The Clinton administration on Tuesday not only supported a bill to allow the Central Utah Project to transport non-CUP water for other agencies, it said the bill is a prime example of the governmental reforms it seeks.
That may soon allow Provo and other water districts to use CUP treatment plants and pipelines on a space-available basis for their water to avoid expensive duplication.U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Daniel P. Beard told the Senate Energy Subcommittee on Water that such a move blends well with a blueprint for reform that he released last year.
"In the blueprint, Reclamation pledged its commitment to meeting the needs of new constituent groups, including the needs of Western urban communities," he said.
Beard noted that similar use of CUP facilities for non-project water had previously been allowed for irrigators but not for municipal and industrial water.
He added that the bill also meets his blueprint's goal of improving the "coordinated use and management of our existing facilities."
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, who introduced the bill in the Senate with Sen. Orrin Hatch, said it would allow the CUP "to wheel Provo city water, Orem city water, Salt Lake City water, Salt Lake County water and Vernal city water, among other Utah water systems, through the district's water-delivery system."
Rep. Karen Shepherd, D-Utah, has cleared similar legislation through a House committee by attaching it to a Senate-passed bill. Also, Rep. Bill Orton, D-Utah, has introduced a separate, stand-alone bill identical to Bennett's bill.