II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1148

To convey the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, the Savage Unit of

the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, and the Intake Irrigation

Project to the appurtenant irrigation districts.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 29, 2001

Mr. BURNS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To convey the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program,

and the Intake Irrigation Project to the appurtenant

irrigation districts.

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 ‘‘Lower Yellowstone

5 Reclamation Projects Conveyance Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:
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1 (1) INTAKE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term

2 ‘‘Intake Irrigation District’’ means the irrigation

3 district by that name that—

4 (A) is organized under the laws of the

5 State of Montana; and

6 (B) operates the Intake Project.

7 (2) INTAKE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Intake

8 Project’’ means the Federal irrigation feature au9 thorized under the Act of August 11, 1939 (53 Stat.

10 1418, chapter 717).

11 (3) IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘irriga12 tion district’’ means—

13 (A) the Intake Irrigation District;

14 (B) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis15 trict No. 1;

16 (C) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis17 trict No. 2; and

18 (D) the Savage Irrigation District.

19 (4) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DIS20 TRICT NO. 1.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irriga21 tion District No. 1’’ means the irrigation district by

22 that name that—

23 (A) is organized under the laws of the

24 State of Montana; and
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1 (B) operates the part of the Lower Yellow2 stone Irrigation Project located in the State of

3 Montana.

4 (5) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DIS5 TRICT NO. 2.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irriga6 tion District No. 2’’ means the irrigation district by

7 that name that—

8 (A) is organized under the laws of the

9 State of North Dakota; and

10 (B) operates the part of the Lower Yellow11 stone Irrigation Project located in the State of

12 North Dakota.

13 (6) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION

14 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irrigation

15 Project’’ means the Federal irrigation feature au16 thorized by the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388,

17 chapter 1093).

18 (7) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The

19 term ‘‘memorandum of understanding’’ means the

20 memorandum of understanding dated November 16,

21 1999, between the irrigation districts and the Mon22 tana Area Office, Great Plains Region, of the Bu23 reau of Reclamation, for the purpose of defining cer24 tain principles by which title to the projects will be
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1 conveyed from the United States to the irrigation

2 districts.

3 (8) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM.—

4 The term ‘‘Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program’’

5 means the comprehensive Federal program for mul6 tipurpose benefits within the Missouri River Basin

7 (including irrigation), authorized by section 9 of the

8 Act of December 22, 1944 (commonly known as the

9 ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, chapter

10 665).

11 (9) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM

12 PROJECT USE POWER.—The term ‘‘Pick-Sloan Mis13 souri Basin Program project use power’’ means

14 power generated and transmitted at a rate covering

15 operation, maintenance, and replacement expenses of

16 the Pick-Sloan power system for maintaining the ir17 rigation features of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin

18 Program.

19 (10) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means—

20 (A) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation

21 Project;

22 (B) the Intake Irrigation Project; and

23 (C) the Savage Unit.
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1 (11) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term

2 ‘‘Savage Irrigation District’’ means the irrigation

3 district by that name that—

4 (A) is organized under the laws of the

5 State of Montana; and

6 (B) operates the Savage Unit.

7 (12) SAVAGE UNIT.—The term ‘‘Savage Unit’’

8 means the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri

9 Basin Program, a Federal irrigation feature author10 ized by the Act of December 22, 1944 (commonly

11 known as the ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58

12 Stat. 891, chapter 665).

13 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

14 means the Secretary of the Interior.

15 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF PROJECTS.

16 (a) CONVEYANCES.—

17 (1) RECLAMATION WITHDRAWALS.—

18 (A) CONVEYANCE TO RICHLAND COUN19 TY.—The Secretary shall convey to the govern20 ment of Richland County, Montana, without

21 consideration, all right, title, and interest of the

22 United States in and to the property in Richland County described as SE1⁄4NE1 23 ⁄4, sec. 13,

24 T. 23 N., R. 59 E.
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1 (B) CONVEYANCE TO LOWER YELLOW2 STONE IRRIGATION DISTRICTS NO. 1 AND 2.—

3 The Secretary shall convey to the Lower Yel4 lowstone Irrigation District No. 1 and the

5 Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2,

6 without consideration, all right, title, and inter7 est of the United States in and to property in

