BOARD00562

• Board Meeting Date: 5/20/2002
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Upper Colorado River Recovery Program - Extending the Program
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

shall adjust such amounts for inflation in fiscal years commencing after the enactment of this Act. The utilization of
power revenues for annual base funding shall cease after the fiscal year 20 11, unless reauthorized by Congress;
except that power revenues may continue to be utilized to fund the operation and maintenance of capital projects and
monitoring. No later than the end of fiscal year 2008, the Secretary shall submit a report on the utilization of power
revenues for base funding to the appropriate Committees of the United States Senate and the House of
Representatives. The Secretary shall also make a recommendation in such report regarding the need for continued
base funding after fiscal year 2011 that may be required to fulfill the goals of the Recovery Implementation
Programs. Nothing in this Act shall otherwise modify or amend existing agreements among participants regarding
base funding and depletion charges for the Recovery Implementation Programs.
(3) The Western Area Power Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation shall maintain sufficient revenues in the
Colorado River Basin Fund to meet their obligation to provide base funding in accordance with paragraph (2). Ifthe
Western Area Power Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation determine that the funds in the Colorado River
Basin Fund will not be sufficient to meet the obligations of section 5(c)(I) ofthe Colorado River Storage Project
Act for a 3-year period, the Western Area Power Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation shall request
appropriations to meet base funding obligations.
(e) AUTHORITY TO RETAIN APPROPRIATED FUNDS.-At the end of each fiscal year any unexpended appropriated funds for
capital projects under this Act shall be retained for use in future fiscal years. Unexpended funds under this Act that
are carried over shall continue to be used to implement the capital projects needed for the Recovery Implementation
Programs.
(f) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.- The Secretary may enter into agreements and contracts with Federal and non-Federal
entities, acquire and transfer interests in land, water, and facilities, and accept or give grants in order to carry out the
purposes of this Act.
(g) INDIAN musT ASSETS.- The Congress finds that much of the potential water development in the San Juan River
Basin and in the Duchesne River Basin (a subbasin of the Green River in the Upper Colorado River Basin) is for the
benefit of Indian tribes and most of the federally designated critical habitat for the endangered fish species in the San
Juan River Basin is on Indian trust lands, and 2 1 .2 miles of critical habitat on the Duchesne River is on Indian Trust
Land. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to restrict the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, from funding activities or capital projects in accordance with the Federal
Government's Indian trust responsibility.
(h) TERMINATION OF AUTIIORITY.-All authorities provided by this section for the respective Recovery Implementation
Program shall terminate upon expiration of the current time period for the respective Cooperative Agreement
referenced in section 2( 1) unless, at least 1 year prior to such expiration, the time period for the respective
Cooperative Agreement is extended to conform with this Act.

SEC. 4. EFFECT ON RECLAMA nON LAW.
Specifically with regard to the acreage limitation provisions of Federal reclamation law, any action taken pursuant to
or in furtherance of this title will not-
(1) be considered in determining whether a district as defined in section 202(2) ofthe Reclamation Reform Act of
1982 (43 U.S.C. 390bb) has discharged its obligation to repay the construction cost of project facilities used to make
irrigation water available for delivery to land in the district;
(2) serve as the basis for reinstating acreage limitation provisions in a district that has completed payment of its
construction obligations; or
(3) serve as the basis for increasing the construction repayment obligation of the district and thereby extending the
period during which the acreage limitation provisions will apply.

Speaker afthe Hause af Representatives.
Vice President af the United States and President af the Senate.

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