Pete Domenici: “since its inception in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation has constructed numerous facilities which have supplied much of…”

“since its inception in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation has constructed numerous facilities which have supplied much of the water and power necessary to populate the Western United States. The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences estimates that Reclamation currently owns 673 facilities that are part of 178 major projects. When many of these facilities were constructed, there were few local communities and utilities capable of assuming title to the facilities. However, this is no longer the case. Many project beneficiaries are both willing and able to receive title to Reclamation facilities. The growth of the environmental movement during the 1970s, explosive population growth in the West, Indian water rights claims, and urbanization transformed Reclamation from an agency that plans, designs, and constructs large projects into one that manages existing Reclamation facilities and allocates water resources in accordance with applicable law. Correspondingly, appropriations for Reclamation have decreased over the past 40 years. As chairman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, I have become increasingly concerned that Reclamation lacks adequate resources to fulfill its current mission, particularly in light of increasing nonreimbursable expenditures required for operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation of Reclamation facilities.…”