8 the principal meridian, in Dawson and Richland

9 Counties, Montana, described as—

10 (i) lots 1 through 6 of sec. 2, T. 17

N., R. 56 E.; NW1 11 ⁄4 of sec. 6, T. 17 N.,

R. 57 E.; SW1⁄4NW1 12 ⁄4 of sec. 26, T. 22

13 N., R. 58. E.;

14 (ii) lots 4 through 7 of sec. 2; and

15 (iii) lot 1 and lot 2 of sec. 3, T. 23

16 N., R. 59 E.; and lot 2 of sec. 18, T. 24

17 N., R. 60 E.

18 (2) FEE OWNERSHIP LAND, EASEMENTS,

19 RIGHTS-OF-WAY, FEATURES, AND WATER RIGHTS.—

20 In conveying the projects under paragraph (1)(B),

21 the Secretary shall convey to the irrigation districts,

22 by quitclaim deed—

23 (A) all fee ownership land, easements, and

24 rights-of-way in connection with the projects;
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1 (B) all right, title, and interest of the

2 United States in and to all diversion, carriage,

3 distribution, drainage, and appurtenant physical

4 features used to serve the land within the irri5 gation districts; and

6 (C) all natural flow, wastewater, seepage,

7 return flow, domestic water, stock water, and

8 groundwater rights held in part or wholly in the

9 name of the United States that are used to

10 serve the land.

11 (b) REVOCATION OF RECLAMATION WITHDRAWALS

12 AND ORDERS.—

13 (1) RECLAMATION WITHDRAWAL.—The rec14 lamation withdrawal established for the Lower Yel15 lowstone Irrigation Project in lots 1 and 2, section

16 3, T. 23 N., R. 59 E., by Public Land Order 4711,

17 dated October 6, 1969, is revoked.

18 (2) SECRETARIAL ORDERS.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The following Secre20 tarial Orders are revoked:

21 (i) The Secretarial Order of March

22 22, 1906, issued for irrigation works on lot

23 3 (lots 5, 6, and 7 as of the date of enact24 ment of this Act) and lot 4, section 2, T.

25 23 N., R. 59 E.
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1 (ii) The Secretarial Order of August

2 8, 1905, issued for irrigation works in sec3 tion 2, T. 17 N., R. 56 E. and section 6,

4 T. 17 N., R. 57 E.

5 (B) PARTIAL REVOCATION.—The Secre6 tarial Order of August 24, 1903, issued in con7 nection with the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation

8 Project, is revoked insofar as the order applies

9 to the following land:

10 (i) In the principal meridian, Mon11 tana:

12 (I) Lot 9 of sec. 2, lot 2 of sec.

13 30, T. 18 N., R. 57 E.

14 (II) Lot 3 of sec. 4, T. 19 N., R.

15 58 E.

16 (III) Lots 2, 3, 6, and 7 of sec.

17 4, T. 21 N., R. 58 E.

(IV) SW1⁄4NW1 18 ⁄4 of sec. 26, T.

19 22 N., R. 58 E.

(V) Lots 1, 4, 7 and NW1⁄4SW1 20 ⁄4

21 of sec. 20, T. 22 N., R. 59 E.

(VI) SE1⁄4NE1 22 ⁄4 of sec. 13, T. 23

23 N., R. 59 E.

24 (VII) Lot 2 of sec. 18, T. 24 N.,

25 R. 60 E.
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1 (ii) In the fifth principal meridian,

2 North Dakota:

3 (I) Lot 8 of sec. 2.

4 (II) Lots 1, 2, 3, and

NE1⁄4NE1 5 ⁄4 of sec. 10.

6 (III) Lot 2 of sec. 11.

7 (IV) Lot 6 of sec. 18.

8 (V) Lot 3 of sec. 35, T. 151 N.,

9 R. 104 W.

10 (VI) Lot 7 of sec. 28, T. 152 N.,

11 R. 104 W.

12 (c) DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS.—The Secretary shall

13 deliver to the irrigation districts all patents, land deeds,

14 court proceedings, water right abstracts, contracts, special

15 use permits, licenses, permits, and any other documents

16 relating to the projects executed on behalf of the Sec17 retary.

