II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 624

To authorize construction of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System

in the State of Montana, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 16, 1999

Mr. BURNS (for himself and Mr. BAUCUS) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

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 Reserva-
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1 tion in the State of Montana, and the water systems

2 that are available do not meet minimum health and

3 safety standards and therefore pose a threat to pub4 lic health and safety;

5 (2) the United States has a trust responsibility

6 to ensure that adequate and safe water supplies are

7 available to meet the economic, environmental, water

8 supply, and public health needs of the Fort Peck In9 dian Reservation; and

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

11 and municipal water supply to serve the needs of the

12 Fort Peck Indian Reservation is the Missouri River.

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

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

15 rural, and industrial water supply for the residents

16 of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in the State of

17 Montana; and

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

19 Daniels, and Valley Counties in the State, outside

20 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, in developing safe

21 and adequate municipal, rural, and industrial water

22 supplies.

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

24 In this Act:
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1 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER

2 SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

3 Water System’’ means the rural water system within

4 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation authorized by sec5 tion 4.

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

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

8 rural water system authorized by section 5 in the

9 Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels, and Valley Counties of

10 the State.

11 (3) FORT PECK RESERVATION RURAL WATER

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

13 Water System’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux

14 Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural

15 Water System.

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

17 tribes’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux Indian

18 Tribes within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

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

20 means the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program

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

22 authorizing the construction of certain public works

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

24 purposes’’, approved December 22, 1944 (commonly
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1 known as the ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58

2 Stat. 891)).

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

4 the Secretary of the Interior.

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

6 of Montana.

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

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall plan, de9 sign, construct, operate, maintain, and replace a munic10 ipal, rural, and industrial water system, to be known as

11 the ‘‘Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System’’, as gen12 erally described in the report entitled ‘‘Technical Report

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

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

15 subsection (g)(2).

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

17 Water System shall consist of—

18 (1) pumping and treatment facilities located

19 along the Missouri River near Poplar, Montana;

20 (2) pipelines extending from the Missouri River

21 near Poplar, Montana, throughout the Fort Peck In22 dian Reservation;

23 (3) facilities to allow for future interconnections

24 to areas outside the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,
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1 including the communities within the service area of

2 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System;

3 (4) distribution and treatment facilities to serve

4 the needs of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,

5 including—

6 (A) public water systems in existence on

7 the date of enactment of this Act that may be

8 purchased, improved, and repaired in accord9 ance with the cooperative agreement entered

10 into under subsection (c); and

11 (B) water systems owned by individual

12 tribal members and other residents of the Fort

13 Peck Indian Reservation;

14 (5) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

15 (6) all property and property rights necessary

16 for the facilities described in this subsection;

17 (7) electrical power transmission and distribu18 tion facilities necessary for services to Fort Peck

19 Reservation Rural Water System facilities; and

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

21 facilities as the Secretary determines to be appro22 priate to meet the water supply, economic, public

23 health, and environmental needs of the Fort Peck

24 Indian Reservation, including water storage tanks,

25 water lines, and other facilities for the Fort Peck
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1 tribes and the villages, towns, and municipalities in

2 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

3 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

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

5 into a cooperative agreement with the Fort Peck

6 Tribal Executive Board for planning, designing, con7 structing, operating, maintaining, and replacing the

8 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System.

9 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

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

11 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and the

12 Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board—

13 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

14 agreement for—

15 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

16 environmental studies;

17 (ii) engineering and design;

18 (iii) construction;

19 (iv) water conservation measures; and

20 (v) administration of contracts relat21 ing to performance of the activities de22 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

23 (B) the procedures and requirements for

24 approval and acceptance of the design and con-
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1 struction and for carrying out other activities

2 described in subparagraph (A); and

3 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil4 ities of each party to the agreement.

5 (3) OPTIONAL PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

6 agreement under paragraph (1) may include provi7 sions relating to the purchase, improvement, and re8 pair of water systems in existence on the date of en9 actment of this Act, including systems owned by in10 dividual tribal members and other residents of the

11 Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

12 (4) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may termi13 nate a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) if

14 the Secretary determines that—

15 (A) the quality of construction does not

16 meet all standards established for similar facili17 ties constructed by the Secretary; or

18 (B) the operation and maintenance of the

19 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

20 does not meet conditions acceptable to the Sec21 retary that are adequate to fulfill the obliga22 tions of the United States to the Fort Peck

23 tribes.

