[House Report 106-435]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 106-435
======================================================================
ELIMINATION OF RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF SAN LUIS UNIT FACILITIES FOR
WATER TRANSFERS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT
_______
November 2, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 3077]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3077) to amend the Act that authorized construction of
the San Luis unit of the Central Valley Project, California, to
facilitate water transfers in the Central Valley Project,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. ELIMINATION OF RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF SAN LUIS UNIT
FACILITIES FOR WATER TRANSFERS IN THE CENTRAL
VALLEY PROJECT.
(a) Elimination of Statutory Restrictions.--Public Law 86-488 (74
Stat. 156) is amended--
(1) in section 2 by striking ``and the use of the additional
capacity for water service shall be limited to service outside
of the Federal San Luis unit service area''; and
(2) in section 3 by adding ``and'' after the semicolon at the
end of paragraph (h), by striking the semicolon at the end of
paragraph (i) and inserting a period, and by striking paragraph
(j).
(b) Requirements for Delivery Inside Federal Service Area.--Such Act
is further amended--
(1) in section 2 by inserting ``(subject to section 9)''
after ``a perpetual right to the use of such additional
capacity''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 9. The State of California may not, under section 2, use
additional capacity to deliver water inside the Federal San Luis unit
service area unless--
``(1) such delivery is managed so as to ensure that--
``(A) agricultural drainage discharges arising from
use of the delivered water--
``(i) comply with any waste discharge
requirements issued for such discharges; or
``(ii) if there are no such waste discharge
requirements, do not cause water quality
conditions in the San Joaquin River and the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco
Bay to be degraded or otherwise adversely
affected; and
``(B) use of the delivered water for irrigation does
not frustrate or interfere with efforts by the United
States and the State of California to manage
agricultural subsurface drainage discharges from the
San Luis unit; and
``(2) such delivery is consistent with those provisions of
operating agreements between the Secretary and the Department
of Water Resources of the State of California that are
consistent with this Act.''.
(c) Amendment of Existing Agreements.--The Secretary of the
Interior--
(1) shall seek to amend each agreement entered into by the
United States and the State of California under section 2 of
Public Law 88-488 before the date of the enactment of this Act,
as necessary to delete from such agreement restrictions on use
of additional capacity for water service for land in the
Federal San Luis unit service area that are not consistent with
the amendments made by this Act; and
(2) pending such amendment, shall not enforce any such
restriction.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 3077 is to amend the act that
authorized construction of the San Luis Unit of the Central
Valley project, California, to facilitate water transfers in
the Central Valley Project.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Central Valley of California is one of the most fertile
agricultural areas in the world. Although the land is capable
of growing a wide variety of crops, prior to the Central Valley
Project Act, most of the area lacked an adequate water supply.
In particular, when debate commenced on the San Luis Unit, a
component of the Central Valley Project, in the late 1950s and
early 1960s, Congressional testimony noted (86th Congress,
Report No. 154) that the areas to be served from the San Luis
Unit had ``no appreciable natural surface water supplies.'' In
addition the record stated, ``About three-fourths of the area
now is irrigated from wells but the ground water is poor in
quality, and limited in amount. The wells are expensive to
develop and the water levels have been receding without
interruption for more than a decade.'' Thus, an adequate and
dependable water supply became an important reason for the
passage of the San Luis Act (Public Law 86-488, 74 Stat. 156).
Since the passage of the San Luis Act, the County of Fresno
(which receives water from the Unit) has become the number one
agriculture producing county in the nation.
Not only has the San Luis Act served its purpose to bring
water to an arid area, it has also accomplished its two other
primary objectives: to create a ``unique opportunity for
pooling of Federal and State resources and abilities''; and to
provide an assurance that water supplied from the federally-
developed project would continue to be governed by federal
reclamation law. H.R. 3077 continues to support the policy that
water supplied through the federal facilities would be subject
to federal law even if the source of the water is the State
project. And likewise it is understood that the State water
delivered without the federal project remains controlled by
State law.
Federal agricultural contractors in the Central Valley
Project (CVP) of California who rely on exported water supplies
from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have seen a
reduction in their federal water supplies over the last several
years, even though these last few years have been ``wet''
years. This reduction has been increased because of the
accumulated impacts of implementation of the Endangered Species
Act, Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), and the
Bay Delta Accord.
This reduction in CVP export supply reliability has
increased the desire of many water managers to pursue water
transfers. Additionally, numerous state laws, and federal laws
(Section 225 of the 1982 Reclamation Law and Section 3405 of
the CVPIA), have been enacted in an attempt to facilitate water
transfers to assist agricultural and urban water users in
maintaining reliable water supplies.
The San Luis Act prohibits the State of California from
providing water service to the San Luis Unit of the CVP. The
Committee believes that this prohibition is inconsistent with
current federal and state policies which encourage and
facilitate water transfers. The amendment pursuant to this
legislation would meet current needs while remaining consistent
with the original intent of the underlying Act.
