I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 624

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 27, 2000

Referred to the Committee on Resources

AN ACT

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’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1) there are insufficient water supplies avail4 able to residents of the Fort Peck Indian Reserva5 tion in the State of Montana, and the water systems

6 that are available do not meet minimum health and

7 safety standards and therefore pose a threat to pub8 lic health and safety;

9 (2) in carrying out its trust responsibility, the

10 United States should ensure that adequate and safe

11 water supplies are available to meet the economic,

12 environmental, water supply, and public health needs

13 of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation; and

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

15 and municipal water supply to serve the needs of the

16 Fort Peck Indian Reservation is the Missouri River.

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

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

19 rural, and industrial water supply for the residents

20 of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in the State of

21 Montana; and

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

23 Daniels, and Valley Counties in the State, outside

24 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, in developing safe

25 and adequate municipal, rural, and industrial water

26 supplies.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER

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

5 Water System’’ means the rural water system within

6 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation authorized by sec7 tion 4.

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

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

10 rural water system authorized by section 5 in the

11 Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels, and Valley Counties of

12 the State.

13 (3) FORT PECK RESERVATION RURAL WATER

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

15 Water System’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux

16 Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural

17 Water System.

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

19 Tribes’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux Indian

20 Tribes within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

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

22 means the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program

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

24 authorizing the construction of certain public works

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

26 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 required by subsection

13 (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 within the boundaries of

18 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation;

19 (2) pipelines extending from the water treat20 ment plant throughout the Fort Peck Indian Res21 ervation;

22 (3) distribution and treatment facilities to serve

23 the needs of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,

24 including—
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1 (A) public water systems in existence on

2 the date of enactment of this Act that may be

3 purchased, improved, and repaired in accord4 ance with the cooperative agreement entered

5 into under subsection (c); and

6 (B) water systems owned by individual

7 tribal members and other residents of the Fort

8 Peck Indian Reservation;

9 (4) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

10 (5) all property and property rights necessary

11 for the facilities described in this subsection;

12 (6) electrical power transmission and distribu13 tion facilities necessary for services to Fort Peck

14 Reservation Rural Water System facilities; and

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

16 facilities as the Secretary determines to be appro17 priate to meet the water supply, economic, public

18 health, and environmental needs of the Fort Peck

19 Indian Reservation, including water storage tanks,

20 water lines, and other facilities for the Fort Peck

21 Tribes and the villages, towns, and municipalities in

22 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

23 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

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

25 into a cooperative agreement with the Fort Peck
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1 Tribal Executive Board for planning, designing, con2 structing, operating, maintaining, and replacing the

3 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System.

4 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

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

6 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and the

7 Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board—

8 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

9 agreement for—

10 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

11 environmental studies;

12 (ii) engineering and design;

13 (iii) construction;

14 (iv) water conservation measures; and

15 (v) administration of contracts relat16 ing to performance of the activities de17 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

18 (B) the procedures and requirements for

19 approval and acceptance of the design and con20 struction and for carrying out other activities

21 described in subparagraph (A); and

22 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil23 ities of each party to the agreement.

24 (3) OPTIONAL PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

25 agreement under paragraph (1) may include provi-
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1 sions relating to the purchase, improvement, and re2 pair of water systems in existence on the date of en3 actment of this Act, including systems owned by in4 dividual tribal members and other residents of the

5 Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

6 (4) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may termi7 nate a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) if

8 the Secretary determines that—

9 (A) the quality of construction does not

10 meet all standards established for similar facili11 ties constructed by the Secretary; or

12 (B) the operation and maintenance of the

13 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

14 does not meet conditions acceptable to the Sec15 retary that are adequate to fulfill the obliga16 tions of the United States to the Fort Peck

17 Tribes.

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

19 agreement under paragraph (1), in accordance with

20 the cooperative agreement, the Secretary may trans21 fer to the Fort Peck Tribes, on a nonreimbursable

22 basis, funds made available for the Assiniboine and

23 Sioux Rural Water System under section 9.

24 (d) SERVICE AREA.—The service area of the Assini25 boine and Sioux Rural Water System shall be the area
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1 within the boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reserva2 tion.

3 (e) CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.—The compo4 nents of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

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

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

7 requirements of the service area of the Fort Peck Reserva8 tion Rural Water System.

9 (f) TITLE TO ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL

10 WATER SYSTEM.—Title to the Assiniboine and Sioux

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

12 States for the Fort Peck Tribes and shall not be trans13 ferred unless a transfer is authorized by an Act of Con14 gress enacted after the date of enactment of this Act.

15 (g) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUC16 TION FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for

17 construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

18 System until—

19 (1) the requirements of the National Environ20 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

21 are met with respect to the Assiniboine and Sioux

22 Rural Water System;

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

24 the date of submission to Congress of a final engi25 neering report approved by the Secretary; and
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1 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

2 that the water conservation plan developed under

3 section 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con4 servation measures for the operation of the Assini5 boine and Sioux Rural Water System that have been

6 shown to be economically and financially feasible.

