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Volume 8, No. 22
October 26, 1984 NATIONAL WATER�^�.`-"'��.,e,�;��� ,�m,�a.�ro. .��`•u s,�. .� , :e�, �� �,c�. �.,� � �µ Via• .��:_� ,�
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National Water Resources Association 955 L'Enfant Plaza, North Bldg., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20024 (202)488-0610
***When the 99th Congress is seated in January of 1985 , if it does
nothing more than sort through the wreckage of the recently-adjourned 98th
Congress , it will have the makings of a fairly hefty agenda for the 1985-86
biennium. A few examples follow.
Cost-sharing was a big issue in some of the toughest fights, including
the uprating of Hoover Dam, Dam Safety and increased authorization for the
Small Reclamation Projects Act. The sponsors of the Colorado River Salinity
Control Bill avoided a bruising battle only by agreeing in advance to more
upfront local cost sharing. Notwithstanding President Reagan' s letter about
cost-sharing to Senator Laxalt, the administration continues to appear to have
two cost-sharing policies - one for Corps projects and one for Bureau
projects . Somehow, the distinction never seems to be made that BuRec projects
have always been subject to cost-sharing whereas most COE projects have been
exclusively federal costs . More emphasis needs to be placed on this in the
99th Congress.
In a letter to members of Congress about the possibility of a veto threat
if the water project authorizations were included in the final catch-all
appropriations bill, OMB Director David Stockman said: " . . .The administration
believes that fundamental reform in the financing of the construction and
operation of federal water development projects must precede initiating new
construction starts . If we were to permit the approximately $6 billion worth
of new projects in the tentative conference agreement to go forward, any
future effort at reform would be virtually meaningless . We must accordingly
take strong exception to the inclusion of any appropriations to initiate
construction starts . "
Sen Mark Hatfield (OR) , Chrm of the Sen Appropriations Comm, was critical
of the Administration, the news media and the Democratic leadership in the
House for failure of the water project authorizations . In a speech Mr .
Hatfield was quoted as saying the lack of authorization for projects reflects
" a government paralysis in dealing with water resources . " He noted that
Congress has not passed significant new water resources project legislation
since 1970 and he was critical of the user of the term "pork barrel " as a
synonym for water projects .
"We have to educate the news media and we have to educate the political
leadership to the fact that this is not pork barrel, " Sen Hatfield said . He
then went on to comment about Mr . Stockman, who he said is an "eyeshade
accountant from a school of economics that doesn ' t exist and whose basic
thesis is that non-military spending creates deficits, but military spending
does not create deficits . "
Other issues left over from the 98th Congress that appear to be certain
to be on the agenda for the 99th Congress include;
• Recreation of some kind of a national board to set water policy. The
inclusion of these provisions in the Omnibus Public Works Bills authored by
Rep Robert Roe ( NJ ) and Sen James Abdnor ( SD ) was one of the contributory
causes ( but not the only cause) of the failure of the bills . The bills alsc.
would have reinstated the old principles and standards until new ones were
written , which made the water policy board provisions ever worse. Sen Abdnor
was willing to drop the reinstatement of the principles and standards , but
even then the package was unacceptable to Sen Malcolm Wallop (WY) and others
who were concerned about the long-term impacts of a national water policy
board. Water policy formulation is certain to be before the 99th Congress .
• A national groundwater commission. This was called for in one bill
that was sent to President Reagan and which is almost certain to be signed -HR
2867 , which would provide for an overhaul of the Solid Waste Disposal Act
among other things . The commission would have about two years to conduct a
far-ranging study of a variety of groundwater issues , some of which would
appear to have some potentially sinister implications for the western states .
The commission is not likely to get off to a fast start, however, because
although the legislation authorized an appropriation of $7 million for the
commission, none of the money was actually appropriated. However, it will not
be all that complicated to extend the life of the commission an extra year and
appropriate the funds in fiscal 1986 . This issue is not dead yet.
