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29-010
2d Session
108-327
--LAKE NIGHTHORSE REDESIGNATION
[To accompany S. 2508]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was referred the bill (S. 2508) to redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake Nighthorse, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
On page 1, line 5, insert `Basin Creek, a tributary of' before `the Animas River'.
The purpose of S. 2508 is to rename the Ridges Basin Reservoir in Colorado for Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
The Ridges Basin Reservoir is part of the Animas La Plata Project in southwestern Colorado. It is being built by the Bureau of Reclamation south of Durango, Colorado to store water from the Animas River, which is a tributary of the San Juan and Colorado Rivers. When completed in 2009, the reservoir will hold 120,000 acre-feet of water and will have a surface area of nearly 1,500 acres.
The Animas La Plata Project was first authorized on a much larger scale by the Colorado River Basin Act of 1968, Public Law 90-537. Work on the Project was delayed, for various reasons, for decades. In the meantime, Congress enacted the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988, Public Law 100-585, to resolve the senior water rights claims of the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian Tribes of Colorado.
In 1988, the Department of the Interior proposed construction of a substantially scaled-down project to address the long-standing water rights claims of the Colorado Ute Tribes, as well as the municipal and industrial needs of other water users, including the Navajo Nation and non-Indian water districts, in Colorado and New Mexico. Congress authorized construction of the scaled-down Animas La Plata Project in the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000, and construction began in November 2001. The principal component of the scaled-down project will be the Ridges Basin Reservoir.
S. 2508 renames the Ridges Basin Reservoir the `Lake Nighthorse' in honor of Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Senator Campbell was the principal author of both the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988 (while he was a Member of the House of Representatives) and the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000. The Committee believes that renaming the Ridges Basin Reservoir for Senator Campbell is a fitting tribute to the instrumental role he played in the Colorado Ute settlement and the construction of the Animas La Plata Project, and to his service in the United States Congress.
S. 2508 was introduced by Senator Domenici on June 7, 2004 and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Senator Allard is a cosponsor. The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on S. 2508 on June 17, 2004. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 2508, as amended, favorably reported on July 14, 2004.
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open business meeting on July
14, 2004, by a voice vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2508, if amended as described herein. Senator Campbell abstained from voting on S. 2508.
During the consideration of S. 2508, the Committee adopted an amendment that clarifies the location of the reservoir.
Section 1 renames the Ridges Basin Reservoir in Colorado `Lake Nighthorse.'
Section 2 requires that any reference to the reservoir shall be a reference to `Lake Nighthorse.'
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2508, a bill to redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake Nighthorse.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Julie Middleton.
Sincerely,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 2508--A bill to redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake Nighthorse
S. 2508 would rename the Ridges Basin Reservoir located on Basin Creek, a tributary to the Animas River in Colorado. The new name of the reservoir would be Lake Nighthorse. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no significant impact on the federal budget; the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues.
S. 2508 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Julie Middleton. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out S. 2508. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant responsibilities on private individuals and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 2508.
On June 16, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth executive views on S. 2508. These reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 2508 was filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. No testimony was provided by the Department of the Interior at the Subcommittee hearing.
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 2508, as ordered reported.