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

25 agreement under paragraph (1), in accordance with
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1 the cooperative agreement, the Secretary may trans2 fer to the Fort Peck tribes, on a nonreimbursable

3 basis, funds made available for the Assiniboine and

4 Sioux Rural Water System under section 9.

5 (d) SERVICE AREA.—The service area of the Assini6 boine and Sioux Rural Water System shall be the area

7 within the boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reserva8 tion.

9 (e) CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.—The compo10 nents of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

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

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

13 requirements of the service area of the Fort Peck Reserva14 tion Rural Water System.

15 (f) TITLE TO ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL

16 WATER SYSTEM.—Title to the Assiniboine and Sioux

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

18 States for the Fort Peck tribes and shall not be trans19 ferred unless a transfer is authorized by an Act of Con20 gress enacted after the date of enactment of this Act.

21 (g) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUC22 TION FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for

23 construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

24 System until—
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1 (1) the requirements of the National Environ2 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

3 are met with respect to the Assiniboine and Sioux

4 Rural Water System;

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

6 the date of submission of a final engineering report

7 to Congress; and

8 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

9 that the water conservation plan developed under

10 section 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con11 servation measures for the operation of the Assini12 boine and Sioux Rural Water System that have been

13 shown to be economically and financially feasible.

14 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

15 provide such technical assistance as is necessary to enable

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

17 maintain, and replace the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

18 Water System, including operation and management

19 training.

20 (i) APPLICATION OF INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION

21 ACT.—Planning, design, construction, operation, mainte22 nance, and replacement of the Assiniboine and Sioux

23 Rural Water System within the Fort Peck Indian Reserva24 tion shall be subject to the Indian Self-Determination and

25 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).
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1 SEC. 5. DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

2 (a) PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION.—

3 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall

4 enter into a cooperative agreement with Dry Prairie

5 Rural Water Association Incorporated (or any suc6 cessor non-Federal entity) to provide Federal funds

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

8 Prairie Rural Water System in Roosevelt, Sheridan,

9 Daniels, and Valley Counties, Montana, outside the

10 Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

11 (2) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—

12 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share

13 of the cost of planning, design, and construction

14 of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall be

15 not more than 76 percent.

16 (B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Federal

17 funds made available to carry out this section

18 may be obligated and expended only through a

19 cooperative agreement entered into under sub20 section (c).

21 (b) COMPONENTS.—The components of the Dry Prai22 rie Rural Water System facilities on which Federal funds

23 may be obligated and expended under this section shall

24 include—

25 (1) storage, pumping, interconnection, and

26 pipeline facilities;
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1 (2) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

2 (3) all property and property rights necessary

3 for the facilities described in this subsection;

4 (4) electrical power transmission and distribu5 tion facilities necessary for service to Dry Prairie

6 Rural Water System facilities;

7 (5) planning and design services for all facili8 ties; and

9 (6) other facilities and services customary to

10 the development of rural water distribution systems

11 in the State, including supplemental water intake,

12 pumping, and treatment facilities.

13 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, with the con15 currence of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

16 System Board, shall enter into a cooperative agree17 ment with Dry Prairie Rural Water Association In18 corporated to provide Federal assistance for the

19 planning, design, and construction of the Dry Prai20 rie Rural Water System.

21 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

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

23 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and Dry

24 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated—
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1 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

2 agreement for—

3 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

4 environmental studies;

5 (ii) engineering and design;

6 (iii) construction;

7 (iv) water conservation measures; and

8 (v) administration of contracts relat9 ing to performance of the activities de10 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

11 (B) the procedures and requirements for

12 approval and acceptance of the design and con13 struction and for carrying out other activities

14 described in subparagraph (A); and

15 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil16 ities of each party to the agreement.

17 (d) SERVICE AREA.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), the service area of the Dry Prairie Rural

20 Water System shall be the area in the State—

21 (A) north of the Missouri River;

22 (B) south of the border between the

23 United States and Canada;

24 (C) west of the border between the States

25 of North Dakota and Montana; and
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1 (D) east of the western line of range 39

2 east.

3 (2) FORT PECK INDIAN RESERVATION.—The

4 service area shall not include the area inside the

5 Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

6 (e) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION

7 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for con8 struction of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System until—

9 (1) the requirements of the National Environ10 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

11 are met with respect to the Dry Prairie Rural Water

12 System;

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

14 the date of submission of a final engineering report

15 to Congress; and

16 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

17 that the water conservation plan developed under

18 section 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con19 servation measures for the operation of the Dry

20 Prairie Rural Water System that have been shown

21 to be economically and financially feasible.

