Bolts Ditch Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1729) to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to allow for additional entities to be eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 1729, the bill now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1729, the Bolts Ditch Act, sponsored by Representative Neguse.

This straightforward legislation allows additional entities to conduct routine maintenance activities on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate in Colorado.

Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate are water facilities located near the town of Minturn, Colorado, that divert water into Bolts Lake. In 1980, Congress established the Holy Cross Wilderness in the White River and San Isabel National Forests but inadvertently failed to include Bolts Ditch among a list of existing water facilities excluded from the designation.

This has prevented the structure from being rebuilt or repaired for more than three decades. The inability to rehabilitate and rebuild the Bolts Ditch Headgate prevented new development in the area, which would have required the expansion of Bolts Lake to provide a water supply for surrounding homes.

Congress corrected this error in 2019 by allowing the town of Minturn to access Bolts Ditch for maintenance and repairs. H.R. 1729 builds on this legislation by allowing additional local entities, including the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, to maintain this vital infrastructure near Bolts Lake.

This is commonsense legislation that will help local Coloradans and improve the operational efficiency of this important water infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, Mr. Neguse's bill is a straightforward bill that will improve the maintenance of Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate near Minturn, Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 1729, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1729, the Bolts Ditch Act, introduced by my colleague and good friend from Colorado (Mr. Neguse).

Mr. Speaker, the Bolts Ditch Headgate and ditch segment are located within the Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado's White River National Forest. This infrastructure is essential for delivering water to the Bolts Lake Reservoir, supporting water supply needs and economic development in Eagle County.

Mr. Speaker, to balance the protection of the wilderness area with the continued operation of Bolts Ditch, Congress previously authorized the town of Minturn access to use, maintain, and repair the headgate and ditch under the John Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act.

The Bolts Ditch Act would expand this authority to the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority as eligible entities.

Under this new authority, they would be eligible to receive a permit from the Secretary of Agriculture for nonmotorized access to use, maintain, and repair Bolts Ditch Headgate and 450 feet of Bolts Ditch.

Representative Neguse's legislation would ensure continued access to critical water infrastructure, and promote efficient regional water supply management while protecting the wilderness area.

It would also support higher in-stream flows for Cross Creek, reduce energy consumption, and foster long-term economic benefits for Eagle County. This is a priority for this community, and I thank Representative Neguse for his hard work and leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I thank the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle), my colleague and the ranking member. I also thank Chairman Westerman for his support and his team and his staff for giving us the opportunity here to consider a number of bills that are bipartisan, common sense, and certainly mean a lot to the folks who I represent out West.

Mr. Speaker, as you may know, I represent Colorado's Second Congressional District. It is an incredibly large geographical district. It is a district that spans across more than 8,000 square miles. It is larger than eight States on the eastern seaboard and spans 12 counties and over 55 towns.

I have the privilege of representing this incredible district each and every day back home in Colorado. When you represent a district of that size and scale, you learn early on how important it is to be present in your communities to be able to listen directly to constituents, local leaders, the folks on the ground, about problems that you can ultimately help to solve.

This bill is a perfect example. It is a bill that has been described well by the chairman and the ranking member that, in effect, would ensure that a number of different water authorities--specifically, the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority--would have access, as the town of Minturn already does, to the Bolts Ditch structure.

It builds on legislation that we successfully got across the finish line several years ago. It is common sense. It is bipartisan, and it means a great deal to the folks that I represent in western Colorado.

I hope that my colleagues can support this measure. I look forward to doing everything that needs to be done to get it to the President's desk.