Water and Power Subcommittee Hearing to Provide Oversight of the Bureau and Reclamation and to Receive Testimony on Pending Legislation

July 19, 2023
02:30 PM
366 Dirksen Senate Office Building

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

The purpose of this hearing is to provide oversight of the Bureau of Reclamation and to receive testimony on the following bills:

  • S. 461, to make certain irrigation districts eligible for Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program pumping power, and for other purposes (Cramer);
  • S. 482, to amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 to provide the Secretary of the Interior with certain authorities with respect to projects affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, and for other purposes (Wyden);
  • S. 739, to clarify jurisdiction with respect to certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development, and for other purposes (Kelly);
  • S. 1118, to establish the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program (Cortez Masto);
  • S. 1215, to require assessments of opportunities to install and maintain floating photovoltaic solar panels at Bureau of Reclamation and Corps of Engineers projects, and for other purposes (King);
  • S. 1521, to amend the Federal Power Act to modernize and improve the licensing of non-Federal hydropower projects, and for other purposes (Daines/Cantwell);
  • S. 1662, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Midvale Irrigation District the Pilot Butte Power Plant in the State of Wyoming, and for other purposes (Barrasso);
  • S. 1955, to amend the Central Utah Project Completion Act to authorize expenditures for the conduct of certain water conservation measures in the Great Salt Lake basin, and for other purposes (Lee); 
  • S. 2102, to provide for drought preparedness and improved water supply reliability (Wyden);
  • S. 2160, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to authorize certain extraordinary operation and maintenance work for urban canals of concern (Risch);
  • S. 2161, to provide financial assistance for projects to address certain subsidence impacts in the State of California, and for other purposes (Feinstein);
  • S. 2162, to support water infrastructure in Reclamation States, and for other purposes (Feinstein);
  • S. 2166, to amend the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 and the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to provide grants to States and Indian Tribes for programs to voluntarily repurpose agricultural land to reduce consumptive water use, and for other purposes (Padilla);
  • S. 2169, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out watershed pilots, and for other purposes (Wyden);
  • S. 2202, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to authorize the modification of transferred works to increase public benefits and other project benefits as part of extraordinary operation and maintenance work, and for other purposes (Feinstein);
  • S. 2247, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to continue to implement endangered fish recovery programs for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins, and for other purposes (Hickenlooper/Romney).

The hearing will be webcast live on the committee’s website, and an archived video will be available shortly after the hearing concludes.  

Archived Webcast

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Opening Remarks

  • Sen. Ron Wyden

    Chair
    Water and Power Subcommittee
  • Sen. James E. Risch

    Ranking Member
    Water and Power Subcommittee

Witness Panel 1

  • The Honorable Camille C. Touton

    Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation
    U.S. Department of the Interior
  • The Honorable Alex Padilla

    United States Senator (D-CA)