A bill to further continued economic viability in the communities on the High Plains by promoting sustainable groundwater management of the Ogallala Aquifer.

Summary: High Plains Groundwater Resource Conservation Act - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture in FY 2002 through 2011 to provide cost-share payments, incentive payments, and technical assistance to eligible producers (persons who are engaged in livestock or agricultural production) who enter into contracts with the Secretary through a High Plains Aquifer Groundwater Conservation Incentives Program.Requires the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance, including modeling and engineering design to States, tribes, and counties, conservation districts, and other political subdivisions recognized under State law for the development of groundwater conservation plans within the High Plains.Requires the creation of a certification process for such plans developed under this program or developed independently by such entities. Provides that, to be certified, a plan must achieve significant per acre savings of groundwater from the Aquifer and must meet the criteria specified by this Act.Directs the Commodity Credit Corporation to make available specified amounts in FY 2002 through 2011 to carry out such Program.Requires that lands eligible for the Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program which would result in significant per acre savings of groundwater resources of the Aquifer if removed from agriculture production be awarded 90 Program bid points, to be designated as groundwater conservation points, in addition to any other ratings such lands may receive.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``High Plains Groundwater Resource 
Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) a reliable source of groundwater is an essential 
        element of the economy of the communities on the High Plains;
            (2) the High Plains Aquifer consists largely of the 
        Ogallala Aquifer with small components of other geologic units;
            (3) the High Plains Aquifer experienced a dramatic decline 
        in water table levels in the latter half of the twentieth 
        century;
            (4) the decline in water table levels is especially 
        pronounced in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer, with areas in the 
        States of Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas experiencing 
        declines of over 100 feet from 1950 to 1997;
            (5) the saturated thickness of the High Plains Aquifer has 
        declined by over 50 percent in some areas. Furthermore, the 
        percentage of the High Plains Aquifer which has a saturated 
        thickness of 100 feet or more declined from 54 percent to 51 
        percent in the period from 1980 to 1997;
            (6) the decreased water levels in the High Plains Aquifer 
        coupled with higher pumping lift costs raise concerns about the 
        long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the High 
        Plains;
            (7) hydrological modeling by the United States Geological 
        Survey indicates that in the context of sustained high 
        groundwater use in the surrounding region, reductions in 
        groundwater pumping at the single farm level or at a local 
        level of up to 100 square miles, have a very time limited 
        impact on conserving the level of the local water table, thus 
        creating a disincentive for individual water users to invest in 
        water conservation measures;
            (8) incentives must be created for conservation of 
        groundwater on a regional scale, in order to achieve an 
        agricultural economy on the High Plains that is sustainable; 
        and
            (9) for water conservation incentives to function, Federal, 
        State, tribal, and local water policy makers, and individual 
        groundwater users must have access to reliable information 
        concerning aquifer recharge rates extraction rates, and water 
        table levels at the local and regional levels on an ongoing 
        basis.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to promote groundwater 
conservation on the High Plains in order to extend the useable life of 
the High Plains Aquifer.

SEC. 3. HIGH PLAINS GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

    (a) High Plains Aquifer Groundwater Conservation Incentives 
Program.--The Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after 
section 1240H the following new section:

``SEC. 1240I. HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION INCENTIVES 
              PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) High plains.--The term `High Plains' means the 
        approximately 174,000 square miles of land surface overlying 
        the High Plains Aquifer in the States of Colorado, Kansas, 
        Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and 
        Wyoming.
            ``(2) High plains aquifer.--The term `High Plains Aquifer' 
        is the groundwater reserve depicted as Figure 1 in the United 
        States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1400-B, titled 
        Geohydrology of the High Plains Aquifer in Parts of Colorado, 
        Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, 
and Wyoming.
            ``(3) High plains aquifer states.--The term `High Plains 
        Aquifer States' means the States of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, 
        New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.