Committee Action
H.R. 3077 was introduced on October 14, 1999, by
Congressman Cal Dooley (D-CA). H.R. 3077 was referred to the
Committee on Resources and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Water and Power. A legislative hearing was held
on the bill on October 21, 1999, by the Subcommittee on Water
and Power. On October 27, 1999, the Full Resources Committee
met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged from
further consideration of the measure by unanimous consent.
Congressman George Miller (D-CA) offered an amendment that
ensured that additional water to the San Luis Unit would be
subject to both State and federal law and not aggravate
drainage issues in the region. The Miller amendment was adopted
by voice vote. The bill was then ordered reported, as amended,
by voice vote to the House of Representatives.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Elimination of restrictions on use of San Luis unit
facilities for water transfers in the Central Valley project.
This section amends the San Luis Act of 1960 by removing
the provisions that restrict the State of California from using
additional water capacity to service in the Federal San Luis
unit service area.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation.--Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act.--As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax
expenditures. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that
enactment of this bill would increase offsetting receipts (and
thus reduce direct spending) by $2 million annually.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings.--Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.--Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 29, 1999.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3077, a bill to
amend the act that authorized construction of the San Luis Unit
of the Central Valley Project, California, to facilitate water
transfers in the Central Valley Project.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 3077--A bill to amend the act that authorized construction of the
San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project, California, to
facilitate water transfers in the Central Valley Project
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3077 would not have a
significant impact on discretionary spending over the 2001-2004
period. The bill would increase offsetting receipts from water
users, thus reducing direct spending by about $2 million
annually; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. H.R.
3077 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.
Under current law, the state of California cannot use
federal water project facilities to provide water to users of
the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project. H.R. 3077
would allow the state to use the San Luis Unit facilities to
carry nonproject water to federal irrigation districts. Based
on information from the Westlands Water District, we estimate
the state would use federal water facilities to supply about
60,000 acre feet a year of nonproject water. CBO estimates that
this activity would increase the Bureau of Reclamation's cost
of operating and maintaining the project by $400,000 annually.
This amount would be subject to annual appropriation and would
be reimbursed by water users in the year the costs are
incurred.
In addition, this activity would generate increased
receipts to the Bureau under the Warren Act, which allows the
Secretary of the Interior to charge nonproject water users fees
that are consistent with those charged to users of federal
water. These receipts and reimbursements for operation and
maintenance costs would be deposited in the Treasury as
offsetting receipts. Based on information from the Bureau and
Westlands Water Districts, CBO estimates that these receipts
would average $1.6 million a year, starting in 2001.
The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. This estimate was
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local, or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
ACT OF JUNE 3, 1960
AN ACT To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct the San
Luis unit of the Central Valley project, California, to enter into an
agreement with the State of California with respect to the construction
and operation of such unit, and for other purposes.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 2. The Secretary is authorized, on behalf of the United
States, to negotiate and enter into an agreement with the State
of California providing for coordinated operation of the San
Luis unit, including the joint-use facilities, in order that
the State may, without cost to the United States, deliver water
in service areas outside the Federal San Luis unit service area
as described in the report of the Department of the Interior,
entitled ``San Luis Unit, Central Valley Project'', dated
December 17, 1956. Said agreement shall recite that the
liability of the United States thereunder is contingent upon
the availability of appropriations to carry out its obligations
under the same. No funds shall be appropriated to commence
construction of the San Luis unit under any such agreement,
except for the preparation of designs and specifications and
other preliminary work, prior to ninety calendar days (which
ninety days, however, shall not include days on which either
the House of Representatives or the Senate is not in session
because of an adjournment of more than three calendar days to a
day certain) after it has been submitted to the Congress, and
then only if neither the House nor the Senate Interior and
Insular Affairs Committee has disapproved it by committee
resolution within said ninety days. If such an agreement has
not been executed by January 1, 1962, and if, after
consultation with the Governor of the State, the Secretary
determines that the prospects of reaching accord on the terms
thereof are not reasonably firm, he may proceed to construct
and operate the San Luis unit in accordance with section 1 of
this Act: Provided, That, if the Secretary so determines, he
shall report thereon to the Congress and shall not commence
construction for ninety calendar days from the date of his
report (which ninety days, however, shall not include days on
which either the House of Representatives or the Senate is not
in session because of an adjournment of more than three days).
In considering the prospects of reaching accord on the terms of
the agreement the Secretary shall give substantial weight to
any relevant affirmative action theretofore taken by the State,
including the enactment of State legislation authorizing the
State to acquire and convey to the United States title to lands
to be used for the San Luis unit orassistance given by it in
financing Federal design and construction of the unit. The authority
conferred upon the Secretary by the first sentence of this section
shall not, except as is otherwise provided in this section, be
construed as a limitation upon the exercise by him of the authority
conferred in section 1 of this Act, but if the State shall agree that,
if it later enlarges the joint-use facilities, or any of them, it will
pay an equitable share of the cost to the United States of those
facilities as initially constructed before utilizing them for the
storage or delivery of water and will bear the entire cost of enlarging
the same and if, as a part of said equitable share, it makes available
to the Secretary sufficient funds to pay the additional cost of
designing and constructing the joint-use facilities so as to permit
enlargement, it shall have an irrevocable right to enlarge or modify
such facilities at any time in the future, and a perpetual right to the
use of such additional capacity (subject to section 9): Provided, That
the performance of such work by the State, after approval of its plans
by the Secretary, shall be so carried on as not to interfere unduly
with the operation of the project for the purposes set forth in section
1 of this Act [and the use of the additional capacity for water service
shall be limited to service outside of the Federal San Luis unit
service area]: And provided further, That this right may be
relinquished by the State at any time at its option.
