H.R. 660 would require the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to assess the maintenance needs of its facilities, develop a ranking system to prioritize the rehabilitation needs of facilities that it operates, and work with nonfederal partners that have taken over the operation of certain other facilities to develop similar systems for those facilities that need rehabilitation. Under current law, BOR gathers data on its facilities, analyzes the data, and makes the results of its analysis available to the Congress and the public through its budget documents and various other reports throughout the year. Under the bill, BOR would need to consolidate those results into one report every two years including the ranking information and the estimated costs of necessary rehabilitation projects. Based on an analysis of information from BOR, CBO estimates that implementing those provisions would cost $2 million; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
H.R. 660 also would reduce the authorization level for the Central Valley Water Recycling Project in Salt Lake County, Utah, by $2 million. Under current law, that project is authorized to receive up to $20 million in federal funding for construction costs. Under the bill, the ceiling would be reduced to $18 million and federal costs would be lower by $2 million when the project is constructed. Based on information from BOR, CBO does not expect construction of the project to begin within the next five years.
Enacting H.R. 660 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 660 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Any costs incurred by public entities to comply with the bill’s reporting requirements would result from participating in a voluntary federal program.
On April 12, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 216, the Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 30, 2017. The two pieces of legislation are similar and CBO’s estimates of the budgetary effects are the same.
