Clarifying Certain Property Descriptions in Provo River Project Transfer

Floor Speech

Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California?

There was no objection.

Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 255, sponsored by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz), allows the Provo River Waters Users Association to own a canal facility that it has operated, maintained, and repaid for decades. This title transfer was the original intent of public law enacted in 2004, and the passage of this bill would remove existing legal barriers in order to fulfill that intent. A companion measure by Senator Hatch passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in May.

The whole matter comes down to this: the canal was originally an open, earthen canal in a rural setting. The city of Provo grew up around it until, for a variety of reasons, it was decided to enclose the canal, essentially changing it to a pipeline. In order to make it possible for the local water authority to raise non-Federal capital to do so, Congress adopted the Provo River Transfer Act in 2004 to authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to convey title to the association for the canal as if existed when the act was adopted.

Now that the enclosure is completed and the time has come to transfer title--as Congress directed nearly a decade ago--the Bureau of Reclamation has opined that by covering the canal, it technically is no longer a canal but rather a piped facility, that it is now different than the facility in existence when Congress ordered the transfer of title. Therefore, it doesn't meet the specifications of the conveyance act.

So, in an only in Washington, D.C., moment, we now have this measure before us that changes the facility description in the 2004 act to the ``water conveyance facility historically known as the Provo Reservoir Canal,'' so that the title transfer can proceed.

The passage of this bill would amend outdated legal definitions while accelerating repayment to the U.S. Treasury. This legislation continues the positive trend demonstrated by the Natural Resources Committee of economically empowering our communities.

The Bureau of Reclamation supports the bill. I am unaware of any opposition, and I urge its adoption.

I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source