I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4726

To further continued economic viability in the communities on the southern

High Plains by promoting sustainable groundwater management of the

southern Ogallala Aquifer.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 22, 2000

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To further continued economic viability in the communities

on the southern High Plains by promoting sustainable

groundwater management of the southern Ogallala Aquifer.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern High Plains

5 Groundwater Resource Conservation Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings:

4 (1) A reliable source of groundwater is an es5 sential element of the economy of the communities

6 on the High Plains.

7 (2) The High Plains Aquifer and the Ogallala

8 Aquifer are closely related hydrogeographic struc9 tures. The High Plains Aquifer consists largely of

10 the Ogallala Aquifer with small components of other

11 geologic units.

12 (3) The High Plains Aquifer experienced a dra13 matic decline in water table levels in the latter half

14 of the twentieth century. The average weighted de15 cline in the aquifer from 1950 to 1997 was 12.6 feet

16 (USGS Fact Sheet 124–99, Dec. 1999).

17 (4) The decline in water table levels is espe18 cially pronounced in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer,

19 reporting that large areas in the States of Kansas,

20 New Mexico, and Texas experienced declines of over

21 100 feet in that period (USGS Fact Sheet 124–99,

22 Dec. 1999).

23 (5) The saturated thickness of the High Plains

24 Aquifer has declined by over 50 percent in some

25 areas (1186 USGS Circular 27, 1999). Further26 more, the survey has reported that the percentage of
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1 the High Plains Aquifer which has a saturated

2 thickness of 100 feet or more declined from 54 per3 cent to 51 percent in the period from 1980 to 1997

4 (USGS Fact Sheet 124–99, Dec. 1999).

5 (6) The decreased water levels in the High

6 Plains Aquifer coupled with higher pumping lift

7 costs raise concerns about the long-term sustain8 ability of irrigated agriculture in the High Plains.

9 (‘‘External Effects of Irrigators’ Pumping Decisions,

10 High Plains Aquifer’’ Alley and Schefter, American

11 Geophysical Union paper #7W0326; Water Re12 sources Research, Vol. 23, No. 7 1123–1130, July

13 1987).

14 (7) Hydrological modeling by the United States

15 Geological Survey indicates that in the context of

16 sustained high groundwater use in the surrounding

17 region, reductions in groundwater pumping at the

18 single farm level or at a very local level of up to 100

19 square miles, have a very time limited impact on

20 conserving the level of the local water table, thus

21 creating a disincentive for individual water users to

22 invest in water conservation measures. (‘‘External

23 Effects of Irrigators’ Pumping Decisions, High

24 Plains Aquifer’’, Alley and Schefter, American Geo-
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1 physical Union, paper #7W0326; Water Resources

2 Research, Vol. 23, No. 7 1123–1130, July 1987).

3 (8) Incentives must be created for conservation

4 of groundwater on a regional scale, in order to

5 achieve an agricultural economy on the Southern

6 High Plains that is sustainable.

7 (9) For water conservation incentives to func8 tion, Federal, State, tribal, and local water policy9 makers, and individual groundwater users must have

10 access to reliable information concerning aquifer re11 charge rates, extraction rates, and water table levels

12 at the local and regional levels on an ongoing basis.

13 (b) PURPOSES.—To promote groundwater conserva14 tion on the Southern High Plains in order to extend the

15 usable life of the Southern Ogallala Aquifer.

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

17 For purposes of this Act:

18 (1) HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER.—The term ‘‘High

19 Plains Aquifer’’ means the groundwater reserve de20 picted as Figure 1 in the United States Geological

21 Survey Professional Paper 1400–B, titled

22 ‘‘Geohydrology of the High Plains Aquifer in Parts

23 of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Okla24 homa, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming’’.
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1 (2) HIGH PLAINS.—The term ‘‘High Plains’’

2 means the approximately 174,000 square miles of

3 land surface overlying the High Plains Aquifer in

4 the States of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming,

5 South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and

6 Texas.

7 (3) SOUTHERN OGALLALA AQUIFER.—The term

8 ‘‘Southern Ogallala Aquifer’’ means that part of the

9 High Plains Aquifer lying below 39 degrees north

10 latitude which underlies the States of New Mexico,

11 Texas, and Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas.

12 (4) SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS.—The term

13 ‘‘Southern High Plains’’ means the portions of the

14 States of New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, Colo15 rado, and Kansas which overlie the Southern

16 Ogallala Aquifer.

17 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

18 either the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary

19 of Agriculture, as appropriate.

