Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey for their help in moving this legislation and also the staff of the Natural Resources Committee who have been very supportive and helpful.

I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 3263, the Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011. Lake Thunderbird is a Bureau of Reclamation project which provides municipal water to Norman, Del City, and Midwest City, all major municipalities in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

In recent years, the watershed that feeds Lake Thunderbird has not been able to keep that lake full. The water that remains is of poor quality and ill-suited for drinking water and recreation. Lake Thunderbird was built to provide water to a water-starved region, and this legislation would help the Bureau of Reclamation meet the original goals of this project.

The bill allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to acquire and store water from outside of the Bureau of Reclamation system in Lake Thunderbird. Any cost associated with this action would be paid for by the conservancy district. This legislation costs Federal taxpayers nothing.

Frankly, Mr. Speaker, in my view, this is the type of action that we should be able to take administratively; however, under current law, it requires congressional consent.

Mr. Speaker, I first initiated this legislation in the 110th Congress when central Oklahoma was in the midst of a significant drought. In July of 2011, Oklahoma recorded the driest month ever recorded by any of the 50 States since records have been kept. Central Oklahoma remains in a drought that is forecast to continue and worsen this summer.

H.R. 3263 is important to the economic growth of central Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area has seen tremendous growth over the past decade and has been a positive economic force at a time of great challenges to the national economy. Water must be available to support the continued growth of this region. This straightforward and commonsense legislation is an important tool to support further growth in central Oklahoma.

Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their cooperation, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.

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