I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5527

To provide assistance for efforts to improve conservation of, recreation in,

erosion control of, and maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat of the

Missouri River in the State of South Dakota, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 24, 2000

Mr. THUNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee

on Resources, 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 provide assistance for efforts to improve conservation

of, recreation in, erosion control of, and maintenance

of fish and wildlife habitat of the Missouri River in

the State of South Dakota, 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 shall be known as the ‘‘Missouri River Res5 toration Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the Missouri River is—

2 (A) an invaluable economic, environmental,

3 recreational, and cultural resource to the people

4 of the United States; and

5 (B) a critical source of water for drinking

6 and irrigation;

7 (2) millions of people fish, hunt, and camp

8 along the Missouri River each year;

9 (3) thousands of sites of spiritual importance to

10 Native Americans line the shores of the Missouri

11 River;

12 (4) the Missouri River provides critical wildlife

13 habitat for threatened and endangered species;

14 (5) in 1944, Congress approved the Pick-Sloan

15 program—

16 (A) to promote the general economic devel17 opment of the United States;

18 (B) to provide for irrigation above Sioux

19 City, Iowa;

20 (C) to protect urban and rural areas from

21 devastating floods of the Missouri River; and

22 (D) for other purposes;

23 (6) the Oahe, Big Bend, Fort Randall, and

24 Gavins Point Dams were constructed on the Mis-
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1 souri River in South Dakota under the Pick-Sloan

2 program;

3 (7) the dams referred to in paragraph (6)—

4 (A) generate low-cost electricity for mil5 lions of people in the United States;

6 (B) provide revenue to the Treasury; and

7 (C) provide flood control that has pre8 vented billions of dollars of damage;

9 (8) the Oahe, Big Bend, Fort Randall, and

10 Gavins Point Dams have reduced the ability of the

11 Missouri River to carry sediment downstream, re12 sulting in the accumulation of sediment in the res13 ervoirs known as Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake

14 Francis Case, and Lewis and Clark Lake;

15 (9) the sediment depositions—

16 (A) cause shoreline flooding;

17 (B) destroy wildlife habitat;

18 (C) limit recreational opportunities;

19 (D) threaten the long-term ability of dams

20 to provide hydropower and flood control under

21 the Pick-Sloan program;

22 (E) reduce water quality; and

23 (F) threaten intakes for drinking water

24 and irrigation; and
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1 (10) to meet the objectives established by Con2 gress for the Pick-Sloan program, it is necessary to

3 establish a Missouri River Restoration Trust Fund

4 to finance efforts—

5 (A) to reduce the deposition of sediment;

6 (B) to improve conservation; and

7 (C) to take other steps necessary for prop8 er management of the Missouri River.

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

10 (1) to reduce the siltation of the Missouri River

11 in the State of South Dakota in order to meet the

12 objectives of the Pick-Sloan program by developing

13 and implementing a long-term strategy—

14 (A) to improve conservation in the Mis15 souri River watershed;

16 (B) to protect recreation on the Missouri

17 River from sedimentation;

18 (C) to protect water quality in the Mis19 souri River from sedimentation;

20 (D) to improve erosion control along the

21 Missouri River; and

22 (E) to protect Indian and non-Indian his23 torical and cultural sites along the Missouri

24 River from sedimentation; and
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1 (2) to meet the objectives described in para2 graph (1) by—

3 (A) developing and financing new pro4 grams in accordance with the plan; and

5 (B) providing a source of funds for the

6 State, Indian tribes, local governments, and pri7 vate entities to use as the non-Federal share re8 quired under Federal programs.

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

10 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

11 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’

12 means the Executive Committee appointed under

13 section 4(d).

14 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Mis15 souri River Restoration Trust Fund established by

16 section 5(a).

17 (3) PICK-SLOAN PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Pick18 Sloan program’’ means the Pick-Sloan Missouri

19 River Basin Program authorized by section 9 of the

20 Act of December 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 891, chapter

21 665).

