[Senate Report 106-433]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 855
106th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 106-433
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USE OF SOLANO PROJECT FACILITIES FOR IMPOUNDING, STORAGE, AND CARRIAGE
OF NONPROJECT WATER
_______
September 28 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.--Ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1235]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the act (H.R. 1235) to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to enter into contracts with the Solano County Water
Agency, California, to use Solano Project facilities for
impounding, storage, and carriage of nonproject water for
domestic, municipal, industrial, and other beneficial purposes,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the act do pass.
purpose of the measure
H.R. 1235 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter
into contracts, pursuant to the Warren Act, with the Solano
County Water Agency, or any of its member unit contractors for
water from the Solano Project for impounding, storage, and
carriage of nonproject water for domestic, municipal,
industrial, and other beneficial purposes, using Solano Project
facilities. The Secretary may also enter into contracts for the
exchange of water among Solano Project contractors for the same
purposes, using Solano Project facilities. The authorization is
limited to facilities downstream of Mile 26 of the Putah South
Canal.
background and need
The city of Vallejo, California has requested congressional
approval of its proposal to use excess capacity in a Bureau of
Reclamation project canal, the Putah South Canal. The city
wants to move part of its untreated municipal water supply to a
new water treatment plant and needs legislation because of a
limitation in federal law that currently prohibits the city
from sharing space in an existing Federal water delivery canal.
The Putah South Canal, which serves the Federal Solano
Project, was constructed between 1956 and 1959. It is
approximately 32 miles in length and has a capacity of 956
cubic feet per second. In addition to providing irrigation
water, the canal conveys municipal and industrial water for
Vacaville, Fairfield, Suisun, and Vallejo, as well as
neighboring military installations. Enactment of this
legislation will permit the city of Vallejo to negotiate and
sign a Warren Act contract to wheel some of its water supply
from the city's Lake Curry storage reservoir through a portion
of the Putah South Canal. In doing so, the city will be able to
keep its current water right permit active. Vallejo's proposal
has been negotiated with the Solano Water Authority and other
Solano Project water users, including the city of Fairfield.
Vallejo is prepared to pay all appropriate charges for the use
of the Canal.
legislative history
H.R. 1235 passed the House of Representatives by a voice
vote on November 1, 1999. The Subcommittee on Water and Power
held a hearing on H.R. 1235 on March 22, 2000. At its business
meeting on September 20, 2000, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1235 favorably reported.
committee recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on September 29, 2000, by a unanimous voice
with a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R.
1235 as described herein.
cost and budgetary considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
H.R. 1235--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter
into contracts with the Solano County Water Agency, California,
to use Salano Project facilities for impounding, storage, and
carriage of nonproject water for domestic, municipal,
industrial, and other beneficial purposes
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1235 would not have a
significant impact on the federal budget. According to the
Bureau of Reclamation, the authority that would be granted by
H.R. 1235 would be used for transporting water to the city of
Vallejo from an existing storage facility. CBO estimates that
this action would increase the cost of operating and
maintaining the project by less than $50,000 a year beginning
in fiscal year 2001. These amounts would be subject to
appropriation and would be reimbursed by the municipality in
the year the costs are incurred. Payments from the city would
be deposited in the Treasury as offsetting receipts (a credit
against direct spending). CBO estimates that these receipts
would be less than $50,000 a year. Because the bill would
affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
H.R. 1235 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 contacts are Megan Carroll (for federal
costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the state and local impact).
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 H.R. 1235. 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. 1235, as ordered reported.
executive communications
On August 8, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting
forth Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 1235. These
reports had not been received at the time the report on H.R.
1235 was filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman
will request that they be printed in the Congressional Record
for the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the
Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation at the Subcommittee
hearing follows:
Statement of Eluid L. Martinez, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation,
Department of the Interior
H.R. 1235 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
contract with the Solano County Water Agency or any of its
member unit contractors to use the Bureau of Reclamation's
Solano Project facilities for impounding, storing and carrying
nonproject water. Section 1(b) includes a provision limiting
where on the Solano Project the water may be used.
This legislation would enable the city of Vallejo,
California to use the Solano Project to transport, store and
carry nonproject water. The Department supports this
legislation provided that the City will appropriately reimburse
the Bureau for the full cost of using Reclamation facilities as
required by the Warren Act. It also requests that report
language be added to make clear that the bill does not intend
to facilitate development of any permanent storage right in
Federal facilities.
The Department believes that broadening the Warren Act to
allow transport of non-project water for purposes other than
irrigation may be generally desirable for all Reclamation
projects, as it would provide additional flexibility to meet
water supply needs.
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 Act H.R. 1235, as
ordered reported.