20 (6) WATER CONSERVATION MEASURE.—The

21 term ‘‘water conservation measures’’ means meas22 ures which enhance the groundwater recharge rate

23 of a given piece of land, or which increase water use

24 efficiencies.
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1 SEC. 4. HYDROLOGIC MAPPING, MODELING, AND MONI2 TORING PROGRAM.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior,

4 working though the United States Geological Survey, shall

5 develop a comprehensive hydrologic mapping, modeling,

6 and monitoring program for the Southern Ogallala Aqui7 fer. The program shall include on a county-by-county

8 basis—

9 (1) a map of the hydrological configuration of

10 the Aquifer; and

11 (2) an analysis of—

12 (A) the current and past rate at which

13 groundwater is being withdrawn and recharged,

14 and the net rate of decrease or increase in aqui15 fer storage;

16 (B) the factors controlling the rate of hori17 zontal migration of water within the Aquifer;

18 (C) the degree to which aquifer compaction

19 caused by pumping and recharge methods in

20 impacting the storage and recharge capacity of

21 the groundwater body; and

22 (D) the current and past rate of loss of

23 saturated thickness within the Aquifer.

24 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after

25 the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the

26 Secretary shall submit a report on the status of the South-
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1 ern Ogallala Aquifer to the Committee on Energy and

2 Natural Resources of the Senate, the Committee on Re3 sources of the House of Representatives, and the Gov4 ernors of the States of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas,

5 Colorado, and Kansas.

6 SEC. 5. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

7 (a) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Agri8 culture, working through the Natural Resources Conserva9 tion Service, shall establish a groundwater conservation

10 assistance program for Southern Ogallala Aquifer.

11 (b) DESIGN AND PLANNING.—The Secretary shall

12 provide financial and technical assistance, including mod13 eling and engineering design to States, tribes, and coun14 ties, conservation districts, or other political subdivisions

15 recognized under State law, for the development of com16 prehensive groundwater conservation plans within the

17 Southern High Plains. This assistance shall be provided

18 on a cost-share basis ensuring that—

19 (1) the Federal funding for the development of

20 any given plan shall not exceed 50 percent of the

21 cost; and

22 (2) the Federal funding for groundwater water

23 conservation planning for any one county, conserva24 tion district, or similar political subdivision recog25 nized under State law shall not exceed $50,000.
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1 (c) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall create a

2 certification process for comprehensive groundwater con3 servation plans developed under this program, or devel4 oped independently by States, tribes, counties, or other po5 litical subdivisions recognized under State law. To be cer6 tified, a plan must—

7 (1) cover a sufficient geographic area to provide

8 a benefit to the groundwater resource over at least

9 a 20 year period;

10 (2) include a set of goals for water conserva11 tion; and

12 (3) include a process for an annual evaluation

13 of the plan’s implementation to allow for modifica14 tions if goals are not being met.

15 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Farming operations within juris17 dictions which have a certified conservation plan in accord18 ance with section 5(c) shall be eligible assistance for

19 projects described in subsection (b).

20 (b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Projects eligible for as21 sistance under subsection (a) are as follows:

22 (1) WATER CONSERVATION COST-SHARE AS23 SISTANCE.—The Secretary, working through the

24 Natural Resources Conservation Service, may pro25 vide grants to individual farming operations of up to
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1 $50,000 for implementing on farm water conserva2 tion measures including the improvement of irriga3 tion systems and the purchase of new equipment.

4 The Federal share of the water conservation invest5 ment in any one operation be no greater than 50

6 percent.

7 (2) IRRIGATED LAND RESERVE.—Through the

8 2020 calendar year, the Secretary shall formulate

9 and carry out the enrollment of lands in a ground10 water conservation reserve program through the use

11 of multiple year contracts for irrigated lands which

12 would result in significant per acre savings of

13 groundwater resources if converted to dryland agri14 culture.

15 (3) CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM EN16 HANCEMENT.—Lands eligible for the Conservation

17 Reserve Program established under section 1231 of

18 the Food Security Act of 1985 which would result

19 in significant per acre savings of groundwater re20 sources if removed from agricultural production shall

21 be awarded 20 Conservation Reserve Program bid

22 points, to be designated as groundwater conservation

23 points, in addition to any other ratings the lands

24 may receive.
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated—

3 (1) $5,000,000 annually through fiscal year

4 2020 for hydrologic mapping, modeling, and moni5 toring under this Act;

6 (2) $5,000,000 annually through fiscal year

7 2020 for groundwater conservation planning, design,

8 and plan certification under this Act;

9 (3) $30,000,000 annually through fiscal year

10 2020 for cost-share assistance for on farm water

11 conservation measures; and

12 (4) $30,000,000 annually through fiscal year

13 2020 for enrollment of lands in an Irrigated Lands

14 Reserve.

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