Statement of William Rinne

Deputy Commissioner  

 Bureau of Reclamation

U.S. Department of the Interior

House Resources Committee

Subcommittee on Water and Power

June 24, 2003

Thank you for the opportunity to appear today to provide the Administration’s views on H.R. 2040.

H.R. 2040 would amend the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to require the Secretary of the Interior to extend each of the water service or repayment contracts for the Glendo Unit of the Missouri River Basin Project for a period of 2 years until December 31, 2005, or for the term of the cooperative agreement entered into by the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and the Secretary of the Interior.

Mr. Chairman, the Department supports the H.R. 2040 language as written. 

On July 1, 1997, the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado and the United States Department of the Interior entered into a cooperative agreement for Platte River research and other efforts relating to endangered species habitats along the Central Platte River in Nebraska.  The purpose of the cooperative agreement is to jointly undertake a basin-wide effort to improve the habitat of four threatened and endangered species along the Platte River.  The cooperative study is designed to help develop a basin-wide program to be the reasonable and prudent alternative to minimize the effects of existing and new water related activities in the Platte River Basin.  

Glendo Dam and Reservoir system is one of several Bureau of Reclamation dam and reservoir systems on the North Platte River that operate as integrated systems.  The Bureau of Reclamation has been consulting under the Endangered Species Act on the operations of the entire reservoir system.

To successfully renew long-term contracts for Glendo Reservoir water will require the completion of Endangered Species Act consultation on the Bureau of Reclamation’s North Platte River system operations.  This consultation will continue until the cooperative agreement and study have been completed.  The final programmatic environmental impact statement is scheduled to be completed by November 2004, with the record of decision to follow in December 2004.  H.R. 2040 will allow Reclamation to renew the Glendo contracts when the record of decision is issued.  

Mr. Chairman, in summary the Department supports the legislation for extension of the Glendo contracts provided by

H.R. 2040.  I would be happy to answer any questions.