I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1124

To authorize construction of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System

in the State of Montana, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 16, 1999

Mr. HILL of Montana introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To authorize construction of the Fort Peck Reservation

Rural Water System in the State of Montana, 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 ‘‘Fort Peck Reservation

5 Rural Water System Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) there are insufficient water supplies avail9 able to residents of the Fort Peck Indian Reserva10 tion in the State of Montana, and the water systems
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1 that are available do not meet minimum health and

2 safety standards and therefore pose a threat to pub3 lic health and safety;

4 (2) the United States has a trust responsibility

5 to ensure that adequate and safe water supplies are

6 available to meet the economic, environmental, water

7 supply, and public health needs of the Fort Peck In8 dian Reservation; and

9 (3) the best available, reliable, and safe rural

10 and municipal water supply to serve the needs of the

11 Fort Peck Indian Reservation is the Missouri River.

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

13 (1) to ensure a safe and adequate municipal,

14 rural, and industrial water supply for the residents

15 of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in the State of

16 Montana; and

17 (2) to assist the citizens of Roosevelt, Sheridan,

18 Daniels, and Valley Counties in the State, outside

19 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, in developing safe

20 and adequate municipal, rural, and industrial water

21 supplies.

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

23 In this Act:

24 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER

25 SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Assiniboine and Sioux Rural
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1 Water System’’ means the rural water system within

2 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation authorized by sec3 tion 4.

4 (2) DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.—The

5 term ‘‘Dry Prairie Rural Water System’’ means the

6 rural water system authorized by section 5 in the

7 Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels, and Valley Counties of

8 the State.

9 (3) FORT PECK RESERVATION RURAL WATER

10 SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Fort Peck Reservation Rural

11 Water System’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux

12 Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural

13 Water System.

14 (4) FORT PECK TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Fort Peck

15 tribes’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux Indian

16 Tribes within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

17 (5) PICK-SLOAN.—The term ‘‘Pick-Sloan’’

18 means the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program

19 (authorized by section 9 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act

20 authorizing the construction of certain public works

21 on rivers and harbors for flood control, and for other

22 purposes’’, approved December 22, 1944 (commonly

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

24 Stat. 891)).
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1 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of the Interior.

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

4 of Montana.

5 SEC. 4. ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall plan, de7 sign, construct, operate, maintain, and replace a munic8 ipal, rural, and industrial water system, to be known as

9 the ‘‘Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System’’, as gen10 erally described in the report entitled ‘‘Technical Report

11 for the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System’’ and

12 dated May 1996, as finalized by the report required by

13 subsection (g)(2).

14 (b) COMPONENTS.—The Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

15 Water System shall consist of—

16 (1) pumping and treatment facilities located

17 along the Missouri River near Poplar, Montana;

18 (2) pipelines extending from the Missouri River

19 near Poplar, Montana, throughout the Fort Peck In20 dian Reservation;

21 (3) facilities to allow for future interconnections

22 to areas outside the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,

23 including the communities within the service area of

24 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System;
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1 (4) distribution and treatment facilities to serve

2 the needs of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,

3 including—

4 (A) public water systems in existence on

5 the date of enactment of this Act that may be

6 purchased, improved, and repaired in accord7 ance with the cooperative agreement entered

8 into under subsection (c); and

9 (B) water systems owned by individual

10 tribal members and other residents of the Fort

11 Peck Indian Reservation;

12 (5) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

13 (6) all property and property rights necessary

14 for the facilities described in this subsection;

15 (7) electrical power transmission and distribu16 tion facilities necessary for services to Fort Peck

17 Reservation Rural Water System facilities; and

18 (8) such other pipelines, pumping plants, and

19 facilities as the Secretary determines to be appro20 priate to meet the water supply, economic, public

21 health, and environmental needs of the Fort Peck

22 Indian Reservation, including water storage tanks,

23 water lines, and other facilities for the Fort Peck

24 tribes and the villages, towns, and municipalities in

25 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
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1 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

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

3 into a cooperative agreement with the Fort Peck

4 Tribal Executive Board for planning, designing, con5 structing, operating, maintaining, and replacing the

6 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System.

