Bolts Ditch Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1729) to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to allow for additional entities to be eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1729

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Bolts Ditch Act''. SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL ENTITIES ALLOWED TO MAINTAIN BOLTS DITCH AND THE BOLTS DITCH HEADGATE.

Section 1101(a) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``, the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, a Colorado Special District, or the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, an authority organized under the laws of the State of Colorado''.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. 1729, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1729, the Bolts Ditch Act, sponsored by Representative Neguse.

This straightforward legislation allows additional entities to conduct routine maintenance activities on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate in Colorado.

Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate are water facilities located near the town of Minturn, Colorado, that divert water into Bolts Lake. In 1980, Congress established the Holy Cross Wilderness in the White River and San Isabel National Forests but inadvertently failed to include Bolts Ditch among a list of existing water facilities excluded from the designation.

This has prevented the structure from being rebuilt or repaired for more than three decades. The inability to rehabilitate and rebuild the Bolts Ditch Headgate prevented new development in the area, which would have required the expansion of Bolts Lake to provide a water supply for surrounding homes.

Congress corrected this error in 2019 by allowing the town of Minturn to access Bolts Ditch for maintenance and repairs. H.R. 1729 builds on this legislation by allowing additional local entities, including the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, to maintain this vital infrastructure near Bolts Lake.

This is commonsense legislation that will help local Coloradans and improve the operational efficiency of this important water infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, again, Mr. Neguse's bill is a straightforward bill that will improve the maintenance of Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate near Minturn, Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 1729, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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