22 (4) PLAN.—The term ‘‘plan’’ means the plan

23 for the use of the payments to the Trust required

24 to be prepared under section 5(e).
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1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of the Army.

3 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State

4 of South Dakota.

5 (7) TRUST.—The term ‘‘Trust’’ means the Mis6 souri River Trust established by section 4(a).

7 SEC. 4. MISSOURI RIVER TRUST.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com9 mittee to be known as the Missouri River Trust.

10 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Trust shall be composed

11 of—

12 (1) 14 members appointed by the Governor of

13 South Dakota—

14 (A) that represent the various interests of

15 the public; and

16 (B) which may include representatives of—

17 (i) the South Dakota Department of

18 Environment and Natural Resources;

19 (ii) the South Dakota Department of

20 Game, Fish, and Parks;

21 (iii) environmental groups;

22 (iv) the hydroelectric power industry;

23 (v) local governments;

24 (vi) recreation user groups;

25 (vii) agricultural groups; and
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1 (viii) other appropriate interests; and

2 (2) 9 members representing each of the 9 In3 dian tribes in the State of South Dakota, appointed

4 by each Indian tribe, respectively.

5 (c) DUTIES.—The Trust shall—

6 (1) meet at least twice each year;

7 (2) appoint, from among the members of the

8 Trust, the Committee;

9 (3) vote on approval of the plan, with approval

requiring votes in favor of the plan from at least 1 10 ⁄2

11 of the members;

12 (4) review proposals to meet the goals of the

13 plan;

14 (5) recommend, from among proposals re15 viewed, which proposals should be funded by the

16 Committee; and

17 (6) consult, when appropriate, with—

18 (A) the Secretary of the Army;

19 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture;

20 (C) the Secretary of Energy; and

21 (D) the Secretary of the Interior.

22 (d) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Trust shall appoint an

24 Executive Committee, to be composed of—
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1 (A) 4 members of the Trust elected by the

2 Trust in accordance with paragraph (2); and

3 (B) 1 member appointed by the Governor

4 of South Dakota, who shall serve as the Chair5 person of the Committee.

6 (2) DUTIES.—The Committee shall—

7 (A) administer the use of the fund in ac8 cordance with the plan; and

9 (B) award funding for projects rec10 ommended by the Trust under subsection (c)(5)

11 that, in the judgment of a majority of the Com12 mittee, will best carry out the plan.

13 SEC. 5. MISSOURI RIVER RESTORATION TRUST FUND.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the

16 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known

17 as the ‘‘Missouri River Restoration Trust Fund’’.

18 (2) DEPOSITS.—The Fund shall consist of any

19 amounts deposited in the Fund under this Act.

20 (b) FUNDING.—On the first day of the eleventh fiscal

21 year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act,

22 the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit $300,000,000

23 in the Fund from the general fund of the Treasury.

24 (c) INVESTMENT OF FUND.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas2 ury shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not,

3 in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury,

4 required to meet current withdrawals. Investments

5 may be only in—

6 (A) interest-bearing obligations of the

7 United States; or

8 (B) obligations guaranteed as to both prin9 cipal and interest by the United States.

10 (2) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For the

11 purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obliga12 tions may be acquired—

13 (A) on original issue at the issue price; or

14 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations

15 at the market price.

16 (3) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac17 quired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of

18 the Treasury at the market price.

19 (4) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on, and

20 the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any ob21 ligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and

22 form a part of the Fund.

23 (d) PAYMENT OF INTEREST TO MISSOURI RIVER

24 TRUST.—

25 (1) DESIGNATION OF INTEREST.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—On the first day of the

2 eleventh fiscal year that begins after the date of

3 enactment of this Act, and on the first day of

4 each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of the

5 Treasury shall designate the aggregate amount

6 of interest deposited in the Fund for the pre7 ceding fiscal year as available to the Trust in

8 accordance with paragraph (2).

9 (B) AVAILABILITY.—Each amount des10 ignated under subparagraph (A) shall be avail11 able for use without fiscal year limitation.