7 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

8 agreement under paragraph (1) shall specify, in a

9 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and the

10 Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board—

11 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

12 agreement for—

13 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

14 environmental studies;

15 (ii) engineering and design;

16 (iii) construction;

17 (iv) water conservation measures; and

18 (v) administration of contracts relat19 ing to performance of the activities de20 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

21 (B) the procedures and requirements for

22 approval and acceptance of the design and con23 struction and for carrying out other activities

24 described in subparagraph (A); and
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1 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil2 ities of each party to the agreement.

3 (3) OPTIONAL PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

4 agreement under paragraph (1) may include provi5 sions relating to the purchase, improvement, and re6 pair of water systems in existence on the date of en7 actment of this Act, including systems owned by in8 dividual tribal members and other residents of the

9 Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

10 (4) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may termi11 nate a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) if

12 the Secretary determines that—

13 (A) the quality of construction does not

14 meet all standards established for similar facili15 ties constructed by the Secretary; or

16 (B) the operation and maintenance of the

17 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

18 does not meet conditions acceptable to the Sec19 retary that are adequate to fulfill the obliga20 tions of the United States to the Fort Peck

21 tribes.

22 (5) TRANSFER.—On execution of a cooperative

23 agreement under paragraph (1), in accordance with

24 the cooperative agreement, the Secretary may trans25 fer to the Fort Peck tribes, on a nonreimbursable
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1 basis, funds made available for the Assiniboine and

2 Sioux Rural Water System under section 9.

3 (d) SERVICE AREA.—The service area of the Assini4 boine and Sioux Rural Water System shall be the area

5 within the boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reserva6 tion.

7 (e) CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.—The compo8 nents of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

9 shall be planned and constructed to a size that is sufficient

10 to meet the municipal, rural, and industrial water supply

11 requirements of the service area of the Fort Peck Reserva12 tion Rural Water System.

13 (f) TITLE TO ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL

14 WATER SYSTEM.—Title to the Assiniboine and Sioux

15 Rural Water System shall be held in trust by the United

16 States for the Fort Peck tribes and shall not be trans17 ferred unless a transfer is authorized by an Act of Con18 gress enacted after the date of enactment of this Act.

19 (g) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUC20 TION FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for

21 construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

22 System until—

23 (1) the requirements of the National Environ24 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
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1 are met with respect to the Assiniboine and Sioux

2 Rural Water System;

3 (2) on or after the date that is 90 days after

4 the date of submission of a final engineering report

5 to Congress; and

6 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

7 that the water conservation plan developed under

8 section 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con9 servation measures for the operation of the Assini10 boine and Sioux Rural Water System that have been

11 shown to be economically and financially feasible.

12 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

13 provide such technical assistance as is necessary to enable

14 the Fort Peck tribes to plan, design, construct, operate,

15 maintain, and replace the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

16 Water System, including operation and management

17 training.

18 (i) APPLICATION OF INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION

19 ACT.—Planning, design, construction, operation, mainte20 nance, and replacement of the Assiniboine and Sioux

21 Rural Water System within the Fort Peck Indian Reserva22 tion shall be subject to the Indian Self-Determination and

23 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).

24 SEC. 5. DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

25 (a) PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION.—
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1 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall

2 enter into a cooperative agreement with Dry Prairie

3 Rural Water Association Incorporated (or any suc4 cessor non-Federal entity) to provide Federal funds

5 for the planning, design, and construction of the Dry

6 Prairie Rural Water System in Roosevelt, Sheridan,

7 Daniels, and Valley Counties, Montana, outside the

8 Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

9 (2) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—

10 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share

11 of the cost of planning, design, and construction

12 of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall be

13 not more than 76 percent.

14 (B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Federal

15 funds made available to carry out this section

16 may be obligated and expended only through a

17 cooperative agreement entered into under sub18 section (c).

