Hill Heat

On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at 10:15 a.m. in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

• H.R. 7776 (Rep. Lee of NV), “Help Hoover Dam Act”, authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to access $45 million in ratepayer funds to make upgrades to the Hoover Dam;
• H.R. 7872 (Rep. Curtis), “Colorado River Salinity Control Fix Act”, modifies the cost share of salinity control units along the Colorado River;
• H.R. 7938 (Rep. Bentz), “Klamath Basin Water Agreement Support Act of 2024”, gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to enter into additional agreements to improve access to water resources in the Klamath River Basin; and
• H.R. 8263 (Rep. Boebert), “Rural Jobs and Hydropower Expansion Act”, clarifies that Reclamation has the sole jurisdiction over non-federal hydropower development within Reclamation projects.

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• David Palumbo, Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Bureau of Reclamation [All bills]
• Tracey Liskey, President, Klamath Water Users Association, Klamath Falls, OR [H.R. 7938]
• Don Barnett, Executive Director, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, Farmington, UT [H.R. 7872]
• Craig Horrell, President, Deschutes Basin Board of Control, Redmond, OR [H.R. 8263]
• Eric Witkoski, Executive Director, Colorado River Commission of Nevada [H.R. 7776; Minority witness]