[Senate Report 115-369]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 656
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-369
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ARBUCKLE PROJECT MAINTENANCE COMPLEX AND DISTRICT OFFICE CONVEYANCE ACT
OF 2017
_______
November 15, 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. 132]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (H.R. 132), to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain land and appurtenances of the
Arbuckle Project, Oklahoma, to the Arbuckle Master Conservancy
District, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 132 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior (Secretary) to convey certain land and
appurtenances of the Arbuckle Project, Oklahoma, to the
Arbuckle Master Conservancy District (AMCD).
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Construction of the Arbuckle Project in Oklahoma, which
includes Arbuckle Dam and the Wynnewood Pumping Plant and
Aqueduct, was authorized in 1962 and completed in 1966.
Authorized project purposes include municipal water supply,
flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife.
The original authorizing legislation (Public Law 87-594)
provided for conveyance of title to pipelines and related
facilities to the operating entity, the AMCD, upon completion
of their capital repayment. Repayment was completed in
September 2012, and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation)
transferred title to the Wynnewood Pumping Plant and Aqueduct
in December 2012. As those facilities were transferred, the
AMCD requested that the Arbuckle Maintenance Complex and
Headquarter Office be included in the title transfer, but
Reclamation determined it did not have the authority to do so
based on its interpretation of the authorizing language. H.R.
132 authorizes the conveyance of these properties which total
less than three acres.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 132 was introduced by Congressman Cole on January 3,
2017. The House of Representatives passed the bill on March 15,
2017, by a vote of 407-1.
The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on the
bill on June 13, 2018.
In the 114th Congress, a similar measure, H.R. 1219, was
introduced by Congressman Cole in the House of Representatives
on March 3, 2015. It was ordered reported, as amended, by the
Committee on Natural Resources on November 19, 2016. On
December 7, 2016, the House of Representatives passed H.R.
1219.
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in
an open business session on October 2, 2018, and ordered H.R.
132 favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on October 2, 2018, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R.
132.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 sets forth the short title of the Act.
Section 2. Conveyance of Maintenance Complex and District Office of the
Arbuckle Project, Oklahoma
Subsection (a) directs the Secretary to transfer all right,
title and interest of the United States in and to the
Maintenance Complex and District Office of the Arbuckle Project
to the AMCD in Murray County, Oklahoma.
Subsection (b) defines key terms.
Subsection (c) shields the United States from liability
relating to the conveyed property.
Subsection (d) specifies that following the conveyance the
property shall not be considered to be a part of any federal
reclamation project or receive benefits that would not be
available for similarly situated facilities.
Subsection (e) requires that the Department of the Interior
submit an explanatory report to Congress if the conveyance is
not completed within 12 months.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 132 would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to
convey certain federal properties to the Arbuckle Master
Conservancy District in Oklahoma for no consideration. Under
current law, BOR is authorized to transfer ownership of
pipelines and similar facilities associated with the Arbuckle
project that are used to deliver water to users. In 2012, BOR
transferred the conveyance facilities of the Arbuckle project
to the district. At that time, the district expressed interest
in receiving title to additional properties, including the
Arbuckle maintenance complex and the district office building.
H.R. 132 would authorize BOR to transfer those properties to
the district.
Using information from BOR, CBO estimates that enacting the
legislation would have no significant effect on the federal
budget. The properties that would be transferred generate no
income for the government and are not expected to be sold in
the next several years.
Enacting H.R. 132 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 132 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 132 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aurora Swanson.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. 132. The Act 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. 132, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
H.R. 132, 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
The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at
the June 13, 2018, hearing on H.R. 132 follows:
Statement of Timothy R. Petty. Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Water and
Science, U.S. Department of the Interior
Chairman Flake, Ranking Member Cortez Masto and members of
the Subcommittee, I am Dr. Tim Petty, Assistant Secretary for
Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior
(Department). Thank you for the opportunity to provide the
views of the Department on H.R. 132, the Arbuckle Project
Maintenance Complex and District Office Conveyance Act of 2017.
For the reasons I will discuss below, the Department supports
this bill.
H.R. 132 directs the Department of the Interior to convey
to the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District in Murray County,
Oklahoma, all right, title, and interest of the United States
in and to the Maintenance Complex and District Office of the
Arbuckle Project. The bill shields the federal government from
being held liable by any court for damages arising out of any
act, omission, or occurrence related to the complex and office,
except for damages caused by acts of negligence by the
government or government employees or agents prior to its
conveyance.
After such conveyance: (1) the complex and office shall not
be a part of a federal reclamation project; and (2) such
district shall not be eligible to receive any benefits with
respect to any facility comprising such complex and office,
except benefits that would be available to a similarly situated
person with respect to such a facility that is not part of a
federal reclamation project.
If the conveyance has not been completed within 12 months,
Interior shall submit to Congress an explanation and the date
by which the conveyance will be completed.
The Department has an active title transfer program and
supports transferring certain Reclamation project facilities to
non-Federal entities, particularly in cases where transfers
could create opportunities, not just for those who receive
title, but for other stakeholders and the public as well. This
is also consistent with the broader aims of the
Administration's Title Transfer legislative proposal,
transmitted to Congress in February of this year.
The Arbuckle Project was authorized by the Act of August
24, 1962, Public Law 87-594, for municipal water supply, flood
control, recreation, and fish and wildlife purposes. The
Project was completed in 1966 and consists of Arbuckle Dam,
Lake of the Arbuckles, and the Wynnewood Pumping Plant and
Aqueduct.
Section 2(c) of the original authorizing language allowed
for conveyance of title to pipelines and related facilities
used solely for delivering project water to water users upon
completion of their repayment. The District fulfilled its
repayment obligation to the United States in September 2012,
and Reclamation transferred title to the water conveyance
facilities which consisted of the Wynnewood Pumping Plant and
Aqueduct in December 2012.
As Reclamation was preparing to transfer title of the water
conveyance facilities, the District requested that the Arbuckle
Maintenance Complex and District Office be included in the
title transfer. Reclamation determined that because these
facilities were not used ``solely for delivering project water
to the water users'' there was not sufficient authority to
accommodate this request. H.R. 132 would authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to convey to the District all right,
title, and interest of the United States in and to the
Maintenance Complex and District Office. The Department is
pleased to support this legislation.
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 H.R. 132 as ordered
reported.
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