I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5120

To amend the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 to establish a partnership program in the Bureau of Reclamation for small reclamation

projects, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 7, 2000

Mr. CALVERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To amend the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 to

establish a partnership program in the Bureau of Reclamation for small reclamation projects, and for other

purposes.

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 ‘‘Small Reclamation

5 Water Resources Project Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE SMALL RECLAMATION

2 PROJECTS ACT OF 1956.

3 (a) PURPOSE.—The first section of the Small Rec4 lamation Projects Act of 1956 (43 U.S.C. 422a) is amend5 ed by striking ‘‘under the’’ and inserting ‘‘under this act

6 and other’’ and by adding the following at the end thereof:

7 ‘‘Such projects may include, but shall not be limited to,

8 irrigation projects. Irrigation shall not be a required pur9 pose for projects receiving assistance under this Act. In

10 providing assistance, the Secretary shall give priority to

11 approved proposals which are related to presently author12 ized Reclamation projects that will benefit from the work

13 carried out under this Act.’’.

14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Small Reclama15 tion Projects Act of 1956 (43 U.S.C. 422b) is amended—

16 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘a State’’ and

17 inserting ‘‘an Indian Tribe, a State’’;

18 (2) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the

19 following new subsection (d):

20 ‘‘(d) The term ‘project’ means one of the following:

21 ‘‘(1) A multi-purpose water resource develop22 ment carried out by a non-Federal organization in23 volving significant conservation of water, energy and

24 the environment.

25 ‘‘(2) The rehabilitation, betterment, or retrofit

26 of any existing Federal or non-Federal water infra-
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1 structure for purposes of complying with law and

2 regulations.

3 ‘‘(3) An activity described in paragraph (1) or

4 (2) that is carried out by a non-Federal organization

5 under the Federal reclamation laws in one or more

6 of the 17 western reclamation States, Hawaii, Alas7 ka, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam,

8 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North9 ern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and the

10 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Where such

11 work is proposed for any existing Reclamation

12 project, such work shall be consistent with the au13 thorized purpose as determined by the Secretary.’’;

14 and

15 (3) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the

16 following new subsection (f):

17 ‘‘(f) The term ‘water quality improvements’ shall

18 mean and involve those operational measures and physical

19 features associated with—

20 ‘‘(1) the reclamation and reuse of irrigation

21 drainage or municipal and industrial return flows,

22 including wastewater flows; or

23 ‘‘(2) the reclamation, or control, of brackish,

24 toxic, or hazardous waters for beneficial reuse or
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1 protection of other related water, land, or environ2 mental resources.’’

3 (c) MODIFICATION OF LOAN AND GRANT PRO4 GRAMS.—The Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 is

5 amended—

6 (1) by striking sections 3 through 8 (43 U.S.C.

7 422c–422h); and

8 (2) by inserting after section 2 (43 U.S.C.

9 422b) the following:

10 ‘‘TITLE I—STATE AND LOCAL

11 PARTICIPATION IN RECLAMA12 TION PROJECTS

13 ‘‘SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT AND LOAN PRO14 GRAM.

15 ‘‘There is hereby established under this title a pro16 gram within the Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the

17 Department of the Interior, pursuant to which the Sec18 retary may make grants and loans to organizations to

19 carry out projects.

20 ‘‘SEC. 102. PROPOSAL CONTENTS AND REQUIREMENTS.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any organization seeking assist22 ance under this title shall submit a proposal to the Sec23 retary in such form and manner as the Secretary may pre24 scribe. Any proposal for a project submitted under this

25 title shall set forth a plan and estimated cost in detail
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1 comparable to those included in preauthorization reports

2 required for a Federal reclamation project.

