Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I wish to support two crucial programs important to Utah and the West in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill pending before us.

The bill includes $10 million for the Central Utah Project in the Department of the Interior. This funding makes great strides in supporting rural water infrastructure. Over the decades-long life of this project, I have always advocated for appropriate funding levels to ensure timely completion of this project.

This vital program was authorized in the 1956 Colorado River Storage Project Act and allows the State of Utah to develop its share of the Colorado River for irrigation and water supply. This program also reaches into five other States and provides for construction of water delivery infrastructure.

Over the past few years, the Obama administration has constantly tried to underfund the Central Utah Project, but Senator Alexander and Senator Feinstein have been able to restore funding to levels that enable construction to move forward.

Continuing funding for this project is important to taxpayers. Once the project is built and begins to deliver water, the people of Utah will start to repay their share of the costs to the Treasury.

This funding also allows mitigation work to continue, which restores and protects lands that are important to fish and wildlife that have been impacted by Federal water development for this project.

While we all wish additional funding were available for the important projects in our State, I believe that Senator Alexander and Senator Feinstein have done a good job in balancing priorities, and I appreciate them including funding to continue this vital program.

Another important program funded in this bill is the section 595 environmental infrastructure program in the Corps of Engineers.

Section 595 is a program that provides funding to rural areas in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming for water construction projects.

The bill includes $10 million for this program, which the Corps of Engineers will allocate competitively among the eligible States.

Section 595 funding is particularly important for projects in rural areas surrounded by Federal lands. Often, local sponsors can't meet the general 50/50 cost share required for construction projects, but section 595 reduces the non-Federal cost-share.

An example of where this program made a big difference in my State is in the small town of Escalante, where section 595 funds were used to rehabilitate and enlarge the Wide Hollow Reservoir.

Before the project began, irrigation water that was held in the reservoir only lasted until mid-July, leaving most farmers with wilted crops during the heat of the summer.

The Corps of Engineers provided $5.5 million under the section 595 program, which was matched with nearly $8 million in State grants and loans.

Today, because of Section 595, Escalante farmers can expect to receive water throughout the growing season, which allows them to harvest hay and other critical crops that, in the past, they would have had to purchase.

There are projects just like Wide Hollow Reservoir throughout the State of Utah--in fact, all throughout the West--and taxpayers can be assured that the $10 million provided in the Energy and Water bill will be put to good use.

I appreciate Senator Alexander and Senator Feinstein working with me to include these critical funds, especially given the tight budgets that we face this year and the competing priorities they had to consider.

To conclude, Mr. President, I believe that the Energy and Water bill that Senator Alexander and Senator Feinstein have before the Senate is a balanced, prioritized bill that includes important priorities not only for my State of Utah, but also for the Nation and I urge its passage.

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