II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1565

To supplement the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 and to supplement

the Federal Reclamation Laws by providing for Federal cooperation

in non-Federal projects and for participation by non-Federal agencies

in Federal projects.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 7, 1996

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

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To supplement the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956

and to supplement the Federal Reclamation Laws by

providing for Federal cooperation in non-Federal projects

and for participation by non-Federal agencies in Federal

projects.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 TITLE I

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Small Reclamation

6 Water Resources Project Act of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 102. PURPOSE.

2 The purpose of this title is to encourage Federal,

3 State, and local participation in the development of

4 projects under the Federal Reclamation Laws that provide

5 for total water resources management with emphasis on,

6 but not limited to, projects that achieve improvements in

7 the augmentation and management of local water supplies,

8 conservation of water and energy, fish and wildlife con9 servation, supplemental water for existing supplies, water

10 quality improvements, flood control, and to provide timely

11 Federal assistance in the development of similar projects

12 in the seventeen western reclamation States by non-Fed13 eral organizations. Irrigation shall remain an eligible

14 project purpose, but shall not be a required purpose for

15 project proposals.

16 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

17 As used in this title:

18 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

19 of the Interior.

20 (2) The term ‘‘Federal Reclamation Laws’’

21 means the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and

22 Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.

23 (3) The term ‘‘project sponsor’’ means a State

24 or a department, agency, or political subdivision

25 thereof; or a conservancy district, water users’ asso26 ciation, tribal authority, or agency created by inter-
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1 state compact or similar organization which has the

2 capacity to contract with the United States under

3 the Federal Reclamation Laws.

4 (4) The term ‘‘water and energy conservation’’

5 means the preservation, protection, enhancement, or

6 extension of water or energy resources.

7 (5) The term ‘‘fish and wildlife conservation’’

8 means those operational measures, habitat, or phys9 ical features associated with the protection, preser10 vation, enhancement, or recovery of those fish and

11 wildlife resources that are considered of importance

12 and interest and which shall include, but not be lim13 ited to, migratory species, threatened or endangered

14 species as listed, or proposed for listing, under the

15 Endangered Species Act, or other species, as deter16 mined by the Secretary, to be worthy of consider17 ation under these terms.

18 (6) The term ‘‘water quality improvements’’

19 shall mean and involve those operation measures and

20 physical features associated with—

21 (A) the reclamation and reuse of irrigation

22 drainage or municipal and industrial return

23 flows, including wastewater flows;

24 (B) the reclamation, dilution, or control, of

25 brackish, toxic, or hazardous waters for bene-
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1 ficial reuse or protection of other related water,

2 land, or environmental resources; or

3 (C) flow augmentation from storage to

4 achieve national or State water quality goals.

5 (7) The term ‘‘project’’ means—

6 (A) a single or multipurpose water re7 source development project; or

8 (B) a project for the rehabilitation, better9 ment, or retrofit of any existing Federal or non10 Federal water infrastructure for purposes of

11 significant water and energy conservation or

12 fish and wildlife conservation.

13 (8) The term ‘‘maximum allowable estimated

14 Federal share’’ shall be determined by the Secretary

15 using the Bureau of Reclamation composite con16 struction cost index for January of that year with

17 $30,000,000 as the January 1995 base and shall be

18 for any given proposal submitted during any given

19 calendar year.

20 SEC. 104. PROPOSAL FEE.

21 Any project sponsor applying for assistance under

22 this Act shall submit a proposal to the Secretary in such

23 form and manner as the Secretary may prescribe. Each

24 such proposal shall be accompanied by a payment of

25 $5,000 plus $1,000 for each $1,000,000 of the estimated
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1 Federal share of project costs, or portion thereof. Fifty

2 percent of the payment shall accompany the application

3 and the remaining 50 percent shall be due upon approval

4 of the project by the Secretary, if approved.

5 SEC. 105. CONTENTS OF PROPOSAL.

6 (a) Any project proposal shall set forth a plan and

7 estimated cost in detail comparable to those included in

8 preauthorization reports required for a Federal reclama9 tion project. Any such proposal shall have been submitted

10 for review by the State or States in which the project is

11 located and shall include a proposed allocation of capital

12 costs to function such that costs for facilities used for a

13 single purpose shall be allocated to that purpose and costs

14 for facilities used for more than one purpose shall be so

15 allocated among the purposes served such that each pur16 pose will share equitably in the costs of such joint facili17 ties. The costs of means and measures to prevent loss of

18 and damage to existing fish and wildlife resources shall

19 be considered as non-Federal project costs and allocated

20 as may be appropriate among project functions. Such pro21 posal shall also include an investigation of soil characteris22 tics which might result in toxic or hazardous return flows.

