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Union Calendar No. 484

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1124

[Report No. 106–824]

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

SEPTEMBER 7, 2000

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 16, 1999]

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fort Peck Reservation

3 Rural Water System Act of 2000’’.

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

5 The purposes of this Act are—

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

7 rural, and industrial water supply for the residents

8 of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in the State of

9 Montana; and

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

11 Daniels, and Valley Counties in the State, outside the

12 Fort Peck Indian Reservation, in developing safe and

13 adequate municipal, rural, and industrial water sup14 plies.

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

16 In this Act:

17 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER SYS18 TEM.—The term ‘‘Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

19 System’’ means the rural water system within the

20 Fort Peck Indian Reservation authorized by section 4.

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

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

23 rural water system authorized by section 5 in the

24 Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels, and Valley Counties of

25 the State.
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1 (3) FORT PECK RESERVATION RURAL WATER

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

3 Water System’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux

4 Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural

5 Water System.

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

7 Tribes’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux Indian

8 Tribes within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

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

10 the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program (au11 thorized by section 9 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act au12 thorizing the construction of certain public works on

13 rivers and harbors for flood control, and for other

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

15 known as the ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat.

16 891)).

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

18 the Secretary of the Interior.

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

20 of Montana.

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

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall plan, de23 sign, construct, operate, maintain, and replace a munic24 ipal, rural, and industrial water system, to be known as
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1 the ‘‘Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System’’, as gen2 erally described in the report required by subsection (g)(2).

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

4 Water System shall consist of—

5 (1) pumping and treatment facilities located

6 along the Missouri River within the boundaries of the

7 Fort Peck Indian Reservation;

8 (2) pipelines extending from the water treatment

9 plant throughout the Fort Peck Indian Reservation;

10 (3) distribution and treatment facilities to serve

11 the needs of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,

12 including—

13 (A) public water systems in existence on the

14 date of enactment of this Act that may be pur15 chased, improved, and repaired in accordance

16 with the cooperative agreement entered into

17 under subsection (c); and

18 (B) water systems owned by individual

19 tribal members and other residents of the Fort

20 Peck Indian Reservation;

21 (4) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

22 (5) all property and property rights necessary

23 for the facilities described in this subsection;
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1 (6) electrical power transmission and distribu2 tion facilities necessary for services to Fort Peck Res3 ervation Rural Water System facilities; and

4 (7) such other pipelines, pumping plants, and

5 facilities as the Secretary determines to be appro6 priate to meet the water supply, economic, public

7 health, and environmental needs of the Fort Peck In8 dian Reservation, including water storage tanks,

9 water lines, and other facilities for the Fort Peck

10 Tribes and the villages, towns, and municipalities in

11 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

12 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into

14 a cooperative agreement with the Fort Peck Tribal

15 Executive Board for planning, designing, con16 structing, operating, maintaining, and replacing the

17 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System.

18 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

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

20 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and the

21 Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board—

22 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

23 agreement for—

24 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

25 environmental studies;
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1 (ii) engineering and design;

2 (iii) construction;

3 (iv) water conservation measures; and

4 (v) administration of contracts relat5 ing to performance of the activities de6 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

7 (B) the procedures and requirements for ap8 proval and acceptance of the design and con9 struction and for carrying out other activities

10 described in subparagraph (A); and

11 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil12 ities of each party to the agreement.

13 (3) OPTIONAL PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

14 agreement under paragraph (1) may include provi15 sions relating to the purchase, improvement, and re16 pair of water systems in existence on the date of en17 actment of this Act, including systems owned by indi18 vidual tribal members and other residents of the Fort

19 Peck Indian Reservation.

20 (4) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may termi21 nate a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) if

22 the Secretary determines that—

23 (A) the quality of construction does not

24 meet all standards established for similar facili25 ties constructed by the Secretary; or
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1 (B) the operation and maintenance of the

2 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System does

3 not meet conditions acceptable to the Secretary

4 that are adequate to fulfill the obligations of the

5 United States to the Fort Peck Tribes.

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

7 agreement under paragraph (1), in accordance with

8 the cooperative agreement, the Secretary may transfer

9 to the Fort Peck Tribes, on a nonreimbursable basis,

10 funds made available for the Assiniboine and Sioux

11 Rural Water System under section 9.

12 (d) SERVICE AREA.—The service area of the Assini13 boine and Sioux Rural Water System shall be the area

14 within the boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

15 (e) CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.—The components

16 of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System shall be

17 planned and constructed to a size that is sufficient to meet

18 the municipal, rural, and industrial water supply require19 ments of the service area of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural

20 Water System.

21 (f) TITLE TO ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER

22 SYSTEM.—Title to the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

23 System shall be held in trust by the United States for the

24 Fort Peck Tribes and shall not be transferred unless a trans-
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1 fer is authorized by an Act of Congress enacted after the

2 date of enactment of this Act.

