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“NORTHERN COLORADO WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT FACILITIES CONVEYANCE” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2534 on Dec. 14, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NORTHERN COLORADO WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT FACILITIES CONVEYANCE
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speech of
HON. MARK UDALL
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill and commend my Colorado colleague, Mrs. Musgrave, for its introduction.
The bill would direct the Interior Department to convey to the Northern Colorado Water Conservation District wants the title to some of the water-distribution facilities that are part of the Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado-Big Thompson project.
That project, authorized by Congress in 1937 to provide water for agricultural and other uses, consists of dams, dikes, reservoirs, powerplants, pumping plants, pipelines, tunnels, and substations spread over approximately 250 miles. The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the project's local government sponsor, operates and maintains all of the water conveyance facilities.
H.R. 3443 directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer 58 miles of the Project's water conveyance facilities (the St. Vrain Supply Canal, Boulder Creek Supply Canal, and South Platte Supply Canal) to the District. The transfer will allow the District to more cost-
effectively manage the facilities, reduce paperwork requirements, provide for local ownership and reduce the federal government's liability. The District, which has operated and maintained these water conveyance facilities since 1957, has repaid the appropriate capital costs associated with the facilities. Despite this repayment, the title of the facilities remains in the Bureau of Reclamation. This bill directs the transfer of this title with no conditions. It is modeled on the successful transfer (Public Law 106-376) of other single purpose water conveyance facilities associated with the Colorado Big-Thompson Project.
None of the affected facilities are used to generate electricity. However, payments by electricity customers have been contributing to the repayment for the overall project, and the electricity customers still owe something under that repayment contract. To reflect that, the bill provides for transfer of funds from electricity-sale collections to complete repayment of the amount the electricity customers owe toward repayment of the facilities to be transferred.
The bill includes language to make clear that it will not lessen the existing responsibilities of the district or affect the rights of two ditch companies whose ditches have been part of the distribution system for water from the Colorado-Big Thompson project. And, to stimulate prompt implementation, the bill says that if the transfer isn't completed within a year Interior must send a written report to Congress explaining why it hadn't done so and to keep reporting annually until the transfer is complete.
I joined as a cosponsor of this legislation because I think it will be beneficial both for the Northern Colorado Water Conservation District and for the federal government. I urge its approval.
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