Page 459 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 1632

§ 1632. Safe water and sanitary waste disposal facilities

(a) Congressional findings

The Congress hereby finds and declares that—

(1) the provision of safe water supply systems and sanitary sewage and solid waste disposal systems is primarily a health consideration and function;

(2) Indian people suffer an inordinately high

incidence of disease, injury, and illness directly attributable to the absence or inadequacy of such systems;

(3) the long-term cost to the United States

of treating and curing such disease, injury,

and illness is substantially greater than the

short-term cost of providing such systems and

other preventive health measures;

(4) many Indian homes and communities

still lack safe water supply systems and sanitary sewage and solid waste disposal systems;

and

(5) it is in the interest of the United States,

and it is the policy of the United States, that

all Indian communities and Indian homes, new

and existing, be provided with safe and adequate water supply systems and sanitary sewage waste disposal systems as soon as possible.

(b) Authority; assistance; transfer of funds

(1) In furtherance of the findings and declarations made in subsection (a) of this section, Congress reaffirms the primary responsibility and

authority of the Service to provide the necessary sanitation facilities and services as provided in section 2004a of title 42.

(2) The Secretary, acting through the Service,

is authorized to provide under section 2004a of

title 42—

(A) financial and technical assistance to Indian tribes and communities in the establishment, training, and equipping of utility organizations to operate and maintain Indian sanitation facilities;

(B) ongoing technical assistance and training in the management of utility organizations which operate and maintain sanitation

facilities; and

(C) operation and maintenance assistance

for, and emergency repairs to, tribal sanitation facilities when necessary to avoid a

health hazard or to protect the Federal investment in sanitation facilities.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of

law—

(A) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs is authorized to transfer funds appropriated under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301, et seq.)

to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and

(B) the Secretary of Health and Human

Services is authorized to accept and use such

funds for the purpose of providing sanitation

facilities and services for Indians under section 2004a of title 42.

(c) 10-year plan

Beginning in fiscal year 1990, the Secretary,

acting through the Service, shall develop and

begin implementation of a 10-year plan to provide safe water supply and sanitation sewage

and solid waste disposal facilities to existing Indian homes and communities and to new and

renovated Indian homes.

(d) Tribal capability

The financial and technical capability of an

Indian tribe or community to safely operate and

maintain a sanitation facility shall not be a prerequisite to the provision or construction of

sanitation facilities by the Secretary.

(e) Amount of assistance

(1) The Secretary is authorized to provide financial assistance to Indian tribes and communities in an amount equal to the Federal share

of the costs of operating, managing, and maintaining the facilities provided under the plan described in subsection (c) of this section.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the term

‘‘Federal share’’ means 80 percent of the costs

described in paragraph (1).

(3) With respect to Indian tribes with fewer

than 1,000 enrolled members, the non-Federal

portion of the costs of operating, managing, and

maintaining such facilities may be provided, in

part, through cash donations or in kind property, fairly evaluated.

(f) Eligibility of programs administered by Indian tribes

Programs administered by Indian tribes or

tribal organizations under the authority of the

Indian Self-Determination Act [25 U.S.C. 450f et

seq.] shall be eligible for—

(1) any funds appropriated pursuant to this

section, and

(2) any funds appropriated for the purpose of

providing water supply or sewage disposal

services,

on an equal basis with programs that are administered directly by the Service.

(g) Annual report; sanitation deficiency levels

(1) The Secretary shall submit to the President, for inclusion in each report required to be

transmitted to the Congress under section 1671

of this title, a report which sets forth—

(A) the current Indian sanitation facility

priority system of the Service;

(B) the methodology for determining sanitation deficiencies;

(C) the level of sanitation deficiency for

each sanitation facilities project of each Indian tribe or community;

(D) the amount of funds necessary to raise

all Indian tribes and communities to a level I

sanitation deficiency; and

(E) the amount of funds necessary to raise

all Indian tribes and communities to zero sanitation deficiency.

(2) In preparing each report required under

paragraph (1) (other than the initial report), the

Secretary shall consult with Indian tribes and

tribal organizations (including those tribes or

tribal organizations operating health care programs or facilities under any contract entered

into with the Service under the Indian Self-Determination Act [25 U.S.C. 450f et seq.]) to determine the sanitation needs of each tribe.

(3) The methodology used by the Secretary in

determining sanitation deficiencies for purposes
§ 1633 TITLE 25—INDIANS Page 460

of paragraph (1) shall be applied uniformly to all

Indian tribes and communities.