23 (b)(1) Each proposal shall include a finding that the

24 project sponsor already holds or can acquire all lands and

25 interests in land, except public and other lands and inter-
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1 est in land owned by the United States which are within

2 the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary and sub3 ject to disposition by the Secretary, and rights, pursuant

4 to applicable State law, to the use of water necessary for

5 the successful construction, operation, and maintenance of

6 the project and that it is ready, able, and willing to finance

7 otherwise than by loan and grant of Federal funds the

8 non-Federal portion of the costs of the project, which por9 tion shall include all costs of acquiring lands, interests in

10 land, and rights to the use of water except as provided

11 in section 105(b)(2) hereof.

12 (2) The Secretary shall require each project sponsor

13 to contribute towards the cost of the project, other than

14 by loan or grant of Federal funds, not less than 25 percent

15 nor more than 40 percent of the allowable estimated costs

16 of the project, unless mutually agreed to by the Secretary

17 and the project sponsor. In determining the amount of the

18 contribution, the Secretary shall credit toward that

19 amount the cost of investigations, surveys, engineering,

20 and other services necessary to the preparation of propos21 als and plans for the project as required by the Secretary,

22 the costs of lands and rights-of-way acquisition required

23 for the project, amounts spent by the project sponsor for

24 construction or acquisition of existing facilities prior to

25 project approval, and the filing fee required by this Act.
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1 In determining the allowable estimated cost of the project,

2 the Secretary shall not include the amount of grants ac3 corded the organizations under section 106(b).

4 (c) Within nine months from the time the initial loan

5 application report proposal is submitted to the Secretary,

6 the Secretary shall make a determination whether the pro7 posal is financially feasible and constitutes a reasonable

8 risk under the provisions of this Act and either approve

9 or disapprove the proposal. The Secretary shall promptly

10 transmit any approved proposals to the Congress. Any Na11 tional Environmental Policy Act documentation for the

12 project shall be completed prior to Secretarial approval of

13 the proposal.

14 (d) At the time the Secretary submits a project pro15 posal to the Congress, or at any subsequent time prior

16 to the completion of construction of the project, the Sec17 retary may increase the amount of the requested loan and/

18 or grant, subject to the limitations allowed by subsection

19 (8) of section 103 of this Act, to compensate for increases

20 in construction costs due to price escalation.

21 (e) No Federal funds may be obligated for Federal

22 financial participation in any project prior to sixty cal23 endar days not including days on which either the House

24 of Representatives or the Senate is not in session because

25 of an adjournment of more than three calendar days to
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1 a day certain, from the date on which the Secretary’s find2 ings and approval are submitted to the Congress.

3 (f) Title to all project works and facilities constructed

4 under this Act shall remain in the name of the local

5 project sponsor.

6 (g) Nothing contained in this Act shall preclude the

7 making of more than one loan or grant, or combined loan

8 and grant, to a project sponsor so long as no two such

9 loans or grants, or combinations thereof, are for the same

10 project, as herein defined. No loan shall be made for less

11 than 15 years nor more than 25 years unless agreed to

12 by both parties.

13 SEC. 106. CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

14 Upon approval of any project proposal the Secretary

15 shall negotiate a contract which shall set out, but shall

16 not be limited to:

17 (a) The maximum amount of any loan to be

18 made to the project sponsor and the time and meth19 od of making the same available to the project spon20 sor.

21 (b) The maximum amount of any grant to be

22 accorded the project sponsor.

23 (c) A plan of repayment by the project sponsor

24 of: The principal of the loan together with interest

25 on those features required to bear interest under
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1 Federal Reclamation Laws, at a rate determined by

2 the Secretary of the Treasury as of the beginning of

3 the fiscal year in which the contract is executed on

4 the basis of the average market yields on outstand5 ing marketable obligations of the United States with

6 remaining periods to maturity comparable to the ap7 plicable repayment period of the project, adjusted to

8 the nearest one-eighth of 1 percent on the

9 unamortized balance of any portion of the loan: Pro10 vided, That the Secretary, at his discretion, may re11 duce the interest to not less than one-half the aver12 age market rate as so determined, or to the extent

13 that he determines that the project sponsor is unable

14 to secure financing from other sources under reason15 able terms and conditions, and shall include letters

16 from lenders or other written evidence in support of

17 any finding of an applicant’s inability to secure such

18 financing in any project proposal transmitted to the

19 Congress.

20 (d) Such terms and conditions as the Secretary

21 deems necessary or proper to provide assurance of

22 and security for prompt repayment and to ensure

23 achievement of the purposes for which the loan was

24 made.
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1 SEC. 107. CONTRACT CONFORMITY.