3 ‘‘(b) LANDS AND WATERS.—Each proposal sub4 mitted under this title shall include a statement of finan5 cial capability and legal authority, and a resolution from

6 the governing board of the organization showing that the

7 organization seeking assistance—

8 ‘‘(1) holds or can acquire all lands and interests

9 in land (except public and other lands and interest

10 in land owned by the United States which are within

11 the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary and

12 subject to disposition by the Secretary) to complete

13 the project;

14 ‘‘(2) holds or can acquire all rights, pursuant to

15 applicable State law, to the use of water necessary

16 for the successful construction, operation, and main17 tenance of the project;

18 ‘‘(3) is willing to finance, and capable of financ19 ing, the non-Federal portion of the costs of the

20 project, which portion shall include all costs of ac21 quiring lands, interests in land, and rights to the use

22 of water, except as provided in section 105(b)(2);

23 and

24 ‘‘(4) has the legal authority and responsibility

25 under State law to carry out such work.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 103. FEDERAL SHARE AND PROJECT SPONSOR SHARE

2 OF COSTS.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require each

4 organization receiving assistance under this title to con5 tribute toward the cost of the project (other than by loan

6 or grant of Federal funds) not less than 25 percent of

7 the allowable estimated costs of the project. In deter8 mining the amount of such non-Federal contribution for

9 the proposed project, the Secretary shall credit toward

10 that amount—

11 ‘‘(1) the cost of investigations, surveys, engi12 neering, and other services necessary for the prepa13 ration of proposals and plans for the proposed

14 project as required by the Secretary;

15 ‘‘(2) the costs of lands and rights-of-way acqui16 sition required for the proposed project;

17 ‘‘(3) amounts spent by the organization for con18 struction or acquisition of facilities for the proposed

19 project prior to project approval; and

20 ‘‘(4) the filing fee required by this Act.

21 ‘‘(b) PREVENTION OF LOSS AND DAMAGE TO FISH

22 AND WILDLIFE.—The costs of measures to prevent loss

23 of, and damage to, existing fish and wildlife resources

24 shall be considered project costs and allocated as may be

25 appropriate among project functions.
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1 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE FEDERAL SHARE.—The

2 maximum allowable Federal share per project shall be

3 $30,000,000, as of January 2000. The Secretary shall ad4 just such amount each year using the Bureau of Reclama5 tion’s composite construction cost trends index.

6 ‘‘(d) INCREASE IN AMOUNT.—To compensate for in7 creases in construction costs due to price escalation, sub8 ject to the limitations allowed by subsection (c), the Sec9 retary may increase the amount of the requested loan or

10 grant, or both, at any time prior to the completion of con11 struction of the project, using the Bureau of Reclama12 tion’s composite construction cost trends index.

13 ‘‘SEC. 104. APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF PROJECTS.

14 ‘‘Not later than one year after the date an initial

15 project proposal is submitted to the Secretary under this

16 title, the Secretary shall make a determination whether

17 the proposal is financially feasible and constitutes a rea18 sonable risk under the provisions of this title and either

19 approve or disapprove the proposal. The Secretary shall

20 promptly transmit any approved proposals to the Con21 gress. The appropriate documentation under the National

22 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et

23 seq.) for the project shall be completed prior to Secretarial

24 transmittal of the proposal to Congress.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 105. CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS AND AVAILABILITY.—

3 Upon approval of any project proposal submitted under

4 this title, the Secretary shall negotiate a contract setting

5 out the maximum amount of any grant, which shall not

6 exceed 50 percent of the maximum allowable Federal

7 share per grant or loan to be made to the organization,

8 and the time and method of making such grant or loan

9 available to the organization.

10 ‘‘(b) LOANS.—

11 ‘‘(1) The contract for each loan under this title

12 shall contain such terms and conditions as the Sec13 retary deems necessary or proper to provide assur14 ance of, and security for, prompt repayment and to

15 ensure achievement of the purposes for which the

16 loan was made. The contract shall include a plan for

17 repayment by the organization within 25 years, ex18 cept that the organization shall have the right to

19 prepay the loan without penalty.

20 ‘‘(2) The contract for each loan under this title

21 shall require payment of interest and the repayment

22 of the principal of each loan. The Secretary shall fix

23 the interest at a rate determined as of the beginning

24 of the fiscal year in which the contract is executed.

25 The rate shall be based on the average market yield

26 on outstanding marketable obligations of the United
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1 States with periods of maturity comparable to the

2 applicable repayment period of the loan.