1984 CONVENTION, HYATT RE IX, ARIZONA, NOVEMBER 11-15
841162
r,lthough the Bureau still has some funds left in the till , the backlog of
projects planned is large and more funds will be needed . This was a bill of
particular importance to NWRA and we will need to get started earlier next
year if we are going to make any headway on this one . As noted in the last
Water Line , this bill failed to get to the floor on the House side and was
never cleared by the Committee on the Senate side.
• Water project financing. HR 4480 , Rep Charles Pashayan' s approach,
was the subject of a Subcomm hearing but never cleared the Int Comm. Given
that the number of federal dollars may never be as plentiful as they were in
the past, some new methods for local funding of all or part of worthy projects
must be devised . In addition to the Pashayan Bill , at least two other
legislative proposals were in the hopper. The House Omnibus Public Works Bill
had provisions for new loan programs for up to 90% of the cost of repairing ,
rehabilitating, expanding or improving water supply facilities for m&i use. A
similar provision was included in the Sen bill . HR 2419 would create a natl
financing institution with authority to issue bonds for the improvement and
expansion of self-financing public facilities for states and local
communities . This was one of several bills to assist non-fed governments in
dealing with problems resulting from deteriorating infrastructure.
• Superfund Legislation. HR 5640 , the Superfund Expansion and Pro-
tection Act of 1984, passed the House on Aug 10 and died in the Senate . The
Senate ' s version, S 2892, was reported by the Environ and Public Works Comm on
Sept 21 , 1984, and referred the same day to the Finance Comm, where it died.
• Clean Water Act . HR 3282 passed the House on June 26 and died in the
Senate . The Senate ' s version was S 431 , which was reported by the Sen
Environment and Public Works Comm in Sept of 83 . The House Bill included a
program for the control of non-point source provisions , but a companion bill
to S 431 , S 2006 , dealt with that subject and was to be amended into S 431 if
it was ever taken up on the floor, which it was not.
***The work of the Garrison Diversion Unit Commission continues at a
frantic pace as the Comm endeavors to extract and separate fact from fiction
from all of the data and comments they have received and to complete their
evaluation and prepare a report of their recommendations by Dec 31 . The Comm
staff conducted three days of technical workshops in Bismarck on Oct 8-10
during which more than 50 economists, engineers , biologists , scientists and
resource specialists participated . As a result of that comprehensive
undertaking the staff prepared a list of project alternatives for the Comm to
study at a work session in Washington, D . C . on Oct 17 . At that meeting the
Comm reviewed more than 40 possible alternatives and reduced the list to
approximately 25 and directed the staff to develop the remaining alternatives
in further detail . These alternatives are scheduled to be released for public
study on Dec 7 . The Comm will receive comments on the alternative proposals
at a hearing in Fargo, ND on Nov 16-17 .
***On Sept 20 , 1984 Alvin Kramer of Minot, ND was named manager of the
Garrison Diversion Conservancy. Kramer was chosen by a screening committee
for the dist. The selection is subject to approval by the district directors.
Making up the screening committee were board chairman Charles Richter, Russ
Dushinske , John Dean, Howard Olson and Vern Fahy. Acquisition of Kramer,
provides the cons dist with one of the state' s leading authorities on water
development. He is dedicated to the longstanding dream of North Dakotans to
use Missouri River water and is convinced that Garrison will survive.
OFFICIAL NOTICE: The annual national convention of the National
Water Resources Association will be held Nov 11-15 , 1984 in
Phoenix, AZ . The meetings will be conducted in the Phoenix Civic
Center. The business meeting of the Association and the election
of officers will be held beginning at 2 :00 p.m. on Wed, Nov 14.
***The AZ Convention Coordinating Comm and ABC are anxiously awaiting
your presence and participation in NWRA' s 53rd Annual Convention. For room
reservation call Hyatt 800/228-9000, for convention info call ABC 602/274-3422
and for super travel arrangements call 800/528-0290 . See you in Phoenix.