2 The Secretary may waive the requirements of sub3 sections (a) and (b) of section 105, for any proposal relat4 ing to a project authorized for construction under the Fed5 eral reclamation laws prior to the date of enactment of

6 this Act if he finds the requirements of such subsections

7 to be duplicative of, or rendered unnecessary or impossible

8 by, actions already taken by the United States.

9 SEC. 108. INFORMATION AVAILABILITY.

10 Upon request of a project sponsor which has made

11 or intends to make a proposal under the Act, the head

12 of any Federal department or agency may make available

13 to the project sponsor any existing engineering, economic,

14 hydrologic, or other appropriate information and printed

15 material that it may have and that will be useful in con16 nection with the planning, design, construction, or oper17 ation and maintenance of the project concerned. The rea18 sonable cost of any plans, specifications, and other

19 unpublished material furnished by the Secretary pursuant

20 to this section and the cost of making and administering

21 any provision under this Act shall, to the extent that they

22 would not be nonreimbursable in the case of a project con23 structed under the Federal Reclamation Laws, be treated

24 as a loan and covered in the provisions of the contract

25 entered into under section 106 of this Act unless they are

26 otherwise paid for by the project sponsor.
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1 SEC. 109. COMPLIANCE WITH FISH AND WILDLIFE COORDI2 NATION ACT

3 For those projects where the planning and construc4 tion of projects undertaken pursuant to this Act is subject

5 to the provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination

6 Act, the cost of such provisions shall be a Federal expense

7 and the Secretary is authorized, as may be provided in

8 Appropriation Acts, to transfer to the Fish and Wildlife

9 Service or to the National Marine Fisheries Service, such

10 funds as may be necessary to conduct the investigations

11 required to carry out the purposes of this Act, except that

12 the Secretary may not use any funds appropriated for the

13 purposes of projects or programs under the Bureau of

14 Reclamation.

15 SEC. 110. RULES AND REGULATIONS.

16 The Secretary is authorized to make such rules and

17 regulations as may be necessary or proper in carrying out

18 the provisions of this Act.

19 SEC. 111. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 Funds authorized for appropriation under the Small

21 Reclamation Projects Act (43 U.S.C. 504) shall be avail22 able for the purposes of this Act. To the extent that such

23 funds are not adequate, there are hereby authorized to be

24 appropriated to carry out the provisions of this title not

25 to exceed $300,000,000 from fiscal year 1998 to fiscal
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1 year 2007. All such appropriations shall remain available

2 until expended.

3 TITLE II

4 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Small Reclamation

6 Water Resources Partnership Program’’.

7 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

8 As used in this title:

9 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

10 of the Interior.

11 (2) The term ‘‘Federal Reclamation Laws’’

12 means the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and

13 Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.

14 (3) The term ‘‘project sponsor’’ means a State

15 or a department, agency, or political subdivision

16 thereof; or a conservancy district, irrigation district,

17 water users’ association, tribal authority, or agency

18 created by interstate compact or similar organization

19 which has the capacity to contract with the United

20 States under the Federal Reclamation Laws.

21 (4) The term ‘‘project purposes’’ means certain

22 Bureau of Reclamation programs of water conserva23 tion, fish and wildlife enhancement, public safety,

24 public outdoor recreation, environmental education,

25 archaeological surveys, integrated resource planning,
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1 watershed management, technology transfer, ground2 water management, and research and nonstructural

3 flood control activities.

4 (5) The term ‘‘regional loan officer’’ means the

5 Bureau of Reclamation employee assigned respon6 sibility for processing the loan or grant applications

7 under this program.

8 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF A SMALL GRANT AND LOAN

9 PROGRAM.

10 There is hereby established within the Department

11 of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation the Small Rec12 lamation Water Resources Management Partnership Pro13 gram for a small grant and loan program. Grants shall

14 not exceed $5,000,000 for any one project and shall be

15 matched on a 50–50 basis. There are authorized to be ap16 propriated not to exceed $10,000,000 per year for the pur17 poses of this title for fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year

18 2002. Loans shall not exceed $1,500,000 per project.

