Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey for their help in moving this legislation and also the staff of the Natural Resources Committee who have been very supportive and helpful.

I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 3263, the Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011. Lake Thunderbird is a Bureau of Reclamation project which provides municipal water to Norman, Del City, and Midwest City, all major municipalities in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

In recent years, the watershed that feeds Lake Thunderbird has not been able to keep that lake full. The water that remains is of poor quality and ill-suited for drinking water and recreation. Lake Thunderbird was built to provide water to a water-starved region, and this legislation would help the Bureau of Reclamation meet the original goals of this project.

The bill allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to acquire and store water from outside of the Bureau of Reclamation system in Lake Thunderbird. Any cost associated with this action would be paid for by the conservancy district. This legislation costs Federal taxpayers nothing.

Frankly, Mr. Speaker, in my view, this is the type of action that we should be able to take administratively; however, under current law, it requires congressional consent.

Mr. Speaker, I first initiated this legislation in the 110th Congress when central Oklahoma was in the midst of a significant drought. In July of 2011, Oklahoma recorded the driest month ever recorded by any of the 50 States since records have been kept. Central Oklahoma remains in a drought that is forecast to continue and worsen this summer.

H.R. 3263 is important to the economic growth of central Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area has seen tremendous growth over the past decade and has been a positive economic force at a time of great challenges to the national economy. Water must be available to support the continued growth of this region. This straightforward and commonsense legislation is an important tool to support further growth in central Oklahoma.

Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their cooperation, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.

I would like to, as well, thank my colleague, Tom Cole, for his work on this. He is the one who has really sponsored this, has focused on it, has driven it through to completion. It is a very important thing for communities that are both in his district and in my district as well.

H.R. 3263 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to simply amend an existing contract with the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District for the storage of nonproject water in Lake Thunderbird. It's very simple and straightforward. This bill would allow the district to augment water if the Secretary determines that there is enough excess capacity in the reservoir.

Since the summer of 2010, Oklahoma has been in a severe drought. This has seriously endangered the quality and supply of our drinking water. To address this devastating shortage, the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District could purchase water from Oklahoma City to supply high-quality water through the Atoka pipeline to Midwest City, Del City, and Norman. Regrettably, Congress must act before this resource can be tapped. It is imperative that we remedy the storage issues faced by these cities, and Congress shouldn't stand in the way of this.

It is amazing that it takes an act of Congress for an Oklahoma lake to buy water from another Oklahoma lake. No

Federal funds are needed, only Congress giving the permission to allow Oklahomans the flexibility to use their own water as needed. I am strongly in support of this. This is the type of thing that should be widely bipartisan. It is a simple fix, and hopefully we can fix this legislatively in the future to not have to have an act of Congress just for us to use our own water in each State.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3263) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of nonproject water at the Norman project in Oklahoma, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 3263, introduced by our colleague from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to store water purchased from Oklahoma City in Lake Thunderbird. This legislation is necessary since Federal regulations do not allow water transfers from out-of-basin areas unless Congress expressly authorizes such a transfer.

This bill specifically states that any cost associated with its enactment will be borne by the project beneficiary. It is a no-nonsense bill that will provide additional water storage during times of drought. I thank Congressman Cole for sponsoring this commonsense bill, and I urge adoption of the measure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).

I have one more speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time as he may consume to another Member from Oklahoma, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and urge adoption of the measure.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Energy Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 2015 and S. 3563, and the Senate proceed to their consideration, along with the following bills en bloc: H.R. 3263, H.R. 3641, and H.R. 4073, which were received from the House and are at the desk; Calendar No. 268, S. 264; Calendar No. 284, S. 1047; Calendar No. 288, S. 1421; Calendar No. 289, S. 1478; Calendar No. 272, S.499; Calendar No. 266, S. 140; and Calendar No. 265, S. 114.

I ask unanimous consent that where applicable, the committee-reported amendments be considered; that any amendments to those amendments, which are at the desk, be agreed to; that the committee-reported amendments, as amended, if amended, be agreed to; the bills, as amended, if amended, be read a third time and passed en bloc; that a title amendment for S. 114 be agreed to; the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to any of the bills be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As my colleague stated, H.R. 3263 authorizes storage of nonproject water in Lake Thunderbird Reservoir. The ability to store water at Lake Thunderbird Reservoir will provide reclamation and the managers with flexibility in managing the system.

The administration supports H.R. 3263, and we have heard from the tribes around the region who do not object to this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, if I might inquire of the chairman if he has any additional speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.