Statement of Administration Policy: S. 640 - Water and Power Authorization Act of 1987

(House)
(Senators Burdick (D) and Conrad (D) North Dakota)

The administration opposes enactment of S. 640 unless it is amended to delete Titles I, III, VI, and IX of the bill. These titles would:

— relieve Dickenson, North Dakota, of its obligation to repay approximately $1.6 million to the Federal Government for a facility sought by the city, which has and will continue to provide water storage benefits;

— direct the Secretary to install a $3 million, non-reimbursable temperature control curtain, as a demonstration project at Shasta Dam, California, which is reimbursable under current law;

— allow net power revenues from Colorado's Grand Valley Project to be used to repay project construction costs, and allow transfer of project facilities to non-Federal interests; and

— authorize the renegotiation of the loan repayment schedule of California's Redwood Valley County Water District, to allow for a suspension of loan payments until October 1, 1989.

The administration objects to the first two provisions mentioned above because they would inappropriately shift costs agreed to when these projects were started, from project beneficiaries to the Federal Government. The administration objects to the latter two provisions mentioned above because they are being proposed for consideration without congressional hearings-; thus, while they may have merit, they are premature at this time.