3 ‘‘TITLE II—PARTNERSHIP

4 PROGRAM

5 ‘‘SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

6 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—There is hereby established within

7 the Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the Department

8 of the Interior, a small grant and loan program to be

9 known as the Small Reclamation Water Resources Man10 agement Partnership Program, to be carried out under

11 this title. The purpose of this program shall be to imple12 ment projects that can be performed—

13 ‘‘(1) by the recipient organization’s workforce

14 or contractors,

15 ‘‘(2) with streamlined documentation, and

16 ‘‘(3) in a period of 18 months or less.

17 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—Grants under this title shall not ex18 ceed $2,500,000 for any one project under such program,

19 and shall be matched on a 50-percent basis of total eligible

20 cost by the organization.

21 ‘‘(c) LOANS.—Loans under this title shall not exceed

22 $2,500,000 per project, and shall be subject to cost shar23 ing in the same manner as provided in title I. The contract

24 for each loan under this title shall require payment of in25 terest and repayment of the principal. The Secretary shall
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1 fix the interest rate in the same manner as provided in

2 section 105(c)(2) for loans under title I.

3 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—The Secretary is authorized to

4 use up to $50,000,000 of the amount available under this

5 Act for the purposes of this title.

6 ‘‘SEC. 202. REPAYMENT OF LOANS.

7 ‘‘Once work is certified complete by the Secretary,

8 each loan made under this title shall be repaid within a

9 5-year period.

10 ‘‘SEC. 203. ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE UNDER THE SMALL REC11 LAMATION WATER RESOURCES PARTNER12 SHIP.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The following types of activities

14 shall be eligible for grants or loans under this title:

15 ‘‘(1) Water conservation.

16 ‘‘(2) Water quality improvement projects.

17 ‘‘(3) Water management for urban landscapes.

18 ‘‘(4) Drought assistance.

19 ‘‘(5) Fish and wildlife improvements.

20 ‘‘(6) Public safety improvements.

21 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may

22 add to the list referred to in subsection (a) as he deems

23 appropriate, except that any such addition shall not take

24 effect until 60 days after the Secretary publishes a notice

25 of the proposed addition in the Federal Register, and has
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1 notified the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural

3 Resources of the United States Senate in writing of the

4 proposed addition and the reasons therefore.

5 ‘‘SEC. 204. APPLICATION PROCESS.

6 ‘‘(a) NOTICE OF INTENT.—Each organization seek7 ing a grant or loan under this title shall submit a Notice

8 of Intent to the Secretary by April 1 of each year outlining

9 the proposed project and the public benefits thereof. With10 in two months, the Secretary shall provide a written re11 sponse to the applicant, either affirming or rejecting the

12 Bureau of Reclamation’s interest in participating in the

13 project.

14 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF FEDERAL INTEREST.—Upon notifi15 cation of the Bureau of Reclamation’s interest, the organi16 zation seeking assistance under this title shall have the

17 option of proceeding with an appropriate loan or grant ap18 plication giving details of the project and the anticipated

19 public benefits.

20 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—The contents of any project pro21 posal under this title shall include, but need not be limited

22 to, each of the following:

23 ‘‘(1) A resolution by the board of directors of

24 the qualifying organization stating—

25 ‘‘(A) the total estimated project cost;
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1 ‘‘(B) the amount of the grant or loan re2 quested;

3 ‘‘(C) the amount of the non-Federal con4 tribution for the grant;

5 ‘‘(D) the organization’s ability to finance

6 and construct the project; and

7 ‘‘(E) the project objectives.

8 ‘‘(2) A summary of the proposal.

9 ‘‘(3) A brief description of the anticipated ef10 fects of the project on the environment.

11 ‘‘(4) Evidence that the organization seeking as12 sistance under this title has all lands and water

13 rights needed for the project, or can obtain them

14 and has legal authority and responsibility under

15 state law to carry out such work in the project plan.

16 ‘‘(5) A description of the project plan, including

17 a general map showing the location of proposed

18 physical features, conceptual engineering drawings

19 of major and typical structures, and general stand20 ards for design.

21 ‘‘(6) A construction schedule, with dates and

22 schedule of funding requirements under this title, in

23 sufficient detail to provide an analysis of the pro24 posed construction program.
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1 ‘‘(7) An identification of those portions of the

2 project costs which constitute the Federal grant or

3 loan amounts and the applicant’s local contribution.