18 (d) SAVAGE UNIT FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS.—

19 (1) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT OBLIGA20 TION.—The Secretary shall accept from the Savage

21 Irrigation District an amount equal to the value, as

22 of the date of enactment of this Act, of the remain23 ing water supply payment obligation of $68,280

24 under contract number Ilr–1525, as extended by

25 contract number 9–07–60–W0770, as full payment
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1 of the Savage Irrigation District’s share of the con2 struction of the Savage Unit.

3 (2) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM

4 BENEFICIARIES OBLIGATION.—The Secretary shall

5 accept from the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program

6 power beneficiaries an amount equal to the value, as

7 of the date of enactment of this Act, of the aid-to8 irrigation payment obligation of $667,702 as full

9 payment of aid-to-irrigation associated with the con10 struction of the Savage Unit.

11 (e) REPORT.—If any conveyance required under sub12 section (a) has not occurred within 2 years after the date

13 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to

14 Congress a report on the status of the conveyance.

15 SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING OPERATIONS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act expands or

17 otherwise affects the use or operation of the projects as

18 used and operated as of the date of enactment of this Act.

19 (b) RECREATION MANAGEMENT.—As a condition of

20 the conveyance of the land under section 3(a)(1)(B), the

21 Secretary shall require that Lower Yellowstone Irrigation

22 District No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District

23 No. 2 convey a perpetual conservation easement to the

24 State of Montana, at no cost to the State, for the purposes

25 of protecting, preserving, and enhancing the conservation
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1 values of, and permitting recreation on land to be con2 veyed under that section, as jointly agreed to by Lower

3 Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 1, Lower Yellowstone

4 Irrigation District No. 2, and the State of Montana.

5 (c) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM

6 PROJECT PUMPING POWER SERVICE.—The Secretary—

7 (1) shall sustain the irrigation developments es8 tablished by the projects as components of the irri9 gation plan under the Pick-Sloan Missouri River

10 Basin Program; and

11 (2)(A) shall continue to provide the irrigation

12 districts with Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin project use

13 power at the pumping plants of the irrigation dis14 tricts (subject to section 5(a)); but

15 (B) shall prohibit any ability-to-pay adjustment

16 for the power rate.

17 SEC. 5. YELLOWSTONE RIVER FISHERIES PROTECTION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in cooperation

19 with the irrigation districts, shall provide fish protection

20 devices to—

21 (1) prevent juvenile and adult fish from enter22 ing the main canal of the Lower Yellowstone Irriga23 tion Project; and
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1 (2) allow bottom-dwelling fish species to mi2 grate above the intake diversion dam on the Yellow3 stone River for that project.

4 (b) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary and the irriga5 tion districts cooperate in planning, engineering, and con6 structing the fish protection devices.

7 (c) MONITORING.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—For a period of at least 2

9 years after the date of completion of construction of

10 the fish protection devices, the Secretary, acting

11 through the Commissioner of Reclamation and the

12 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife

13 Service, shall establish and conduct a monitoring

14 plan to measure the effectiveness of the devices.

15 (2) MAINTENANCE.—The Commissioner of Rec16 lamation shall be responsible for modifying the fish

17 protection devices as necessary to ensure proper

18 functioning.

19 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAWS AND FUTURE

20 BENEFITS.

21 On conveyance of the projects under this Act, the irri22 gation districts shall not be—

23 (1) subject to Federal reclamation law (the Act

24 of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and
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1 Acts supplemental to and amendatory of that Act

2 (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.)); or

3 (2) except as provided in section 4(c), entitled

4 to receive any reclamation benefits under that law.

5 SEC. 7. LIABILITY.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date of convey7 ance of a project under this Act, the United States shall

8 not be liable under any Federal or State law for damages

9 of any kind arising out of any act, omission, or occurrence

10 relating to the project, except for damages caused by acts

11 of negligence committed by the United States or by an

12 employee, agent, or contractor of the United States, before

13 the date of the conveyance.

14 (b) FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS.—Nothing in this section

15 increases the liability of the United States beyond that

16 provided as of the date of enactment of this Act under

17 chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (commonly

18 known as the ‘‘Federal Tort Claims Act’’).

19 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

21 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Æ