A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a feasibility study on a selective water withdrawal system at Glen Canyon Dam, and for other purposes.

Glen Canyon Dam feasibility study

This bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a feasibility study at Glen Canyon Dam. The study would analyze options like a thermal curtain or a selective water withdrawal system and include hydrological modeling. The Secretary would consult Energy, Fish and Wildlife, the US Geological Survey, Colorado River Basin States, and CRSP power contractors. The Secretary would finish the study within 18 months and, within 90 days after completion, send a summarized report to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources. The report would identify a recommended alternative, estimate construction, operation, maintenance, and replacement costs and allocate those costs to Colorado River Storage Project purposes, and include an analysis of effects on hydropower production and rates developed with the Western Area Power Administration. Study costs would come from appropriations; any Federal funds used would be nonreimbursable and nonreturnable, and the Secretary would identify funding sources within 90 days after enactment. If the Secretary finds an option feasible under the reclamation laws, the Secretary would be able to initiate design and construction for that alternative. The authority in this section would expire five years after enactment and would not change existing long-range Colorado River reservoir operation criteria under the Colorado River Basin Project Act.