NATIONAL WATER LINE
National Water Resources Association
955 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20024
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Volume 8, No. 21
October 12, 1984 NATIONAL WATER LINE.
National Water Resources Association 955 L'Enfant Plaza, North Bldg., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20024 (202)488-0610
***With suitcases packed, airline tickets in hand and campaign com-
mitments to meet the Congress caved-in to their personal schedules and the
institutional gridlock of the Federal debating society and agreed to wipe out
water project authorizations and appropriations thus clearing the deck for
final adjournment . Someone could write a book about the parliamentary
jawboning and horse trading that has occurred these past few weeks as Sen
James Abdnor ( SD ) and Rep Robert Roe ( NJ ) fought for the approval of their
omnibus public works authorization bills , and Sen Hatfield (OR ) and RA
Bevill (Ala) sought to obtain appropriations for specific water projects . But
in the final days , with the threat of a Presidential veto, which would have
extended the duration of the 98th Congress, the legislators reluctantly agreed
to shelve water projects . It could only be called spite, but down the tube
also went administration approved appropriations for new starts at Animas La
Plata (CO-NM) and Buffalo Bill (WY) . The only good news we can report is that
both Rep Roe and Sen Abdnor plan to revive their drive for water project
authorizations early in the 99th Congress. It will be an entirely new effort,
a new ball game and a new challenge for NWRA.
***After three weeks of determined effort, backed-up with great support
from NWRA and its members throughout the West, Doyle Boen packed up and left
Washington last week with a heavy heart. In spite of his determined efforts
and tenacious leadership, the bill to increase the authorization of the Small
Reclamation Projects Act ( HR 4444 ) was lost in the legislative morass as
Congress struggled for adjournment. In constant contact with NWRA members and
key officials throughout the NWRArea, Doyle had worked out compromise
legislation which appeared to be acceptable to objections that had been raised
in the House by Rep Berkley Bedell (IA) and others . Chrm Udall (AZ ) decided
not to take the amended bill to the floor for consideration after he checked
with the Senate and learned there was no chance for the bill to be considered
by the upper body in the final hectic days of the 98th Congress . We do not
report this as a leadership failure on the part of Mr . Udall , he was simply
practicing the "politics of the possible. " It simply would be a wasted effort
on his part to ask the leadership of the House for time to debate the bill
when it was known before hand that there would be no Senate action. As Doyle
said, "Back to the old drawing board, it is time to start planning for
consideration of this legislation by the 99th Congress. "
***Another casualty of the rush to adjourn was S 1132 to specify annual
charges for use of federal dams . It passed the House, but not before another
measure was tacked-on to the bill that was unacceptable to Sen McClure and
thus the bill died in the Senate.
***After a long and arduous struggle (that ' s now par for the course ) the
Colorado River Salinity Bill ( S 752 ) was cleared by the Congress , but not
before the bill ' s sponsors agreed to tougher cost-sharing amendments pushed by
(you guessed it) Sen Metzenbaum (OH) . In offering his amendments, the Senator
said: "I want to take note of the role played by the Colorado River Salinity
Control Forum, which represented the seven states affected by this measure. I
have spend a great deal of time in recent years criticizing western water
interests for refusing to accept their obligation to bear a greater share of
the costs of projects in their region. But members of the Colorado Salinity
Control Forum brought an enlightened, flexible and responsible attitude to
this issue . They demonstrated exceptional willingness to meet and resolve the
concerns I raised, as well as those concerns raised by the environmental
community . I hope that the constructive atmosphere in which this issue was
handled becomes the hallmark for future negotiations between those of us with
deep, though differing, concerns about western--and national--water
development policies . . . "
The legislation authorizes the construction of a number of salinity
control works and expands the authority of the Department of Agriculture to
assist in on-farm salinity control and water management programs.
