Bipartisan Bill Requires Interior Department to release report every 2 years detailing specific repairs and rehabilitation needs at Bureau of Reclamation facilities.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee Chairman Brian Schatz (D-HI), praised the Senate for unanimously passing their bipartisan legislation to help improve aging water delivery systems and Bureau of Reclamation facilities across the country.
The Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act (S. 1800) requires the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to complete an Infrastructure Needs Assessment Report every two years listing major repairs and rehabilitation needs at BOR facilities.
“We’re now one step closer to making sure Wyoming and the West continue to have a clean, abundant and reliable supply of water,” said Barrasso. “Under our bipartisan bill, we will finally be able to identify the maintenance requirements and repairs needed to keep our aging Bureau of Reclamation water facilities operating safely and effectively. I want to thank Senator Schatz for working with me to help address this critical issue.”
“Every community needs access to safe, clean water,” said Senator Schatz, Chairman of the Water and Power Subcommittee. “Our legislation will make sure the Bureau of Reclamation has the detailed information it needs to make the necessary repairs to our aging water infrastructure. I am proud to work with Senator Barrasso on this important legislation that will help keep water flowing and people safe in Wyoming and across the West.”
The Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act was unanimously passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on June 18, 2014.
Background:
The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) is responsible for maintaining water delivery systems—including reservoirs, canals, etc. throughout the West. A majority of these systems are over 50 years old and in need of repair. Despite repeated requests made by Senator Barrasso, the Department of Interior has failed to provide adequate details on the depth and scope of our maintenance backlog at BOR facilities.
The Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act would force the BOR to do an Infrastructure Needs Assessment Report every two years as part of the BOR’s existing Asset Management Plan reporting process. This Infrastructure Needs Assessment Report would be available to the public on BOR’s webpage. The report would include:
1) An itemized list of major repair and rehabilitation needs at all federally managed BOR facilities and projects.
2) A cost estimate of the expenditures needed to address those repairs.
3) A categorical safety rating, using BOR’s own existing categorical system, of the importance of addressing each item.
S. 1800 would also require similar reporting requirements to be implemented for privately managed, but federally owned, BOR facilities and projects.
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