3 (g) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION

4 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for con5 struction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

6 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 Assiniboine and Sioux

10 Rural Water System;

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

12 date of submission to Congress of a final engineering

13 report approved by the Secretary; and

14 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

15 that the water conservation plan developed under sec16 tion 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con17 servation measures for the operation of the Assini18 boine and Sioux Rural Water System that have been

19 shown to be economically and financially feasible.

20 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

21 provide such technical assistance as is necessary to enable

22 the Fort Peck Tribes to plan, design, construct, operate,

23 maintain, and replace the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

24 Water System, including operation and management train25 ing.
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1 (i) APPLICATION OF INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION

2 ACT.—Planning, design, construction, operation, mainte3 nance, and replacement of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

4 Water System within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation

5 shall be subject to the Indian Self-Determination and Edu6 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).

7 (j) COST SHARING.—

8 (1) CONSTRUCTION.—The Federal share of the

9 cost of construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux

10 Rural Water System shall be 100 percent, and shall

11 be funded through annual appropriations to the Bu12 reau of Reclamation.

13 (2) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—The Fed14 eral share of the cost of operation and maintenance

15 of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

16 shall be 100 percent, and shall be funded through an17 nual appropriations to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

18 SEC. 5. DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

19 (a) PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION.—

20 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall enter

21 into a cooperative agreement with Dry Prairie Rural

22 Water Association Incorporated (or any successor

23 non-Federal entity) to provide Federal funds for the

24 planning, design, and construction of the Dry Prairie

25 Rural Water System in Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels,
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1 and Valley Counties, Montana, outside the Fort Peck

2 Indian Reservation.

3 (2) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—

4 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share

5 of the cost of planning, design, and construction

6 of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall be

7 not more than 76 percent, and shall be funded

8 with amounts appropriated from the reclamation

9 fund. Such amounts shall not be returnable or

10 reimbursable under the Federal reclamation

11 laws.

12 (B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Federal

13 funds made available to carry out this section

14 may be obligated and expended only through a

15 cooperative agreement entered into under sub16 section (c).

17 (b) COMPONENTS.—The components of the Dry Prairie

18 Rural Water System facilities on which Federal funds may

19 be obligated and expended under this section shall include—

20 (1) storage, pumping, interconnection, and pipe21 line facilities;

22 (2) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

23 (3) all property and property rights necessary

24 for the facilities described in this subsection;
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1 (4) electrical power transmission and distribu2 tion facilities necessary for service to Dry Prairie

3 Rural Water System facilities; and

4 (5) other facilities customary to the development

5 of rural water distribution systems in the State, in6 cluding supplemental water intake, pumping, and

7 treatment facilities.

8 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, with the con10 currence of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

11 System Board, shall enter into a cooperative agree12 ment with Dry Prairie Rural Water Association In13 corporated to provide Federal assistance for the plan14 ning, design, and construction of the Dry Prairie

15 Rural Water System.

16 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

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

18 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and Dry

19 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated—

20 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

21 agreement for—

22 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

23 environmental studies;

24 (ii) engineering and design;

25 (iii) construction;
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1 (iv) water conservation measures; and

2 (v) administration of contracts relat3 ing to performance of the activities de4 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

5 (B) the procedures and requirements for ap6 proval and acceptance of the design and con7 struction and for carrying out other activities

8 described in subparagraph (A); and

9 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil10 ities of each party to the agreement.

11 (d) SERVICE AREA.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), the service area of the Dry Prairie Rural

14 Water System shall be the area in the State—

15 (A) north of the Missouri River;

16 (B) south of the border between the United

17 States and Canada;

18 (C) west of the border between the States of

19 North Dakota and Montana; and

20 (D) east of the western line of range 39 east.

21 (2) FORT PECK INDIAN RESERVATION.—The serv22 ice area shall not include the area inside the Fort

23 Peck Indian Reservation.
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1 (e) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION

2 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for con3 struction of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System until—

4 (1) the requirements of the National Environ5 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

6 are met with respect to the Dry Prairie Rural Water

7 System;

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

9 date of submission to Congress of a final engineering

10 report approved by the Secretary; and

11 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

12 that the water conservation plan developed under sec13 tion 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con14 servation measures for the operation of the Dry Prai15 rie Rural Water System that have been shown to be

16 economically and financially feasible.

17 (f) INTERCONNECTION OF FACILITIES.—The Secretary

18 shall—

19 (1) interconnect the Dry Prairie Rural Water

20 System with the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

21 System; and

22 (2) provide for the delivery of water to the Dry

23 Prairie Rural Water System from the Missouri River

24 through the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water Sys25 tem.
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1 (g) LIMITATION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The operation, maintenance,

3 and replacement expenses associated with water deliv4 eries from the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

5 System to the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall

6 not be a Federal responsibility and shall be borne by

7 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System.

