II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2755

To further continued economic viability in the communities on the southern

High Plains by promoting sustainable groundwater management of the

southern Ogallala Aquifer.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 20, 2000

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. DOMENICI) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To further continued economic viability in the communities

on the southern High Plains by promoting sustainable

groundwater management of the southern Ogallala Aquifer.

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 ‘‘Southern High Plains

5 Groundwater Resource Conservation Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) a reliable source of groundwater is an es2 sential element of the economy of the communities

3 on the High Plains;

4 (2) the High Plains Aquifer and the Ogallala

5 Aquifer are closely related hydrogeographic struc6 tures. The High Plains Aquifer consists largely of

7 the Ogallala Aquifer with small components of other

8 geologic units;

9 (3) the High Plains Aquifer experienced a dra10 matic decline in water table levels in the latter half

11 of the twentieth century. The average weighted de12 cline in the aquifer from 1950 to 1997 was 12.6 feet

13 (USGS Fact Sheet 124–99, Dec. 1999);

14 (4) the decline in water table levels is especially

15 pronounced in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer, re16 porting that large areas in the states of Kansas,

17 New Mexico, and Texas experienced declines of over

18 100 feet in that period (USGS Fact Sheet 124–99,

19 Dec. 1999);

20 (5) the saturated thickness of the High Plains

21 Aquifer has declined by over 50% in some areas

22 (1186 USGS Circular 27, 1999). Furthermore, the

23 Survey has reported that the percentage of the High

24 Plains Aquifer which has a saturated thickness of

25 100 feet or more declined from 54 percent to 51
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1 percent in the period from 1980 to 1997 (USGS

2 Fact Sheet 124–99, Dec. 1999);

3 (6) the decreased water levels in the High

4 Plains Aquifer coupled with higher pumping lift

5 costs raise concerns about the long-term sustain6 ability of irrigated agriculture in the High Plains.

7 (‘‘External Effects of Irrigators’ Pumping Decisions,

8 High Plains Aquifer’’, Alley and Schefter, American

9 Geophysical Union, paper #7W0326; Water Re10 sources Research, Vol. 23, No. 7 1123–1130, July

11 1987);

12 (7) hydrological modeling at the United States

13 Geological Survey indicates that in the context of

14 sustained high groundwater use in the surrounding

15 region, that reductions in groundwater pumping at

16 the single farm level or at a very local level of up

17 to 100 square miles, have a very time limited impact

18 on conserving the level of the local water table, thus

19 creating a disincentive for individual water users to

20 invest in water conservation measures. (‘‘External

21 Effects of Irrigators’ Pumping Decisions, High

22 Plains Aquifer’’, Alley and Schefter, American Geo23 physical Union, paper #7W0326; Water Resources

24 Research, Vol. 23, No. 7 1123–1130, July 1987);
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1 (8) incentives must be created for conservation

2 of groundwater on a regional scale, in order to

3 achieve an agricultural economy on the Southern

4 High Plains that is sustainable; and

5 (9) for water conservation incentives to func6 tion, Federal, State, tribal, and local water policy

7 makers, and individual groundwater users must have

8 access to reliable information concerning aquifer re9 charge rates, extraction rates, and water table levels

10 at the local and regional levels on an ongoing basis.

11 (b) PURPOSES.—To promote groundwater conserva12 tion on the Southern High Plains in order to extend the

13 useable life of the Southern Ogallala Aquifer.

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

15 For purposes of this Act:

16 (1) HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER.—The term ‘‘High

17 Plains Aquifer’’ is the groundwater reserve depicted

18 as Figure 1 in the United States Geological Survey

19 Professional Paper 1400–B, titled Geohydrology of

20 the High Plains Aquifer in Parts of Colorado, Kan21 sas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Da22 kota, Texas, and Wyoming.

23 (2) HIGH PLAINS.—The term ‘‘High Plains’’

24 refers to the approximately 174,000 square miles of

25 land surface overlying the High Plains Aquifer in
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1 the States of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming,

2 South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and

3 Texas.

4 (3) SOUTHERN OGALLALA AQUIFER.—The term

5 ‘‘Southern Ogallala Aquifer’’ refers to that part of

6 the High Plains Aquifer lying below 39 degrees

7 north latitude which underlies the States of New

8 Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas.

9 (4) SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS.—The term

10 ‘‘Southern High Plains’’ refers to the portions of the

11 States of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado,

12 and Kansas which overlie the southern Ogallala Aq13 uifer.

14 (e) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ refers to ei15 ther the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri16 culture as appropriate.

17 (f) The term ‘‘water conservation measures’’ includes

18 measures which enhance the groundwater recharge rate

19 of a given piece of land, or which increase water use effi20 ciencies.