19 Once work is certified complete by the regional loan offi20 cer, the loans shall be repaid within a five-year period into

21 a revolving loan fund program that shall be established

22 in the Department of the Treasury. Money from the re23 payment of the loans shall be available from the revolving

24 loan program fund without further appropriation.
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1 SEC. 204. ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE UNDER THE SMALL REC2 LAMATION WATER RESOURCES PARTNER3 SHIP.

4 (a) The following types of activities shall be eligible

5 for grant or loan purposes:

6 (1) WATER CONSERVATION.—

7 (A) rehabilitation of existing structures;

8 (B) wastewater reuse systems;

9 (C) groundwater recharge and development

10 systems;

11 (D) watershed management programs;

12 (E) water quality improvement projects;

13 (F) conjunctive use projects;

14 (G) metering of systems; and

15 (H) public education.

16 (2) FISH AND WILDLIFE ENHANCEMENT.—

17 (A) fish and wildlife habitat improvement

18 programs;

19 (B) grassland/water/wetland areas;

20 (C) stabilization of instream flows; and

21 (D) Federal or State endangered species

22 habitat protection and enhancement where im23 provement or enhancement activities are within

24 normal operating criteria.

25 (3) PUBLIC SAFETY.—

26 (A) downstream warning system projects;
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1 (B) canal fencing for public safety; and

2 (C) public access facilities.

3 (4) PUBLIC OUTDOOR RECREATION.—

4 (A) replacement, repair, or improvement of

5 boat ramps, hiking and biking trails, benches,

6 picnic areas, parking facilities associated with

7 Federal reclamation projects; and

8 (B) addition of public access facilities.

9 (5) ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEYS.—Site clear10 ances.

11 (b) The Secretary may add to this list of activities

12 as he deems appropriate, except that any such addition

13 shall not take effect until 60 days after the Secretary pub14 lishes a notice of the proposed addition in the Federal

15 Register and has notified the Committee on Resources of

16 the House of Representatives and the Committee on En17 ergy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate

18 in writing of the proposed addition and the reasons there19 for.

20 SEC. 205. APPLICATION PROCESS.

21 (a) Each applicant shall submit a Notice of Intent

22 to the appropriate Regional Director of the United States

23 Bureau of Reclamation outlining the proposed project and

24 the public benefits thereof. The Regional Director shall

25 provide a written response to the applicant within 90 days
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1 of receiving the application either affirming or rejecting

2 Federal interest in participating in the project.

3 (b) Upon notification of a Federal interest, the appli4 cant shall have the option of proceeding with an appro5 priate loan application giving details of the project and

6 the associated public benefits.

7 (c) The contents of any project proposal shall include,

8 but need not be limited to, the following:

9 (1) A resolution by the board of directors of the

10 qualifying organization stating the total estimated

11 cost, the amount of the grant or loan requested, the

12 amount of the local contribution for the grant, and

13 the project objectives.

14 (2) A summary of the proposal.

15 (3) A brief description of the anticipated effects

16 of the project on the natural, as well as manmade

17 environment.

18 (4) Evidence that the applicant has all lands

19 and water rights needed for the project, or can ob20 tain them.

21 (5) A description of the project plan, including

22 a general map showing the location of proposed

23 physical features, sufficient engineering drawings of

24 major and typical structures, and general standards

25 for design.
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1 (6) A construction schedule, if applicable, with

2 dates and schedule of Federal funding requirements,

3 in sufficient detail to permit analysis of the proposed

4 construction program.

5 (7) A determination of those portions of the

6 project costs which constitute the Federal grant/loan

7 amounts and the applicant’s local contribution.

8 (d) The cost of any investigations and preparation

9 of any environmental documentation shall be borne by the

10 project applicant and any such costs shall be credited as

11 part of the local cost share for grant funding.

12 (e) The Secretary shall publish on a quarterly basis

13 in the Federal Register a listing of the activities and total

14 funding required for work committed under this program.

15 SEC. 206. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PROJECT WORK.

16 The applicant is solely responsible for planning, con17 structing, operating, and maintaining the project. The of18 fice of the Regional Director will examine the plans to de19 termine if the project can reasonably be expected to ac20 complish its purpose. Once approved by the Regional Di21 rector, funding, subject to the availability of appropria22 tions or funds from repayments, shall be provided within

23 sixty days for the schedule of work within that fiscal year.

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