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

9 obligate or expend any Federal funds for the oper10 ation, maintenance, or replacement of the Dry Prai11 rie Rural Water System.

12 (h) TITLE TO DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.—

13 Title to the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall be held

14 by Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Incorporated.

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

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—From power designated for future

17 irrigation and drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Mis18 souri Basin program, the Western Area Power Administra19 tion shall make available, at the firm power rate, the capac20 ity and energy required to meet the pumping and inci21 dental operational requirements of the Fort Peck Reserva22 tion Rural Water System.

23 (b) QUALIFICATION TO USE PICK-SLOAN POWER.—

24 For as long as the Fort Peck Reservation rural water sup25 ply system operates on a not-for-profit basis, the portions
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1 of the water supply project constructed with assistance

2 under this Act shall be eligible to receive firm power from

3 the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin program established by sec4 tion 9 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (chapter 665; 58

5 Stat. 887), popularly known as the Flood Control Act of

6 1944.

7 (c) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—

8 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER SYS9 TEM.—In the case of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

10 Water System, the Western Area Power Administra11 tion shall recover expenses associated with power pur12 chases under subsection (a) through a separate power

13 charge sufficient to cover such expenses. Such charge

14 shall be paid fully through the annual appropriations

15 to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

16 (2) DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.—In the

17 case of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System, the

18 Western Area Power Administration shall recover ex19 penses associated with power purchases under sub20 section (a) through a separate power charge sufficient

21 to cover expenses. Such charge shall be paid fully by

22 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System.

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

24 made available under subsection (a) is required to meet the

25 pumping requirements of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural
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1 Water System, the Administrator of the Western Area

2 Power Administration may purchase the necessary addi3 tional power at the best available rate. The costs of such

4 purchases shall be reimbursed to the Administrator accord5 ing to the terms identified in subsection (c).

6 SEC. 7. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fort Peck Tribes and Dry

8 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated shall develop

9 a water conservation plan containing—

10 (1) a description of water conservation objectives;

11 (2) a description of appropriate water conserva12 tion measures; and

13 (3) a time schedule for implementing the meas14 ures and this Act to meet the water conservation ob15 jectives.

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

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

18 from the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System and

19 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System will use the best prac20 ticable technology and management techniques to conserve

21 water.

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

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

24 apply to an activity authorized under this Act.
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1 SEC. 8. WATER RIGHTS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act does not—

3 (1) impair the validity of or preempt any provi4 sion of State water law or any interstate compact

5 governing water;

6 (2) alter the right of any State to any appro7 priated share of the water of any body of surface or

8 ground water, whether determined by any past or fu9 ture interstate compact or by any past or future legis10 lative or final judicial allocation;

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

12 or interstate compact concerning water quality or dis13 posal;

14 (4) confer on any non-Federal entity the author15 ity to exercise any Federal right to the water of any

16 stream or to any ground water resource;

17 (5) affect any right of the Fort Peck Tribes to

18 water, located within or outside the external bound19 aries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, based on

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

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

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

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

24 (6) validate or invalidate any assertion of the

25 existence, nonexistence, or extinguishment of any

26 water right held or Indian water compact entered
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1 into by the Fort Peck Tribes or by any other Indian

2 tribe or individual Indian under Federal or State

3 law.

4 (b) OFFSET AGAINST CLAIMS.—Any funds received by

5 the Fort Peck Tribes pursuant to this Act shall be used to

6 offset any claims for money damages against the United

7 States by the Fort Peck Tribes, existing on the date of the

8 enactment of this Act, for water rights based on a treaty,

9 compact, executive order, agreement, Act of Congress, ab10 original title, the decision in Winters v. United States, 207

11 U.S. 564 (1908), or other law.

12 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER SYS14 TEM.—There are authorized to be appropriated—

15 (1) to the Bureau of Reclamation over a period

16 of 10 fiscal years, $124,000,000 for the planning, de17 sign, and construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux

18 Rural Water System; and

19 (2) to the Bureau of Indian Affairs such sums as

20 are necessary for the operation and maintenance of

21 the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System.

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

23 authorized to be appropriated, over a period of 10 fiscal

24 years, $51,000,000 for the planning, design, and construc25 tion of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System.
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1 (c) COST INDEXING.—The funds authorized to be ap2 propriated may be increased or decreased by such amounts

3 as are justified by reason of ordinary fluctuations in devel4 opment costs incurred after October 1, 1998, as indicated

5 by engineering cost indices applicable for the type of con6 struction involved.
Union Calendar No. 484

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1124

[Report No. 106–824]

A BILL

To authorize construction of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System in the State of

Montana, and for other purposes.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2000

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole Hose on the State of the Union,

and ordered to be printed