    ``(b) In General.--In each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2011, 
the Secretary shall provide cost-share payments, incentive payments, 
and technical assistance to producers who enter into contracts with the 
Secretary, through a High Plains Aquifer Groundwater Conservation 
Incentives Program in accordance with this section. The goal of the 
program shall be to achieve significant per acre savings of the 
groundwater resources of the High Plains Aquifer.
    ``(c) Participation.--The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum 
extent practicable, that producers on lands drawing water from the High 
Plains Aquifer throughout the High Plains region shall have an 
opportunity to participate in the program established under this 
section. The participation of producers in areas experiencing 
significant aquifer level declines shall be given a priority and that 
participation shall be limited to producers in ares for which a plan 
has been certified pursuant to subsection (1).
    ``(d) Eligible Practices.--
            ``(1) Structural practices.--A producer on lands drawing 
        water from the High Plains Aquifer who implements an on-farm 
        structural practice, which may include the improvement of 
        irrigation systems and the purchase of new equipment, which the 
        Secretary determines will result in a significant and 
        quantifiable per-acre savings of the groundwater resources of 
        the High Plains Aquifer, shall be eligible for cost-share 
        payments, in accordance with this section.
            ``(2) Land management practices.--A producer on lands 
        drawing water from the High Plains Aquifer who performs a land 
        management practice, which may include the conversion of 
        acreage from irrigated agricultural production to dryland 
        production, the modification of cropping patterns from high 
        water intensity crops to low water intensity crops, or the 
        implementation of other groundwater conservation measures, 
        which the Secretary determines will result in a significant and 
        quantifiable per-acre savings of the groundwater resources of 
        the High Plains Aquifer, shall be eligible for incentive 
        payments, in accordance with this section.
    ``(e) Application and Term.--A contract between a producer and the 
Secretary under this section may--
            ``(1) apply to one or more structural practices or one or 
        more land management practices, or both; and
            ``(2) have a term of not less than three, nor more than 
        ten, years as determined appropriate by the Secretary, 
        depending on the practice or practices that are the basis of 
        the contract.
    ``(f) Structural Practices.--
            ``(1) Offer selection process.--The Secretary shall, to the 
        maximum extent practicable, establish a process for selecting 
        applications for financial assistance if their are numerous 
        applications for assistance for structural practices that would 
        provide substantially the same level of groundwater 
        conservation benefits. The process shall be based on--
                    ``(A) a reasonable estimate of the projected cost 
                of the proposals and other factors identified by the 
                Secretary for determining which applications will 
                result in the least cost to the program authorized by 
                this section; and
                    ``(B) the priorities established under this section 
                and such other factors determined by the Secretary that 
                maximize groundwater conservation benefits per dollar 
                expended.
            ``(2) Concurrence of owner.--If the producer making an 
        offer to implement a structural practice is a tenant of the 
        land involved in agricultural production, for the offer to be 
        acceptable, the producer shall obtain the concurrent of the 
        owner of the land with respect to the offer.
    ``(g) Land Management Practices.--The Secretary shall establish an 
application and evaluation process for awarding incentive payments to a 
producer in exchange for the performance of one or more land management 
practices by the producer.
    ``(h) Payments.--
            ``(1) Cost-share payments.--The Federal share of cost-share 
        payments to a producer proposing to implement one or more 
        structural practices shall be not more than 50 percent of the 
        projected cost of the practice, as determined by the Secretary, 
        taking into consideration any payment received by the producer 
        from a State or local government.
            ``(2) Incentive payments.--The Secretary shall make 
        incentive payments in an amount and at a rate determined by the 
        Secretary to be necessary to encourage a producer to perform 
        one or more land management practices.
            ``(3) Net savings.--Payment may be made to producers only 
        if the Secretary determines that the structural practice or 
land management practice will result in a net savings on lands owned or 
operated by the producer of groundwater resources of the High Plains 
Aquifer.
    ``(i) Modifications or Termination of Contracts.--
            ``(1) Voluntary modification or termination.--The Secretary 
        may modify or terminate a contract entered into with a producer 
        under this section if--
                    ``(A) the producer agrees to the modification or 
                termination;
                    ``(B) the Secretary determines that the 
                modification or termination is in the public interest.