12 (2) PAYMENTS.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara14 graph (B), the Secretary of the Treasury shall

15 use the amounts designated under paragraph

16 (1) only for the purpose of making payments as

17 requested by the Trust.

18 (B) LIMITATION.—Payments under sub19 paragraph (A) may be made by the Secretary of

20 the Treasury only after the Trust has adopted

21 a plan under subsection (e).

22 (C) USE OF PAYMENTS BY TRUST.—The

23 Trust shall use the payments made under sub24 paragraph (A) to carry out projects and pro25 grams under the plan.
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1 (D) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share

2 of the cost of any project carried out with a

3 payment under this paragraph shall be 80 per4 cent of the total cost of the project.

5 (e) PLAN FOR USE OF PAYMENTS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Trust

8 shall prepare a plan for the use of the payments to

9 the Trust under subsection (d) in consultation

10 with—

11 (A) the Secretary of the Army;

12 (B) the Secretary of Energy;

13 (C) the Secretary of the Interior; and

14 (D) the Secretary of Agriculture.

15 (2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan shall pro16 vide for the manner in which the Trust shall expend

17 payments under subsection (d) to promote—

18 (A) the general control and removal of

19 sediment from the Missouri River;

20 (B) conservation practices in the Missouri

21 River watershed;

22 (C) the protection of recreation on the

23 Missouri River from sedimentation;
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1 (D) the protection of Indian and non-In2 dian historical and cultural sites along the Mis3 souri River from sedimentation;

4 (E) the conservation of fish and wildlife

5 along the Missouri River;

6 (F) erosion control along the Missouri

7 River; or

8 (G) any combination of the activities de9 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (F).

10 (3) PLAN REVIEW AND REVISION.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Trust shall make a

12 copy of the plan available for public review and

13 comment before the plan becomes final, in ac14 cordance with procedures established by the

15 Trust.

16 (B) REVISION OF PLAN.—

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Trust may, on

18 an annual basis, revise the plan.

19 (ii) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—

20 In revising the plan, the Trust shall pro21 vide the public the opportunity to review

22 and comment on any proposed revision to

23 the plan.
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1 (iii) CONSULTATION.—In preparing

2 any revision to the plan, the Trust shall

3 consult with—

4 (I) the Secretary of the Army;

5 (II) the Secretary of Energy;

6 (III) the Secretary of the Inte7 rior; and

8 (IV) the Secretary of Agriculture.

9 (iv) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Upon

10 completion of the plan, the Trust shall

11 submit a copy of the report to the Com12 mittee on Transportation and Infrastruc13 ture of the House of Representatives and

14 the Committee on Environment and Public

15 Works of the Senate.

16 (4) AUDIT.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The activities of the

18 Trust in carrying out the plan shall be audited

19 under the Office of Management and Budget

20 circular number A–133.

21 (B) DETERMINATION BY AUDITORS.—The

22 auditors that conduct the audit described in

23 subparagraph (A) shall—

24 (i) determine whether funds received

25 by the Trust under this section for the pe-
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1 riod covered by the audit were expended to

2 carry out the plan in a manner consistent

3 with this section; and

4 (ii) include in the written findings of

5 the audit the determination made under

6 clause (i).

7 (C) INCLUSION OF FINDINGS WITH PUBLI8 CATIONS OF PROCEEDINGS OF TRUST.—A copy

9 of the written findings of the audit described in

10 subparagraph (A) shall be inserted in the pub11 lished minutes of the Trust proceedings for the

12 session at which the audit is presented to the

13 Trust.

14 (5) CONTRACTING.—The Trust may contract

15 with Federal, State, tribal, or local agencies to pro16 vide services in accordance with the plan.

17 SEC. 6. ASSESSMENT OF SEDIMENTATION IMPACTS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

19 date on which funding authorized under this Act initially

20 becomes available, the Secretary shall submit to the Trust

21 a report on—

22 (1) the impact of the siltation of the Missouri

23 River in the State, including the impact on—

24 (A) the Federal, State, and regional econo25 mies;
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1 (B) recreation;

2 (C) hydropower generation;

3 (D) fish and wildlife; and

4 (E) flood control;

5 (2) the status of Indian and non-Indian histor6 ical and cultural sites along the Missouri River;

7 (3) the extent of erosion along the Missouri

8 River (including tributaries of the Missouri River) in

9 the State; and

10 (4) other issues, as requested by the Trust.

