House Report 106-717 - GRIFFITH PROJECT PREPAYMENT AND CONVEYANCE ACT

[House Report 106-717]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-717

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GRIFFITH PROJECT PREPAYMENT AND CONVEYANCE ACT

_______

July 10, 2000.--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

[To accompany S. 986]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 986) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey the
Griffith Project to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of S. 986 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey the Griffith Project to the Southern Nevada
Water Authority.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

For the last six years, the Subcommittee on Water and Power
of the Committee on Resources has pursued legislation to shrink
the size and scope of the federal government through the
defederalization of Bureau of Reclamation assets. S. 986
continues this process by directing the Secretary of the
Interior to convey the Robert B. Griffith Water Project water
distribution facilities to the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
The Griffith Project was authorized by Public Law 89-292
(commonly known as the Southern Nevada Water Project Act). The
bill provides for the Southern Nevada Water Authority to accept
responsibility for administration, operation, and maintenance
of the Griffith Project and to pay the net present value of the
remaining repayment obligation.
S. 986 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey and
assign to the Authority all right, title and interest of the
United States in and to the Griffith Project. The Griffith
Project forms an integral part of a much larger water delivery
system built separately by the Southern Nevada Water Authority
and its constituent agencies. The Project consists of the
intake facilities, pumping plants, and other items required to
provide water from Lake Meade for distribution.
The House companion bill for S. 986 is H.R. 1696, authored
by Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-NV). On October 7, 1999, the
Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on H.R. 1696.

COMMITTEE ACTION

S. 986 was introduced on May 6, 1999, by Senator Harry Reid
(D-NV). On November 19, 1999, the Senate passed the bill by
unanimous consent with an amendment. In the House of
Representatives, the bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Water and Power. On June 15, 2000, the Subcommittee met to
consider the bill. It was ordered favorably reported to the
Full Committee without amendment by voice vote. On June 21,
2000, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No
amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably
reported by unanimous consent to the House of Representatives.

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 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant 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. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
enactment of this bill would produce a net increase of $103
million in receipts to the federal government in 2001, but this
near-term cash savings would be offset by a loss of other
offsetting receipts over the 2002-2033 time period.
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, June 23, 2000.
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 S. 986, the Griffith
Project Prepayment and Conveyance Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Megan
Carroll (for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the state
and local impact).
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.

S. 986--Griffith Project Prepayment and Conveyance Act

Summary: S. 986 would direct the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) to convey the
Robert B. Griffith Water Project (Griffith Project) to the
Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). The transfer would
occur after the SNWA pays about $112 million to the Bureau to
meet its outstanding obligations under an existing repayment
contract with the federal government. A substantial portion of
the Griffith Project is located on federal lands administered
by the National Park Service (NPS) and the Bureau of Land
Management. Under S. 986, the SNWA would retain rights-of-way
across this federal land at no cost.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 986 would yield a net
increase in asset sale receipts of $103 million in 2001, but
that this near-term cash savings would be offset by the loss of
other offsetting receipts over the 2002-2033 period. Because
the legislation would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go
procedures would apply. CBO also estimates that implementing S.
986 could cost up to $50,000 a year in appropriated funds over
the 2002-2005 period.
S. 986 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
The project conveyance, and any costs associated with it, would
be voluntary on the part of the SNWA. The legislation would
impose no costs on any other state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 986 is shown in the following table. The
costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment).

Estimated budget authority......................................... -103 9 9 9 9
Estimated outlays.................................................. -103 9 9 9 9
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\1\ S. 986 also would authorize additional spending, subject to appropriation, of up to $50,000 a year over the
2002-2005 period.

Basis of estimate
For this estimate, we assume that S. 986 will be enacted by
the end of fiscal year 2000. Based on information from the SNWA
and the Bureau, CBO expects that the authority will make the
prepayment during fiscal year 2001, and that the formal project
conveyance will be completed during fiscal year 2002.
Direct Spending.--S. 986 would direct the Secretary of the
Interior to sell the Griffith Project to the SNWA, in exchange
for a one-time payment of about $121 million. The legislation
would allow the sales price to be adjusted for any payments
after September 15, 1999, and before the project transfer is
completed. According to the Bureau, the SNWA has made a payment
of about $9 million during fiscal year 2000. Thus, CBO expects
a payment of about $112 million to occur during fiscal year
2001 and estimates that those receipts would be offset by the
loss of currently scheduled repayments of about $9 million a
year between 2001 and 2022 and $6 million a year between 2023
and 2033.
Spending Subject to Appropriation.--Presently, the SNWA
bears the full cost of operating and maintaining the Griffith
Project. In addition, pursuant to an agreement with the Bureau,
the SNWA would absorb all administrative costs associated with
the conveyance. Thus, implementing this provision would not
affect discretionary spending. The NPS currently collects about
$50,000 a year from the SNWA to offset the costs of
administering and monitoring rights-of-way within the Lake Mead
National Recreation Area. Under S. 986, the SNWA would maintain
rights-of-way across these federal lands at no cost after the
conveyance is completed. CBO estimates that implementing this
provision would require a net increase in amounts appropriated
to the NPS of about $50,000 annually to continue administrative
activities related to monitoring these rights-of-way.
Pay-as-you-go considerations: The Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act sets up pay-as-you-go procedures
for legislation affecting direct spending or receipts. The net
changes in outlays that are subject to pay-as-you-go procedures
are shown in the following table. For the purposes of enforcing
pay-as-you-go procedures, only the effects in the current year,
the budget year, and the succeeding four years are counted.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
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Changes in outlays............... 0 -103 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
Changes in receipts.............. Not applicable
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Under the Balanced Budget Act, proceeds from nonroutine
asset sales (sales that are not authorized under current law)
may be counted for pay-as-you-go purposes only if the sale
would entail no financial cost to the government. Based on
information provided by the bureau, CBO estimates that the sale
of the Griffith Project as specified in S. 986 would not result
in such a financial cost to the government, and therefore, the
proceeds would count for pay-as-you-go purposes.
Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments:
S. 986 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in
UMRA. In order to receive title to the Griffith project, the
legislation would require the SNWA to assume all costs
associated with the project and to prepay their outstanding
liability to the federal government. The conveyance would be
voluntary on the part of the authority, however, and these
costs would be accepted by it on that basis. Further, the
authority is already responsible for all costs of operating and
maintaining the facility. The legislation would impose no costs
on any other state, local, or tribal governments.
Estimated impact on the private-sector: This legislation
contains no new private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
Previous CBO estimate: On October 18, 1999, CBO transmitted
a cost estimate for S. 986 as ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on October 6, 1999.
The SNWA has made a repayment to the federal government of
about $9 million since that time. Because the legislation
provides that the sale price may be adjusted for such
repayments, we have revised our estimate of the net prepayment
of the authority's outstanding obligations that would occur
under this legislation. Other differences between the two
estimates reflect changes in our assumption regarding when the
legislation would be enacted and when the prepayment and
project conveyance would occur.
Estimated prepared by: Federal cost: Megan Carroll; impact
on State, local, and tribal governments: Marjorie Miller;
impact on the private sector: Sarah Sitarek.
Estimate 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

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.