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<br />maps required by Section 5(b)(2) of the Colorado River Flood~ay Protection Act are
<br />filed, for the purpose of enforcing subsections (b) and (d). of this sectIon: . . .
<br />"(d) A federally supervised. approved. regulated. or I~Ured fin8nc~1 tnstitutlOn
<br />may make loans secured by structures which are not ehgIble for flood m~ura~ce. by
<br />reason o( this section: Provided, That prior to making such a l?a~1 such IOStitutlO?,
<br />determines that the lands or structures securing the loa~ are Wlthm the.Floodway.
<br />
<br />FEDERAL LEASES
<br />J SEC. 13. (a) No lease of lands owned in whole or in part by the United States and
<br />'\:Jill/within the Colorado River Floodway shall be granted after the date of en!lCtment. of
<br />I this Act unless the Secretary determines that such a lease would be consistent WIth
<br />the operation and maintenance of the <?>lorado Rivt;r Floodway. .
<br />(b) No existing lease of lands owned in whole or In part by the Umted ~~tes ~nd
<br />within the Colorado River Floodway shall be extended beyond the ~te of en~~tment
<br />of this Act or the stated expiration date of its current term, whlc~ever 18 later,
<br />unless the lessee agrees to take reasonable and prudent steps d~termmed to be nec-
<br />essary by the Secretary to minimize the inconsistency .of.operation under such lease
<br />with the operation and maintenance of the, Colorado Rive! Floodway.
<br />(c) No lease of lands owned in whole or part by the United States between Hoover
<br />Dam and Davis dam below elevation 655.0 feet 'on, Lake Mo~ave aha!! be ganted.
<br />unless the Secretary determines that; such .lease would be consistent With the oper-
<br />ation of Lake Mohave. .; - : .
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<br />NOTICES AND EXISTING LAWS
<br />SEC. 14. (aX!) Nothing in this Act shall alter or affect in any way the provisions of
<br />section 702c of title 33, United States Code. " , '
<br />(2) The Secretary shall provide notice of the provisions of s,ectLOn 7020 of title 33,
<br />United States Code, and this Act to all existing 'an~' prospectlve'lessees ,of lands
<br />leased by the United States and within theColo~ado River Floodwa~".
<br />(b) Except as otherwise specifically,provlded In this'A.ct, aU prOV:lSlons of. thE; Na-
<br />tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended, and requirements of the ~at~on~l
<br />Flood Insurance Program ("NFIP") shall continue in fup, force, and effect Wlthm
<br />areas wholly or partially within the Colora~o River Floodway. Any maps or .other
<br />information required to be prepared by .thlS Act shall be used to the m8Jumum
<br />extent practicable to support implementation of the NFI~. ..'
<br />(c) The Secretary shall publish notice on three SUCceSSIV~ ?CC88lons m. newspapers
<br />of general circulation in affected communities of the prOVISions of SectIOn 12(a), (a)
<br />of this Act.
<br />
<br />AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
<br />
<br />SEC. 15. There is authorized to be appropriated to the. Department of the Interior
<br />$600000 through the end of fiscal year 1990, in addition to any other funds now
<br />avaiiabl~ to the Department to discharge its dut.i~s to im~le~ent sections 4 th~ough
<br />14 of this Act; provided. however. that the provISIons of Sechon 6 and 7 of thiS Act
<br />shall not be affected by this section.
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<br />PURPOSE
<br />
<br />The Colorado River Floodway Protection Act (H.~. 1246) is ~e-
<br />signed to improve the. manage'!lent of the Colorad~ River, the prm-
<br />cipal water resource In the arId southwestern Umted States.. H,R.
<br />1246 requires creation of a federally decla,:ed floodway-that IS, an
<br />area along and adjacent to the Colorado RIver needed. to accommo-
<br />date part of unusually high river flows-betwe.en DaVlS D~m, locat-
<br />ed on the Arizona-Nevada statE'.cline west of lQngman, ArIZona .an~
<br />the U.S.-Mexican border, some 250 miles to the south. I The prmcI-
<br />pal purpose of the bill is to protect a,nd improve. the water stor~e
<br />capability of the existing Colorado River reservOir system by WIth-
<br />drawing federal assistance from future floodway development.
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<br />I A map of this area is Appendix A.
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<br />BACKGROUND AND NEED
<br />
<br />The Colorado River ("the Colorado" or "the River") is now regu-
<br />lated by a massive reservior system which can store about 60 mil-
<br />lion acre-feet of water and is designed to provide water supply and
<br />other river benefits, including flood control, to more than 10 mil-
<br />lion residents of the seven Colorado River Basin States. The federal
<br />and State governments have made a multi-billion dollar invest-
<br />ment in this reservior system. Requirements for flood control
<br />space-that is, empty space in the Colorado River reservoirs-must
<br />be rationally related to the multiple purposes served by the reser-
<br />voir system. Encroachments by development in the floodway of the
<br />River, limiting its use, may lead to requests for broadened flood
<br />control requirements to substitute for the existing flow accommo-
<br />dation and dam safety protection provided by the floodway. A key
<br />result would be a very large loss of precious existing water sup-
<br />plies.
<br />H.R. 1246 is a response to the problems of develoment on the
<br />River Floodway. It recognizes that the Colorado River will periodi-
<br />cally flood despite the major river control provided by existing
<br />dams, and therefore withdraws most forms of federal assistance to
<br />new development within the area along the Colorado which will
<br />probably receive most of the periodic flooding. Existin~ develop-
<br />ment is Irrandfathered, and the bill does not impose zoniJ.1,g"Q[JltlJ.eL
<br />new lImits on uses of private property. As explained below, the bill
<br />does not otherwise alter the eXlstmg management of the Colorado
<br />River.
<br />The Colorado River is perhaps the most highly regulated river in
<br />the United States, with intense and sometimes conflicting demands
<br />for its multiple benefits. The United States is by far the largest
<br />landowner in the area which would be affected by this bill. Con-
<br />gress has already approved legislation, the Coastal Barrier Re-
<br />sources Act (P.L. 97-348), which withdraws federal assistance for
<br />new development within a recognized high hazard area in order to
<br />limit resource conflicts. H.R. 1246 adapts that concept to the man-
<br />agement of the Colorado River. It prohibits federal assistance for
<br />new development within the River floodway, a recognized high
<br />hazard area, thereby protecting the very large Federal and State
<br />investment in the mutliple purpose River reservior system.
<br />The concept behind this legislation has received the endorsement
<br />of top water resources management officials of all seven of the Col-
<br />orado River Basin States. These officials are generally charged
<br />with responsibility for management of the Colorado River on behalf
<br />of their respective States, and are the acknowledged experts on
<br />Colorado river management issues.
<br />
<br />BACKGROUND
<br />
<br />1983 high water and congressional hearings
<br />
<br />Congressional interest in this legislation originated in the high
<br />water conditions on the Colorado River in 1983. Responding to the
<br />concerns of local residents who have been damaged by high water
<br />conditions, the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs held 2
<br />full days of field hearings on these problems in Yuma, Arizona and
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