11 (b) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report under

12 subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with—

13 (1) the Secretary of Energy;

14 (2) the Secretary of the Interior;

15 (3) the Secretary of Agriculture;

16 (4) the State; and

17 (5) Indian tribes in the State.

18 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act diminishes or

20 affects—

21 (1) any water right of an Indian tribe;

22 (2) any other right of an Indian tribe, except as

23 specifically provided in another provision of this Act;

24 (3) any treaty right that is in effect on the date

25 of enactment of this Act;
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1 (4) any external boundary of an Indian reserva2 tion of an Indian tribe;

3 (5) any authority of the State that relates to

4 the protection, regulation, or management of fish,

5 terrestrial wildlife, and cultural and archaeological

6 resources, except as specifically provided in this title;

7 or

8 (6) any authority of the Secretary, the Sec9 retary of the Interior, or the head of any other Fed10 eral agency under a law in effect on the date of en11 actment of this Act, including—

12 (A) the National Historic Preservation Act

13 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.);

14 (B) the Archaeological Resources Protec15 tion Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.);

16 (C) the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act

17 (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.);

18 (D) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the pro19 tection of the bald eagle’’, approved June 8,

20 1940 (16 U.S.C. 668 et seq.);

21 (E) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16

22 U.S.C. 703 et seq.);

23 (F) the Endangered Species Act of 1973

24 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
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1 (G) the Native American Graves Protec2 tion and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et

3 seq.);

4 (H) the Federal Water Pollution Control

5 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);

6 (I) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42

7 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); and

8 (J) the National Environmental Policy Act

9 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

10 (b) FEDERAL LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE.—Nothing in

11 this Act relieves the Federal Government of liability for

12 damage to private property caused by the operation of the

13 Pick-Sloan program.

14 (c) FLOOD CONTROL.—Notwithstanding any other

15 provision of this Act, the Secretary shall retain the author16 ity to operate the Pick-Sloan program for the purposes

17 of meeting the requirements of the Act of December 22,

18 1944 (58 Stat. 887, chapter 665; 33 U.S.C. 701–1 et

19 seq.).

20 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter

22 into a contract with the Trust to use funds author23 ized under section 8(a) to carry out the plan.

24 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Funds transferred

25 to the Trust or authorized under this Act may be
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1 used to pay the non-Federal share required under

2 Federal programs.

3 SEC. 8. FUNDING FLEXIBILITY.

4 The Secretary may use funds appropriated after the

5 date of enactment of this Act to the operations and main6 tenance account of the Corps of Engineers and available

7 for use with respect to a water resources development

8 project along the Missouri River for 1 or more of the fol9 lowing purposes with respect to such project:

10 (1) To reduce the siltation of the Missouri

11 River in the State of South Dakota.

12 (2) To protect recreation on the Missouri River

13 from sedimentation.

14 (3) To protect water quality in the Missouri

15 River from sedimentation.

16 (4) To improve erosion control along the Mis17 souri River.

18 (5) To protect Indian and non-Indian historical

19 and cultural sites along the Missouri River from

20 sedimentation.

21 SEC. 9. CONDITIONS ON ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

22 No funds appropriated to carry out this Act may be

23 used to purchase or otherwise acquire property unless the

24 acquisition is from willing sellers.
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1 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) INITIAL FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap3 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act

4 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2010,

5 to remain available until expended.

6 (b) SUBSEQUENT FUNDING.—Funding to carry out

7 this Act for fiscal years after fiscal year 2010 shall be

8 provided from deposits to the Fund under section 5(b).

9 (c) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall fund

10 programs authorized under the Pick-Sloan program in ex11 istence on the date of enactment of this Act at levels that

12 are not less than funding levels for those programs as of

13 that date.

Æ