21 SEC. 4. HYDROLOGIC MAPPING, MODELING, AND MONI22 TORING.

23 (a) The Secretary of the Interior, working through

24 the United States Geological Survey, shall develop a com25 prehensive hydrogeologic mapping, modeling, and moni-
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1 toring program for the Southern Ogallala Aquifer. The

2 program shall include on a county-by-county basis—

3 (1) a map of the hydrological configuration of

4 the Aquifer; and

5 (2) an analysis of:

6 (A) the current and past rate at which

7 groundwater is being withdrawn and recharged,

8 and the net rate of decrease or increase in aqui9 fer storage;

10 (B) the factors controlling the rate of hori11 zontal migration of water within the Aquifer;

12 (C) the degree to which aquifer compaction

13 caused by pumping and recharge methods is

14 impacting the storage and recharge capacity of

15 the groundwater body; and

16 (D) the current and past rate of loss of

17 saturated thickness within the Aquifer.

18 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—One year after the enactment

19 of this Act, and once per year thereafter, the Secretary

20 shall submit a report on the status of the Southern

21 Ogallala Aquifer to the Senate Committee on Energy and

22 Natural Resources, to the House Committee on Resources,

23 and to the Governors of the States of New Mexico, Okla24 homa, Texas, Colorado, and Kansas.
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1 SEC. 5. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

2 (a) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Agri3 culture, working through the Natural Resources Conserva4 tion Service, is hereby authorized and directed to establish

5 a groundwater conservation assistance program for South6 ern Ogallala Aquifer.

7 (b) DESIGN AND PLANNING.—The Secretary shall

8 provide financial and technical assistance, including mod9 eling and engineering design to States, tribes, and coun10 ties, conservation districts, or other political subdivisions

11 recognized under State law, for the development of com12 prehensive groundwater conservation plans within the

13 Southern High Plains. This assistance shall be provided

14 on a cost share basis ensuring that:

15 (1) the Federal funding for the development of

16 any given plan shall not exceed fifty percent of the

17 cost; and

18 (2) the Federal funding for groundwater water

19 conservation planning for any one county, conserva20 tion district, or similar political subdivision recog21 nized under State law shall not exceed $50,000.

22 (c) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall create a

23 certification process for comprehensive groundwater con24 servation plans developed under this program, or devel25 oped independently by States, tribes, counties, or other po-
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1 litical subdivisions recognized under State law. To be cer2 tified, a plan must:

3 (1) cover a sufficient geographic area to provide

4 a benefit to the groundwater resource over at least

5 a 20 year time scale;

6 (2) include a set of goals for water conserva7 tion; and

8 (3) include a process for an annual evaluation

9 of the plan’s implementation to allow for modifica10 tions if goals are not being met.

11 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE.

12 Farming operations within jurisdictions which have

13 a certified conservation plan in accordance with subsection

14 (5)(c) of this title shall be eligible for:

15 (1) WATER CONSERVATION COST-SHARE AS16 SISTANCE.—The Secretary, working through the

17 Natural Resources Conservation Service, may pro18 vide grants to individual farming operations of up to

19 $50,000 for implementing on farm water conserva20 tion measures including the improvement of irriga21 tion systems and the purchase of new equipment:

22 Provided, That the Federal share of the water con23 servation investment in any one operation be no

24 greater than 50%: Provided further, That each water

25 conservation measure be in accordance with a con-
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1 servation plan certified under section 5(c) of this

2 title.

3 (2) IRRIGATED LAND RESERVE.—Through the

4 2020 calendar year, the Secretary shall formulate

5 and carry out the enrollment of lands in a ground6 water conservation reserve program through the use

7 of multiple year contracts for irrigated lands which

8 would result in significant per acre savings of

9 groundwater resources if converted to dryland agri10 culture.

11 (3) CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM EN12 HANCEMENT.—Lands eligible for the Conservation

13 Reserve Program established under 16 U.S.C. 3831

14 which would result in significant per acre savings of

15 groundwater resources if removed from agricultural

16 production shall be awarded 20 Conservation Re17 serve Program bid points, to be designated as

18 groundwater conservation points, in addition to any

19 other ratings the lands may receive.

20 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated $70,000,000 annually through the fiscal year 2020

23 to carry out this Act. Of that total amount:

24 (1) there are authorized to be appropriated $5

25 million annually through the fiscal year 2020 for
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1 hydrogeologic mapping, modeling, and monitoring

2 under this Act;

3 (2) there are authorized to be appropriated $5

4 million annually through fiscal year 2020 for

5 groundwater conservation planning, design, and plan

6 certification under this Act;

7 (3) there are authorized to be appropriated $30

8 million annually through fiscal year 2020 for cost9 share assistance for on farm water conservation

10 measures; and

11 (4) there are authorized to be appropriated $30

12 million annually through fiscal year 2020 for enroll13 ment of lands in an Irrigated Lands Reserve.

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