[DOCID: f:sr021.110]
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Calendar No. 47
110th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 110-21
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YAKIMA-TIETON IRRIGATION DISTRICT CONVEYANCE ACT OF 2007
_______
February 16, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 235]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 235) to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain buildings and lands of the Yakima
Project, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 235 is to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain buildings and lands of the Yakima
Project, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Yakima Project provides irrigation water for
approximately 464,000 acres of land along 175 miles of the
Yakima River in south-central Washington. The Yakima-Tieton
Irrigation District (District) is one of the main beneficiaries
of the Project, delivering water to 28,000 acres of land. The
Yakima Project began providing water to the District in 1910.
In 1947, the District assumed operations and maintenance of
water conveyance works benefiting the District and fulfilled
its capital repayment obligations to Reclamation. In 1988, the
District repaid its obligations to Reclamation for a
rehabilitation and betterment project. The District is seeking
title to federally-owned buildings and lands, including a
warehouse, an office building, approximately nine acres of
land, and two houses and appurtenant structures. According to
the District, it has sought ownership of these structures and
land for many years. Since 1995, when Reclamation promulgated
policies for title transfer, Reclamation and the District have
worked to advance the title transfer. S. 235 will effectuate a
transfer of title from the United States to the District of the
identified buildings and lands of the Yakima Project.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 235 was introduced by Senator Cantwell on January 10,
2007 and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources. At its business meeting on January 31, 2007, the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 235
favorably reported.
During the 109th Congress, the Committee considered similar
legislation, S. 1965, introduced by Senator Cantwell on
November 11, 2005. The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a
hearing on S. 1965 on June 28, 2006. S. Hrg. 109-677. No
further action occurred on S. 1965 prior to the sine die
adjournment of the 109th Congress. A companion measure, H.R.
1564, was considered by the House of Representatives under
suspension of the rules, and passed by a voice vote on November
15, 2005.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an
open business meeting on January 31, 2007, by voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 235.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title.
Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
convey to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District all right,
title, and interest of the United States to certain buildings
and lands of the Yakima Project, Washington, in accordance with
an existing agreement between the District and the United
States.
Section 2(b) provides that upon the date that title is
conveyed, the United States is not liable for damages of any
kind arising out of any act, omission, or occurrence relating
to the conveyed buildings and lands, except for damages caused
by acts of negligence committed by the United States or its
employees or agents before the conveyance. Nothing in the
section increases the United States' liability beyond that
provided by the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Section 2(c) provides that after conveyance of the
buildings and lands, they will no longer be considered part of
the Federal reclamation project, and that the District shall
not be eligible to receive any benefits, except those available
to persons similarly situated.
Section 2(d) contains a reporting requirement for the
Secretary in the event the conveyance is not completed within
12 months following the enactment of S. 235.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 235--Yakima-Tieton Irrigation-District Conveyance Act of 2007
S. 235 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey
certain lands and buildings comprising a portion of the Yakima
Project in Yakima County, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton
Irrigation District. Based on information from the Bureau of
Reclamation, CBO estimates that enacting S. 235 would have no
significant effect on the federal budget.
This bill would transfer title for approximately nine acres
of land and several buildings to the irrigation district. Other
parts of the project, including the Tieton diversion dam and
associated canals, would not be affected. The district has
fully complied with all repayment agreements associated with
the project, and currently makes only small payments to
reimburse the bureau for the operation and maintenance of the
Yakima-Tieton facilities. Such payments are recorded as
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending), and
would no longer be made if this bill were enacted, resulting in
a negligible loss of receipts to the U.S. Treasury. Under the
bill, the bureau would no longer be responsible for the minor
discretionary costs associated with operations and maintenance
of the conveyed facilities.
S. 235 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 land conveyance authorized by this bill would be voluntary
on the part of the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District. Any costs
they might incur to comply with the conditions of the
conveyance would be incurred voluntarily.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Julie Middleton.
The 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. 235. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant responsibilities on private individuals and
business.
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. 235, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
Because S. 235 is similar to legislation considered in the
109th Congress, the Committee did not request Executive Agency
views. The testimony provided by the Bureau of Reclamation at
the Subcommittee hearing on S. 1965 in the 109th Congress
follows:
Statement of William E. Rinne, Acting Commissioner, Bureau of
Reclamation, Department of the Interior
Madam Chairwoman, members of the Subcommittee, I am Bill
Rinne, Acting Commissioner of Reclamation for the Bureau of
Reclamation. I am pleased to provide the Department of the
Interior's views on S. 1965, legislation to authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to convey certain buildings and lands
of the Yakima Project in Washington to the Yakima-Tieton
Irrigation District. We support this legislation and thank the
committee for considering it today.
The transfer proposed in S. 1965 is the culmination of a
collaborative and cooperative process and should be a model for
other districts and groups interested in title transfer.
What we experienced in this case, and what has made other
title transfers successful, is that Reclamation and the non-
Federal entities interested in title transfer followed a simple
plan identifying obstacles and dealing with them at the local
or regional level before draftmg legislation.
S. 1965 would authorize the title transfer of federally
owned buildings and lands to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation
District. Reclamation and the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District
have worked collaboratively and efficiently to lay the
groundwork for this title transfer. Thanks to the cooperative
efforts of the District, the process has successfully addressed
all the elements of Reclamation's policy framework that guides
our title transfers.
One of the Administration's goals in title transfer is to
protect the financial interest of the United States, that is,
to make sure that the United States is no worse off financially
following title transfer. In this case, the full costs of the
lands, buildings and facilities to be transferred have already
been repaid pursuant to the district's original repayment
contract. All the lands to be transferred under this
legislation were acquired by Reclamation when the project was
built. Thus the original repayment contract incorporated their
value together with the costs associated with the construction
of the facilities and buildings. There are no ongoing revenue
streams associated with these lands and facilities, and the
value of all the assets has been repaid. The district has
fulfilled its repayment obligation under the contract and thus
no payment is required.
On December 6, 2004, Reclamation and the District entered
into a title transfer agreement for the federally owned
facilities (Contract No. 5-07-10-L1658) which spells out the
terms and conditions for this title transfer and which is the
basis for the transfer of the facilities in the legislation.
Subsequently, Reclamation worked with the District and with
Representative Hastings and Senator Cantwell on how to
structure the legislation to authorize the implementation of
the title transfer agreement.
We believe that this title transfer will give the District
more local control of buildings that were constructed for their
use. It will also eliminate the need for duplicative and
unnecessary administrative obligations that exist for the
District based on the fact that title to the buildings and
associated properties is held by the United States. For
example, the District currently has to seek approval for
utility work, building improvements, and similar activities by
virtue of the fact that the buildings and properties are
Federally owned.
For Reclamation, the title transfer will obviate the
periodic facility reviews and processing of paperwork that
currently consumes significant staff time.
In summary, we support passage of S. 1965. It is a good
bill, a good title transfer, and reflects a cooperative and
cost effective process that will provide a benefit to the
District and to Reclamation.
That concludes my testimony; I would be pleased 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. 235, as ordered
reported.
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