19 (b) COMPONENTS.—The components of the Dry Prai20 rie Rural Water System facilities on which Federal funds

21 may be obligated and expended under this section shall

22 include—

23 (1) storage, pumping, interconnection, and

24 pipeline facilities;

25 (2) appurtenant buildings and access roads;
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1 (3) all property and property rights necessary

2 for the facilities described in this subsection;

3 (4) electrical power transmission and distribu4 tion facilities necessary for service to Dry Prairie

5 Rural Water System facilities;

6 (5) planning and design services for all facili7 ties; and

8 (6) other facilities and services customary to

9 the development of rural water distribution systems

10 in the State, including supplemental water intake,

11 pumping, and treatment facilities.

12 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, with the con14 currence of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

15 System Board, shall enter into a cooperative agree16 ment with Dry Prairie Rural Water Association In17 corporated to provide Federal assistance for the

18 planning, design, and construction of the Dry Prai19 rie Rural Water System.

20 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

21 agreement under paragraph (1) shall specify, in a

22 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and Dry

23 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated—

24 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

25 agreement for—
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1 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

2 environmental studies;

3 (ii) engineering and design;

4 (iii) construction;

5 (iv) water conservation measures; and

6 (v) administration of contracts relat7 ing to performance of the activities de8 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

9 (B) the procedures and requirements for

10 approval and acceptance of the design and con11 struction and for carrying out other activities

12 described in subparagraph (A); and

13 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil14 ities of each party to the agreement.

15 (d) SERVICE AREA.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), the service area of the Dry Prairie Rural

18 Water System shall be the area in the State—

19 (A) north of the Missouri River;

20 (B) south of the border between the

21 United States and Canada;

22 (C) west of the border between the States

23 of North Dakota and Montana; and

24 (D) east of the western line of range 39

25 east.
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1 (2) FORT PECK INDIAN RESERVATION.—The

2 service area shall not include the area inside the

3 Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

4 (e) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION

5 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for con6 struction of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System until—

7 (1) the requirements of the National Environ8 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

9 are met with respect to the Dry Prairie Rural Water

10 System;

11 (2) on or after the date that is 90 days after

12 the date of submission of a final engineering report

13 to Congress; and

14 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

15 that the water conservation plan developed under

16 section 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con17 servation measures for the operation of the Dry

18 Prairie Rural Water System that have been shown

19 to be economically and financially feasible.

20 (f) INTERCONNECTION OF FACILITIES.—

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

22 (A) interconnect the Dry Prairie Rural

23 Water System with the Assiniboine and Sioux

24 Rural Water System; and
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1 (B) provide for the delivery of water to the

2 Dry Prairie Rural Water System from the Mis3 souri River through the Assiniboine and Sioux

4 Rural Water System.

5 (2) CHARGES.—The Secretary shall not charge

6 for the corpus of the water delivered.

7 (g) LIMITATION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The operation and mainte9 nance expenses associated with water deliveries from

10 the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System to

11 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall not be a

12 Federal responsibility and shall be borne by the Dry

13 Prairie Rural Water System.

14 (2) FEDERAL FUNDS.—The Secretary may not

15 obligate or expend any Federal funds for the oper16 ation, maintenance, or replacement of the Dry Prai17 rie Rural Water System.

18 SEC. 6. USE OF PICK-SLOAN POWER.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fort Peck Reservation Rural

20 Water System shall use power from the Pick-Sloan East21 ern Division to start up and operate the Assiniboine and

22 Sioux Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural

23 Water System.

24 (b) RESERVATION OF POWER.—
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1 (1) IRRIGATION SEASON.—During the irrigation

2 season, Pick-Sloan Eastern Division power identified

3 for future project use pumping shall be reserved for

4 and made available for the purpose authorized by

5 subsection (a).

6 (2) NONIRRIGATION SEASON.—During the non7 irrigation season, Pick-Sloan Eastern Division pref8 erence power shall used to the extent that the power

9 is available.