***The Reclamation Reform Act Implementation Workshop sponsored by NWRA
on October 4 and 5 was an overwhelming success . The workshop, dealing with
problems relating to the regulations to implement the RRA, was held at the
Sheraton Airport Inn (San Francisco) and was attended by about 12O people, not
including several key officials of the Department of the Interior.
1984 CONVENTION, HYATT REGENCY, PHOENIX, ARIZONA, NOVEMBER 11-15
i ; y - c,v
Thursday afternoon when landowners and their representatives discussed a
variety of subject areas in which problems with the interpretation of the RRA
and the subsequent regulations had arisen . those present agreed on the
relative priorities of the various problems and a list of 17 subjects was
prepared and presented to the Feds who joined the group on Friday morning.
The Federal officials included Assistant Secretary Robert Broadbent,
Interior Solicitor Frank Richardson, Deputy Assistant Secretary Hal Furman,
Acting BuRec Commissioner Robert Olson, Sacramento Regional Solicitor Dave
Lindgren and all of the Bureau ' s Regional Directors .
Among the subjects of concern presented to the Federal officials were:
certification and reporting requirements , forms of ownership and ownership
entitlements , equivalency problems, timing and sequence of buying additional
land and making elections to come under the RRA, ability of landowners to
designate and redesignate land as non-excess, leasing of state-owned land, the
requirement for certain contract language which some landowners felt in-
terfered with their rights and what constitutes additional and supplemental
benefits .
Asst Sec Broadbent, in responding to the points raised, said Int is
willing to take a second look at most of the issues raised, even if it
requires , in some cases, changing the published regulations . However, he did
not hold out much hope that water districts can be considered completely free
of any responsibility for landowners who fail to file required reports . (The
question was whether districts have any responsibility for landowners who do
not report and whether they can be penalized in any way for the landowners '
failure to report . ) In at least two instances, Mr. Broadbent said the Dept
has already decided issues in accord with the landowners ' wishes . In most
other cases , he invited the landowners to submit papers in support of their
position.
At the conclusion of the meeting, NWRA President Proctor designated
Gordon Nelson, former coordinator of the Farm/Water Alliance, to serve as the
liaison between NWRA and the Dept to follow up on issues raised during the
meeting. Water users writing to the Dept as a result of the San Francisco
meeting are asked to send a copy of their communication to NWRA D .C .
headquarters .
BULLETIN -- As a result of the above described meeting, a follow-up
session on this vital subject will be held Tuesday, November 13 ,
from 2 : 30-4 : 00 pm in Phoenix as a special event of the annual
convention . Asst Sec Broadbent will be present to report on
Interior' s actions and/or decisions that have resulted from the San
Francisco meeting.
***Momentum is building for a super annual convention in Phoenix, AZ,
November 11-15 , according to Bob Moore (AZ Assn Exec Dir) . The headquarters
hotel , the Hyatt Regency, is sold out for Monday night, Nov 12, but overflow
reservation requests are being handled by the Hilton Hotel , which handily is
just across the street from the Hyatt . In addition to heavy advance re-
gistration (in one day ABC banked $18, 000 ) we are having an excellent response
from exhibitors with over 30 displays scheduled for our inspection.
The Arizona Convention Committee has gone all out to provide us with not
only an exceptionally informative program, but they also have arranged
educational workshops and seminars on Planning, Computer operation, Municipal
and Industrial water concerns and project planning. Some of the Nation' s best
authorities, including members of the Congress and the Administration, will be
in Phoenix to make presentations on areas of vital interest to NWRA members.
Beyond the program and the annual business session of NWRA, the Con-
vention Committee has arranged social events for our entertainment, but in
addition to all of the above, our annual meeting provides the members of our
western water community a unique opportunity to meet with our peers to discuss
water problems, to meet with officials of the BuRec, the COE, state officials,
Congressional staffers and other professionals in the water development arena.
If you have not yet registered, don' t miss this remarkable opportunity to
become involved and better informed. Call at once, 602/274-3422 .
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