To provide for a memorandum of understanding to address the impacts of a certain record of decision on the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund.
To provide for a memorandum of understanding to address the impacts of a certain record of decision on the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund.
Plain Language Summary
# HR 1001 Summary **What the Bill Does:** HR 1001 requires two federal agencies—the Bureau of Reclamation and the Western Area Power Administration—to create a formal agreement (memorandum of understanding) to study and address problems caused by a 2024 decision about how to operate Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona. The agreement must examine three main issues: how the decision affects funding obligations for the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund, how it impacts hydropower (electricity) production at the dam, and what effects it has on endangered and threatened species in the area. **Who It Affects:** The bill primarily affects water and power users in the Upper Colorado River Basin region (Arizona, California, and Nevada), as well as environmental and wildlife conservation efforts in that area.
Changes to Glen Canyon Dam operations can impact both hydroelectric power generation and environmental conditions for fish and other species. **Current Status:** The bill has passed the House of Representatives and is now moving through the legislative process. It was sponsored by Representative Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming).
CRS Official Summary
This bill directs the Bureau of Reclamation and the Western Area Power Administration, in consultation with the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group, to enter into a memorandum of understanding to explore and address the impact that the 2024 record of decision entitled Supplement to the 2016 Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan Record of Decision has on the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund. The memorandum of understanding must include a plan to (1) address the effects that the decision may have on the fund's obligations, (2) address the impact that the decision has on hydropower production at Glen Canyon Dam, and (3) identify impacts that the decision has had on species listed as threatened or endangered species.By way of background, Reclamation published a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for the Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) in 2024. The SEIS revises the 2016 LTEMP Record of Decision to address two issues: (1) responding to the threat of the invasive smallmouth bass below Glen Canyon Dam, and (2) incorporating the latest sediment science to assess when high-flow experiments should be conducted in order to protect the endangered humpback chub.
Latest Action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.