4 ‘‘(d) COSTS.—The cost of any investigations and

5 preparation of any environmental documentation shall be

6 borne by the project applicant and any such costs shall

7 be credited as part of the local cost share for grant fund8 ing.

9 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL LISTING.—The Secretary shall include

10 in the annual budget justification for the Bureau of Rec11 lamation, a listing of the activities and total funding re12 quired for work committed under this title.

13 ‘‘SEC. 205. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PROJECT WORK.

14 ‘‘The Secretary shall examine the proposal submitted

15 under this title to determine if the project can reasonably

16 be expected to accomplish its purpose, and approve or dis17 approve such proposal by September 1 of each year. Once

18 approved by the Secretary and subject to the availability

19 of appropriations, funding shall be provided within 60

20 days for the schedule of work within that fiscal year.

21 ‘‘SEC. 206. ELIGIBILITY.

22 ‘‘Such proposals shall only be made by organizations

23 that have legal authority and responsibility for such work

24 to be carried out on those projects under state law. Only
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1 one proposal per project area shall be allowed per every

2 five year period.

3 ‘‘TITLE III—LOAN GUARANTEES

4 ‘‘SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF LOAN GUARANTEE PRO5 GRAM.

6 ‘‘There is hereby established within Bureau of Rec7 lamation a demonstration program under this title to

8 guarantee loans for projects receiving, or eligible to re9 ceive, loans or grants under title I or II of this Act.

10 ‘‘SEC. 302. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide sup12 port under the demonstration program to organizations

13 through the provision of loan guarantees to such pro14 grammatic needs as authorized under titles I and II of

15 this Act, under such terms and conditions specified in this

16 section and under applicable laws. Any proposal for a

17 project submitted under this title shall set forth a plan

18 and estimated costs in detail comparable to those included

19 in preauthorization reports required for a Federal rec20 lamation project.

21 ‘‘(b) FUNDING LIMIT.—Up to 10 percent of the

22 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this Act

23 shall be set aside for purposes of funding the cost of loan

24 guarantees under this title. The amounts allocated to each

25 loan guarantee shall be the cost of such guarantee cal-
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1 culated in accordance with applicable provisions of Federal

2 law.

3 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary

4 shall adopt and use competitive procedures in the selection

5 of organizations to receive loan guarantees under this sec6 tion. In selecting the organizations to receive a loan guar7 antee under this section, the Secretary shall consider, at

8 a minimum, the following:

9 ‘‘(1) The extent to which the loan guarantees

10 would support new water supplies or more efficient

11 use of existing supplies.

12 ‘‘(2) The repayment period of the guaranteed

13 loan.

14 ‘‘(3) The extent to which the loan guarantee

15 would provide for a project of wide public purpose.

16 ‘‘(4) Whether the loan guarantee would help the

17 organization receiving the guarantee meet a Federal

18 or State environmental statute or mandate.

19 ‘‘(5) The ability of the loan guarantee to meet

20 the needs of other local water purveyors.

21 ‘‘(6) The extent to which the guaranteed loan

22 would support a program that would supplement,

23 rather than duplicate, other available water resource

24 programs.
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1 ‘‘(7) The fiscal impact of the loan guarantee

2 program as a whole on other reclamation programs.

3 ‘‘(d) APPORTIONMENT.—The total amount made

4 available to the Secretary for a fiscal year to cover the

5 costs of loan guarantees under this section shall be divided

6 between projects receiving or eligible to receive loans

7 under titles I and II, with title I projects receiving 75 per8 cent and title II projects receiving 25 percent.

9 ‘‘(e) MAXIMUM.—The maximum allowable guarantee

10 percentage for loans guaranteed under this section may

11 be up to 75 percent of the total project cost. No loan guar12 antee under this title shall be used to cover the organiza13 tion’s local cost share for any project assisted under this

14 Act.

15 ‘‘(f) REPORTING.—Reporting and documentation re16 quirements authorized under amendments contained in ti17 tles I and II shall similarly apply to loan guarantee

18 projects.