10 (c) RATE.—The rate for project use power made

11 available under subsection (b) shall be—

12 (1) during the irrigation season, the project use

13 pumping power rate; and

14 (2) during the non-irrigation season, the whole15 sale firm power rate.

16 (d) ADDITIONAL POWER.—If power in addition to

17 that made available under subsection (b) is required to

18 meet the pumping requirements of the service area of the

19 Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System described in

20 sections 4 and 5, the Administrator of the Western Area

21 Power Administration may purchase the necessary addi22 tional power under such terms and conditions as the Ad23 ministrator determines to be appropriate.

24 (e) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—
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1 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER

2 SYSTEM.—In the case of the Assiniboine and Sioux

3 Rural Water System, expenses associated with power

4 purchases under subsections (a) and (d) shall be re5 covered through a separate power charge, sufficient

6 to cover expenses, applied to the Assiniboine and

7 Sioux Rural Water System’s operation and mainte8 nance cost.

9 (2) DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.—In

10 the case of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System, ex11 penses associated with power purchases under sub12 sections (a) and (d) shall be recovered through a

13 separate power charge, sufficient to cover expenses,

14 to be paid fully by the Dry Prairie Rural Water Sys15 tem.

16 SEC. 7. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fort Peck tribes and Dry

18 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated shall de19 velop a water conservation plan containing—

20 (1) a description of water conservation objec21 tives;

22 (2) a description of appropriate water conserva23 tion measures; and
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1 (3) a time schedule for implementing the meas2 ures and this Act to meet the water conservation ob3 jectives.

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The water conservation plan under

5 subsection (a) shall be designed to ensure that users of

6 water from the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

7 and the Dry Prairie Rural Water System will use the best

8 practicable technology and management techniques to con9 serve water.

10 (c) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Section 210(c) of the

11 Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390jj(c))

12 shall apply to an activity authorized under this Act.

13 SEC. 8. WATER RIGHTS.

14 This Act does not—

15 (1) impair the validity of or preempt any provi16 sion of State water law or any interstate compact

17 governing water;

18 (2) alter the right of any State to any appro19 priated share of the water of any body of surface or

20 ground water, whether determined by any past or

21 future interstate compact or by any past or future

22 legislative or final judicial allocation;

23 (3) preempt or modify any Federal or State law

24 or interstate compact concerning water quality or

25 disposal;
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1 (4) confer on any non-Federal entity the au2 thority to exercise any Federal right to the water of

3 any stream or to any ground water resource;

4 (5) affect any right of the Fort Peck tribes to

5 water, located within or outside the external bound6 aries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, based on

7 a treaty, compact, executive order, agreement, Act of

8 Congress, aboriginal title, the decision in Winters v.

9 United States, 207 U.S. 564 (1908) (commonly

10 known as the ‘‘Winters Doctrine’’), or other law; or

11 (6) validate or invalidate any assertion of the

12 existence, nonexistence, or extinguishment of any

13 water right held or Indian water compact entered

14 into by the Fort Peck tribes or by any other Indian

15 tribe or individual Indian under Federal or State

16 law.

17 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 (a) FORT PECK RESERVATION RURAL WATER SYS19 TEM.—There are authorized to be appropriated—

20 (1) over a period of 5 fiscal years,

21 $103,000,000 for the planning, design, and con22 struction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

23 System; and

24 (2) such sums as are necessary for the oper25 ation and maintenance of the Assiniboine and Sioux
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1 Rural Water System, including power costs of the

2 Western Area Power Administration.

3 (b) DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.—There is

4 authorized to be appropriated $60,000,000 for the plan5 ning, design, and construction of the Dry Prairie Rural

6 Water System.

7 (c) COST INDEXING.—The funds authorized to be ap8 propriated may be increased or decreased by such amounts

9 as are justified by reason of ordinary fluctuations in devel10 opment costs incurred after January 1, 1996, as indicated

11 by engineering cost indices applicable for the type of con12 struction involved.

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