(4) For purposes of this subsection, the sanitation deficiency levels for an Indian tribe or community are as follows:

(A) level I is an Indian tribe or community

with a sanitation system—

(i) which complies with all applicable

water supply and pollution control laws, and

(ii) in which the deficiencies relate to routine replacement, repair, or maintenance

needs;

(B) level II is an Indian tribe or community

with a sanitation system—

(i) which complies with all applicable

water supply and pollution control laws, and

(ii) in which the deficiencies relate to capital improvements that are necessary to improve the facilities in order to meet the

needs of such tribe or community for domestic sanitation facilities;

(C) level III is an Indian tribe or community

with a sanitation system which—

(i) has an inadequate or partial water supply and a sewage disposal facility that does

not comply with applicable water supply and

pollution control laws, or

(ii) has no solid waste disposal facility;

(D) level IV is an Indian tribe or community

with a sanitation system which lacks either a

safe water supply system or a sewage disposal

system; and

(E) level V is an Indian tribe or community

that lacks a safe water supply and a sewage

disposal system.

(5) For purposes of this subsection, any Indian

tribe or community that lacks the operation

and maintenance capability to enable its sanitation system to meet pollution control laws may

not be treated as having a level I or II sanitation deficiency.

(Pub. L. 94–437, title III, §302, Sept. 30, 1976, 90

Stat. 1407; Pub. L. 100–713, title III, §302, Nov. 23,

1988, 102 Stat. 4814; Pub. L. 102–573, title III,

§§302, 307(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4560, 4564.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Housing and Community Development Act of

1974, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(A), is Pub. L. 93–383,

Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 633, as amended. For complete

classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title

note set out under section 5301 of Title 42, The Public

Health and Welfare, and Tables.

The Indian Self-Determination Act, referred to in

subsecs. (f) and (g)(2), is title I of Pub. L. 93–638, Jan.

4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2206, as amended, which is classified

principally to part A (§450f et seq.) of subchapter II of

chapter 14 of this title. For complete classification of

this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under

section 450 of this title and Tables.

AMENDMENTS

1992—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 102–573, §302(1), amended

subsec. (e) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (e)

read as follows: ‘‘The provisions of this section shall

not diminish the primary responsibility of the Indian

family, community, or tribe to establish, collect, and

utilize reasonable user fees, or otherwise set aside funding, for the purpose of operating and maintaining sanitation facilities.’’

Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 102–573, §302(2), substituted

‘‘this section’’ for ‘‘subsection (h) of this section’’.

Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 102–573, §302(3)(A), substituted

‘‘The Secretary shall submit to the President, for inclusion in each report required to be transmitted to the

Congress under section 1671 of this title, a report’’ for

‘‘The Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual

report’’.

Subsec. (g)(2) to (6). Pub. L. 102–573, §302(3)(B), redesignated pars. (3) to (6) as (2) to (5), respectively, and

struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘The

first report required under paragraph (1) shall be submitted by no later than the date that is 180 days after

November 23, 1988, and, beginning in 1990, each subsequent annual report shall be submitted by the date

that is 60 days after the date on which the President

submits the budget to the Congress under section 1105

of title 31.’’

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 102–573, §307(b)(1), struck out subsec. (h) which authorized appropriations to carry out

subsec. (b)(2) for fiscal years 1990 to 1992.

1988—Pub. L. 100–713 amended section generally, substituting subsecs. (a) to (h) relating to safe water and

sanitary waste disposal facilities for former subsecs. (a)

to (c) relating to construction of safe water and sanitary waste disposal facilities.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 1633, 1671, 3905,

3908 of this title.

§ 1633. Preferences to Indians and Indian firms

(a) Discretionary authority; covered activities

The Secretary, acting through the Service,

may utilize the negotiating authority of section

47 of this title, to give preference to any Indian

or any enterprise, partnership, corporation, or

other type of business organization owned and

controlled by an Indian or Indians including

former or currently federally recognized Indian

tribes in the State of New York (hereinafter referred to as an ‘‘Indian firm’’) in the construction and renovation of Service facilities pursuant to section 1631 of this title and in the construction of safe water and sanitary waste disposal facilities pursuant to section 1632 of this

title. Such preference may be accorded by the

Secretary unless he finds, pursuant to rules and

regulations promulgated by him, that the

project or function to be contracted for will not

be satisfactory or such project or function cannot be properly completed or maintained under

the proposed contract. The Secretary, in arriving at his finding, shall consider whether the Indian or Indian firm will be deficient with respect

to (1) ownership and control by Indians, (2)

equipment, (3) bookkeeping and accounting procedures, (4) substantive knowledge of the project

or function to be contracted for, (5) adequately

trained personnel, or (6) other necessary components of contract performance.

(b) Pay rates

For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this subchapter, the Secretary shall assure that the rates of pay for personnel engaged

in the construction or renovation of facilities

constructed or renovated in whole or in part by

funds made available pursuant to this subchapter are not less than the prevailing local

wage rates for similar work as determined in accordance with the Act of March 3, 1931 (40 U.S.C.

276a to 276a–5, known as the Davis-Bacon Act).

(Pub. L. 94–437, title III, §303, Sept. 30, 1976, 90

Stat. 1407.)