            ``(2) Involuntary termination.--The Secretary may terminate 
        a contract under this section if the Secretary determines that 
        the producer violated the contract.
    ``(j) Duties.--
            ``(1) Duties or producers.--To receive cost-share payments, 
        incentive payments, or technical assistance under this section, 
        a producer shall agree to implement the structural practice or 
        land management practice as agreed to in the contract with the 
        Secretary and to comply with such additional conditions as the 
        Secretary determines are necessary to carry out the intent of 
        this section.
            ``(2) Duties of the secretary.--The Secretary shall provide 
        cost-share payments or incentive payments for developing and 
        implementing one or more structural practices or one or more 
        land management practices, as agreed to in the contract with 
        the producer.
    ``(k) Limitation of Payments.--The total amount of cost-share 
payments paid to any one producer under this section may not exceed 
$50,000 for any multi-year contract. The Secretary shall set a 
limitation on the amount of inventive payments paid to any one producer 
under this section at a level which, in the Secretary's discretion, 
will maximize the conservation of groundwater resources from the High 
Plains Aquifer.
    ``(l) High Plains Groundwater Conservation Planning.--
            ``(1) Planning assistance.--The Secretary shall provide 
        financial and technical assistance, including modeling and 
        engineering design to States, tribes, and counties, 
        conservation districts, or other political subdivisions 
        recognized under State law, for the development of 
        comprehensive groundwater conservation plans within the High 
        Plains. This assistance shall be provided on a cost-share basis 
        ensuring that:
                    ``(A) the Federal funding for the development of 
                any given plan shall not exceed 50 percent of the total 
                cost; and
                    ``(B) the Federal funding for groundwater water 
                conservation planning for any one county, conservation 
                district, or similar political subdivision recognized 
                under State law shall not exceed $50,000.
            ``(2) State administration.--Upon application by a High 
        Plains Aquifer State, and approval by the Secretary, the 
        Secretary may provide funding on an annual basis to the State 
        to carry out, in lieu of the Secretary, the activities set 
        forth in paragraph (1), including assistance to counties, 
        conservation districts, or other political subdivisions 
        recognized under the law of that State, for the development of 
        the conservation plans described in paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Certification.--The Secretary shall create a 
        certification process for comprehensive groundwater 
        conservation plans developed under this program, or developed 
        independently by States, tribes, counties, conservation 
        districts, or other political subdivisions recognized under 
        State law. To be certified, a plan must achieve significant per 
        acre savings of groundwater from the High Plains Aquifer and 
        must:
                    ``(A) cover a sufficient geographic area to provide 
                a benefit to the groundwater resource over at least a 
                20 year time period;
                    ``(B) include a set of goals and objectives for 
                groundwater conservation and a timetable for achieving 
                the goals and objectives;
                    ``(C) identify specific measures for achieving the 
                groundwater conservation goals and objectives;
                    ``(D) define a plan of action for achieving the 
                groundwater conservation goals and objectives;
                    ``(E) include a process for an annual evaluation of 
                the implementation of the plan of action; and
                    ``(F) provide a process for modification of the 
                plan if the conservation goals and objectives are not 
                being met or for purposes of updating the plan.
    ``(m) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
the Corporation shall make available to carry out this subsection, 
$75,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2002 through 2003, $100,000,000 in 
each of fiscal years 2004 through 2006 and $125,000,000 in each of 
fiscal years 2007 through 2011.''.
    (b) Conservation Reserve Program Enhancement.--Lands eligible for 
the Conservation Reserve Program established under section 1231 of the 
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) which would result in 
significant per acre savings of groundwater resources of the High 
Plains Aquifer, as defined in section 1240I(a) of the Food Security Act 
of 1985, if removed from agricultural production shall be awarded 90 
Conservation Reserve Program bid points, to be designated as 
groundwater conservation points, in addition to any other ratings the 
lands may receive.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.