Sec. 3. The agreement between the United States and the State
referred to in section 2 of this Act shall provide, among other
things, that--
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(h) Notwithstanding transfer of the care, operation,
and maintenance of any works to the State, as
hereinbefore provided, any organization which has
theretofore entered into a contract with the United
States under the Reclamation Project Act of 1939, and
amendments thereto, for a water supply through the
works of the San Luis unit, including joint-use
facilities, shall continue to be subject to the same
limitations and obligations and to have and to enjoy
the same rights which it would have had under its
contract with the United States and the provisions of
paragraph (4) of section 1 of the Act of July 2, 1956
(70 Stat. 483, 43 U.S.C. 485h-1) in the absence of such
transfer, and its enjoyment of such rights shall be
without added cost or other detriment arising from such
transfer; and
(i) if a nonreimbursable allocation to the
preservation and propagation of fish and wildlife has
been made as provided in section 2 of the Act of August
14, 1946 (60 Stat. 1080, 16 U.S.C. 662), as amended,
the features of the unit to which such allocation is
attributable shall, notwithstanding transfer of the
care, operation, and maintenance to the State, be
operated and maintained in such wise as to retain the
basis upon which such allocation is premised and, upon
failure so to operate and maintain those features, the
amount allocated thereto shall become a reimbursable
cost to be paid by the State[;].
[(j) the State shall not serve any lands within the
Federal San Luis unit service area except as such
service is required as a consequence of its acceptance
of the care, operation, and maintenance of works under
paragraph (g) of this section.]
* * * * * * *
Sec. 9. The State of California may not, under section 2, use
additional capacity to deliver water inside the Federal San
Luis unit service area unless--
(1) such delivery is managed so as to ensure that--
(A) agricultural drainage discharges arising
from use of the delivered water--
(i) comply with any waste discharge
requirements issued for such
discharges; or
(ii) if there are no such waste
discharge requirements, do not cause
water quality conditions in the San
Joaquin River and the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay to
be degraded or otherwise adversely
affected; and
(B) use of the delivered water for irrigation
does not frustrate or interfere with efforts by
the United States and the State of California
to manage agricultural subsurface drainage
discharges from the San Luis unit; and
(2) such delivery is consistent with those provisions
of operating agreements between the Secretary and the
Department of Water Resources of the State of
California that are consistent with this Act.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
H.R. 3077 would for the first time allow water users within
the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project to become full
entitlement contractors of California's State Water Project.
Specifically, Westlands Water District is proposing to purchase
a 20,500 acre-feet State Water Project entitlement from several
water districts in Kern County.
This is significant legislation affecting water management
in California. H.R. 3077 obviously provides water users in the
Federal San Luis Unit service area with significant
opportunities to access supplemental water supplies. However,
only a very limited time was allowed for Committee
consideration and to receive testimony and comment from
affected parties. The bill was introduced, heard, and reported
from Committee in less than two weeks. The only witness at the
Subcommittee's October 21, 1999 hearing was the Westlands Water
District. The Committee record does not include testimony from
the State of California, the State Water Contractors, the
Department of the Interior, environmental groups, or fish
conservation and protection organizations.
It may be that these groups and organizations will be only
slightly affected by enactment of H.R. 3077, or perhaps not
affected at all, or even affected in a positive way. But
because of the limited time provided for consideration of this
legislation, the Committee records do not include statements
from any of them.
A key issue raised by any proposal to provide additional
supplies of irrigation water to the San Luis Unit is subsurface
drainage. Discharges of subsurface agricultural drainage from
the San Luis Unit caused the deaths of hundreds of waterfowl at
the Kesterson Reservoir site in the mid 1980s, and drainage
management in the San Luis Unit continues to be a critical and
unresolved issue. The committee accepted my amendment that
would allow the State to deliver water to the San Luis Unit
only after specific requirements have been met to protect water
quality.
The purpose of the Miller Amendment is to ensure that
irrigation water deliveries from the State Water Project to the
Federal San Luis Unit service area are carefully managed and
are not directed to lands that are known to contribute to
agricultural drainage problems with resultant adverse effects
on water quality in the San Joaquin River, the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta, or San Francisco Bay.
The amendment:
Specifically prohibits delivery of State water to
lands within the Federal San Luis service area unless
we are assured that adverse water quality impacts will
not result from the use of this new supply of
irrigation water.
Further protects water quality by prohibiting the use
of water deliveries from the State Water Project if
using this new water supply would aggravate or
frustrate our efforts to manager drainage discharges to
the San Joaquin River and the Bay-Delta system.
Requires that delivery of water from the State of
California must be consistent with project operating
agreements between the State of California and the
United States.
George Miller.