Subcommittee hearing on S. 891 follows:
Statement of John W. Keys, III, Commissioner, U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, Department of the Interior
Madam Chairman, I am John W. Keys, III, Commissioner of the
Bureau of Reclamation. I am pleased to present the views of the
Department of the Interior in support of S. 891.
The Ainsworth Unit, a part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin
Program, is operated and maintained by the Ainsworth Irrigation
District, Ainsworth, Nebraska. The District receives its
project water from Merritt Dam and Reservoir, located on the
Snake River, which has its confluence with the Niobrara River
just southwest of Valentine, Nebraska. The Ainsworth Irrigation
District and Reclamation have an existing water service
contract that will expire on December 31, 2006.
In November, 2002, the Ainsworth Irrigation District Board
of Directors adopted a resolution to request title transfer of
the Ainsworth project facilities from Federal ownership to the
District. The District worked with Reclamation following the
process outlined in the Title Transfer Framework document.
However, on February 16, 2005, the District adopted a
subsequent additional resolution requesting renewal of its
existing water service contract and discontinuation of the
title transfer process.
Reclamation encourages water districts to explore title
transfer as the Ainsworth Irrigation district did. However, due
to the unique circumstances that it faces, the District
determined after a comprehensive analysis that title transfer
was not the appropriate action for it at this time. Because the
District anticipated title transfer for more than two years it
was not, at the same time, preparing for contract renewal. This
legislation would extend the existing water service contract
for an additional 4 years to provide time for the current water
service contract renewal process to be completed. Reclamation
law requires us to have a contract in place in order to deliver
water. That is why we support S. 891.
I am happy to answer any questions.
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 S. 891, as ordered
reported.