Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resource Committee Democrats highlighted a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that irrigation districts owe the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) $1.6 billion in outstanding water project construction costs. The outstanding payments have left taxpayers on the hook for constructing costly, but critical water infrastructure projects that provide water to the irrigators, and other users.
The report comes on the eve of a Natural Resources hearing on Republican legislation that would undermine transparency and public participation in the Reclamation review process to approve new projects without adequate analysis. The legislation ignores the maintenance backlog, and fails to provide funding for already approved projects.
The GAO report was requested by Full Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Water and Power Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA).
“Irrigators haven’t paid for projects that were built forty years ago and Congress isn’t allocating money for projects already approved. Yet, House Republicans insist on a hearing that ignores these real issues. At a time when the federal government could use $1.6 billion for all kinds of pressing needs, this committee should focus on serious fixes to our water problems, and stop wasting time with legislation that amounts to a giveaway of public money and will do nothing to solve this issue," said the House members.
The report also encouraged Reclamation to better disseminate information on construction costs and repayment, saying this “could further enable Congress, water users, and the public to assess past funding arrangements and enhance their ability to make informed decisions for funding potential new work." Reclamation currently has a $3.2 billion backlog of deferred maintenance of existing dams, reservoirs, and other water systems. The outstanding $1.6 million of repayment costs could help mitigate this funding need.
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