19 ‘‘(g) STATE LAW.—For purposes of this Act, when

20 any bonds are issued by an organization to help finance

21 a project for which the organization is also receiving a loan

22 guarantee under this section such bonds shall not be treat23 ed as affecting the tax-exempt status of such bonds under

24 applicable State law.
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1 ‘‘(h) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—Any loan guarantee

2 issued pursuant to this section shall constitute an obliga3 tion, in accordance with the terms of such guarantee, of

4 the United States Government, and the full faith and cred5 it of the United States is hereby pledged to the full per6 formance of the obligations.

7 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—At the end of the third fiscal year

8 after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit

9 a report to the Congress on the beneficial use and sug10 gested improvements associated with the use of loan guar11 antees as a mechanism for project construction.

12 ‘‘SEC. 303. SUNSET.

13 ‘‘No loan guarantee may be issued under this title

14 in any fiscal year after the expiration of 6 full fiscal years

15 after initial funding of projects under the amendments

16 made by the Small Reclamation Water Resources Project

17 Act of 2000.

18 ‘‘TITLE IV—GENERAL

19 PROVISIONS

20 ‘‘SEC. 401. PROPOSAL FEE.

21 ‘‘Each proposal for a loan, grant, or loan guarantee

22 under this Act shall be accompanied by a minimum payment of $5,000 or 1 23 ⁄10 of 1 percent of the Federal share,

24 whichever is greater, or portion thereof to defray in part

25 the costs of examining the proposal. Fifty percent of the
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1 payment shall accompany the application and the remain2 ing 50 percent shall be due upon approval of the project

3 by the Secretary, if approved.

4 ‘‘SEC. 402. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

5 ‘‘(a) TITLE.—Title to all project works and facilities

6 constructed with assistance under this Act shall remain

7 in the name of the organization.

8 ‘‘(b) COMBINED LOANS, GRANTS, AND LOAN GUAR9 ANTEES.—A project sponsor shall be eligible for a loan,

10 grant, loan guarantee, or combination thereof for a project

11 proposal under this Act. No organization shall be eligible

12 for an additional loan, grant, loan guarantee, or any com13 bination thereof for the same project that has previously

14 received a loan, grant, or loan guarantee under this Act

15 within the prior five fiscal years.

16 ‘‘(c) PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND

17 MAINTENANCE.—The United States shall not be required

18 to provide planning, construction, operation, and mainte19 nance of any project receiving a loan, grant or loan guar20 antee under this Act.

21 ‘‘(d) STATE WATER LAW.—Any project assisted

22 under this Act shall be carried out in accordance with ap23 plicable State water law.’’.

24 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) Sections 9 through 13 of the Small Rec2 lamation Projects Act of 1956 (43 U.S.C. 422i–

3 422k–1) are redesignated as sections 403 through

4 407, respectively.

5 (2) Section 404 of such Act, as redesignated by

6 paragraph (1) of this subsection, is amended as fol7 lows:

8 (A) By striking ‘‘section 3’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘title I’’.

10 (B) By striking ‘‘effective October 1,

11 1986.’’ and inserting ‘‘for any fiscal year’’.

12 (C) By striking ‘‘for loans and grants pur13 suant to this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘for loans and

14 grants pursuant to title I’’.

15 (D) By striking ‘‘five years after the date

16 of enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘five

17 years after the date of enactment of the Small

18 Reclamation Water Resources Project Act of

19 2000’’.

20 (E) By striking ‘‘section 4(c)’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘title I’’.

22 SEC. 3. GUIDELINES.

23 Within 180 days after enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary of the Interior shall complete and publish in the
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1 Federal Register such administrative guidelines as may be

2 necessary to carry out the amendments made by this Act.

3 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect

5 on the date of enactment of this Act. Nothing in this Act

6 or in any amendment made by this Act shall affect any

7 loan or grant that has been approved before the date of

8 enactment of this Act.

9 SEC. 5. LIMITATION.

10 Activities funded under this Act shall not be consid11 ered a supplemental or additional benefit under the Act

12 of June 17, 1902 (82 Stat. 388), and all Acts amendatory

13 thereof or supplementary thereto.

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