22 (f) INTERCONNECTION OF FACILITIES.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—
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1 (A) interconnect the Dry Prairie Rural

2 Water System with the Assiniboine and Sioux

3 Rural Water System; and

4 (B) provide for the delivery of water to the

5 Dry Prairie Rural Water System from the Mis6 souri River through the Assiniboine and Sioux

7 Rural Water System.

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

9 for the corpus of the water delivered.

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

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The operation and mainte12 nance expenses associated with water deliveries from

13 the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System to

14 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall not be a

15 Federal responsibility and shall be borne by the Dry

16 Prairie Rural Water System.

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

18 obligate or expend any Federal funds for the oper19 ation, maintenance, or replacement of the Dry Prai20 rie Rural Water System.

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

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

23 Water System shall use power from the Pick-Sloan East24 ern Division to start up and operate the Assiniboine and
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1 Sioux Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural

2 Water System.

3 (b) RESERVATION OF POWER.—

4 (1) IRRIGATION SEASON.—During the irrigation

5 season, Pick-Sloan Eastern Division power identified

6 for future project use pumping shall be reserved for

7 and made available for the purpose authorized by

8 subsection (a).

9 (2) NONIRRIGATION SEASON.—During the non10 irrigation season, Pick-Sloan Eastern Division pref11 erence power shall used to the extent that the power

12 is available.

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

14 available under subsection (b) shall be—

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

16 pumping power rate; and

17 (2) during the non-irrigation season, the whole18 sale firm power rate.

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

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

21 meet the pumping requirements of the service area of the

22 Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System described in

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

24 Power Administration may purchase the necessary addi-
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1 tional power under such terms and conditions as the Ad2 ministrator determines to be appropriate.

3 (e) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—

4 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER

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

6 Rural Water System, expenses associated with power

7 purchases under subsections (a) and (d) shall be re8 covered through a separate power charge, sufficient

9 to cover expenses, applied to the Assiniboine and

10 Sioux Rural Water System’s operation and mainte11 nance cost.

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

13 the case of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System, ex14 penses associated with power purchases under sub15 sections (a) and (d) shall be recovered through a

16 separate power charge, sufficient to cover expenses,

17 to be paid fully by the Dry Prairie Rural Water Sys18 tem.

19 SEC. 7. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.

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

21 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated shall de22 velop a water conservation plan containing—

23 (1) a description of water conservation objec24 tives;
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1 (2) a description of appropriate water conserva2 tion measures; and

3 (3) a time schedule for implementing the meas4 ures and this Act to meet the water conservation ob5 jectives.

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

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

8 water from the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

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

10 practicable technology and management techniques to con11 serve water.

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

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

14 shall apply to an activity authorized under this Act.

15 SEC. 8. WATER RIGHTS.

16 This Act does not—

17 (1) impair the validity of or preempt any provi18 sion of State water law or any interstate compact

19 governing water;

20 (2) alter the right of any State to any appro21 priated share of the water of any body of surface or

22 ground water, whether determined by any past or

23 future interstate compact or by any past or future

24 legislative or final judicial allocation;
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1 (3) preempt or modify any Federal or State law

2 or interstate compact concerning water quality or

3 disposal;

4 (4) confer on any non-Federal entity the au5 thority to exercise any Federal right to the water of

6 any stream or to any ground water resource;

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

8 water, located within or outside the external bound9 aries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, based on

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

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

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

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

14 (6) validate or invalidate any assertion of the

15 existence, nonexistence, or extinguishment of any

16 water right held or Indian water compact entered

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

18 tribe or individual Indian under Federal or State

19 law.

20 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 (a) FORT PECK RESERVATION RURAL WATER SYS22 TEM.—There are authorized to be appropriated—

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

24 $103,000,000 for the planning, design, and con-
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1 struction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

2 System; and

3 (2) such sums as are necessary for the oper4 ation and maintenance of the Assiniboine and Sioux

5 Rural Water System, including power costs of the

6 Western Area Power Administration.

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

8 authorized to be appropriated $60,000,000 for the plan9 ning, design, and construction of the Dry Prairie Rural

10 Water System.

11 (c) COST INDEXING.—The funds authorized to be ap12 propriated may be increased or decreased by such amounts

13 as are justified by reason of ordinary fluctuations in devel14 opment costs incurred after January 1, 1996, as indicated

15 by engineering cost indices applicable for the type of con16 struction involved.

Æ