7 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

8 provide such technical assistance as is necessary to enable

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

10 maintain, and replace the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

11 Water System, including operation and management

12 training.

13 (i) APPLICATION OF INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION

14 ACT.—Planning, design, construction, operation, mainte15 nance, and replacement of the Assiniboine and Sioux

16 Rural Water System within the Fort Peck Indian Reserva17 tion shall be subject to the Indian Self-Determination and

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

19 SEC. 5. DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

20 (a) PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION.—

21 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall

22 enter into a cooperative agreement with Dry Prairie

23 Rural Water Association Incorporated (or any suc24 cessor non-Federal entity) to provide Federal funds

25 for the planning, design, and construction of the Dry
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1 Prairie Rural Water System in Roosevelt, Sheridan,

2 Daniels, and Valley Counties, Montana, outside the

3 Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

4 (2) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—

5 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share

6 of the cost of planning, design, and construction

7 of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall be

8 not more than 76 percent.

9 (B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Federal

10 funds made available to carry out this section

11 may be obligated and expended only through a

12 cooperative agreement entered into under sub13 section (c).

14 (b) COMPONENTS.—The components of the Dry Prai15 rie Rural Water System facilities on which Federal funds

16 may be obligated and expended under this section shall

17 include—

18 (1) storage, pumping, interconnection, and

19 pipeline facilities;

20 (2) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

21 (3) all property and property rights necessary

22 for the facilities described in this subsection;

23 (4) electrical power transmission and distribu24 tion facilities necessary for service to Dry Prairie

25 Rural Water System facilities; and
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1 (5) other facilities customary to the develop2 ment of rural water distribution systems in the

3 State, including supplemental water intake, pump4 ing, and treatment facilities.

5 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, with the con7 currence of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

8 System Board, shall enter into a cooperative agree9 ment with Dry Prairie Rural Water Association In10 corporated to provide Federal assistance for the

11 planning, design, and construction of the Dry Prai12 rie Rural Water System.

13 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

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

15 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and Dry

16 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated—

17 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

18 agreement for—

19 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

20 environmental studies;

21 (ii) engineering and design;

22 (iii) construction;

23 (iv) water conservation measures; and
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1 (v) administration of contracts relat2 ing to performance of the activities de3 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

4 (B) the procedures and requirements for

5 approval and acceptance of the design and con6 struction and for carrying out other activities

7 described in subparagraph (A); and

8 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil9 ities of each party to the agreement.

10 (d) SERVICE AREA.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), the service area of the Dry Prairie Rural

13 Water System shall be the area in the State—

14 (A) north of the Missouri River;

15 (B) south of the border between the

16 United States and Canada;

17 (C) west of the border between the States

18 of North Dakota and Montana; and

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

20 east.

21 (2) FORT PECK INDIAN RESERVATION.—The

22 service area shall not include the area inside the

23 Fort 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

9 the date of submission to Congress of a final engi10 neering report approved by the Secretary; and

11 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

12 that the water conservation plan developed under

13 section 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con14 servation measures for the operation of the Dry

15 Prairie Rural Water System that have been shown

16 to be economically and financially feasible.

17 (f) INTERCONNECTION OF FACILITIES.—

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

19 (A) interconnect the Dry Prairie Rural

20 Water System with the Assiniboine and Sioux

21 Rural Water System; and

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

23 Dry Prairie Rural Water System from the Mis24 souri River through the Assiniboine and Sioux

25 Rural Water System.
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1 (2) CHARGES.—The Secretary shall not charge

2 for the water delivered.

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

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

5 and replacement expenses associated with water de6 liveries from the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

7 System to the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall

8 not be a Federal responsibility and shall be borne by

9 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System.

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

11 obligate or expend any Federal funds for the oper12 ation, maintenance, or replacement of the Dry Prai13 rie Rural Water System.

14 (h) TITLE TO DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYS15 TEM.—Title to the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall

16 be held by Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Incor17 porated.

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

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

20 irrigation and drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Mis21 souri River Basin Program, the Western Area Power Ad22 ministration shall make available the capacity and energy

23 required to meet the pumping, treatment, and incidental

24 operational requirements of the Dry Prairie Rural Water
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1 System and Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System,

2 as described in sections 4 and 5.

3 (b) CONDITIONS.—The capacity and energy described

4 in subsection (a) shall be made available on the following

5 conditions:

6 (1) The Dry Prairie Rural Water System and

7 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water Systems shall be

8 operated on a not-for-profit basis.

9 (2) The Dry Prairie Rural Water System and

10 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System shall

11 contract to purchase their entire electric service re12 quirements, including the capacity and energy made

13 available under subsection (a), from a qualified pref14 erence power supplier that purchases power from the

15 Western Area Power Administration.

16 (3) The rate schedule applicable to the capacity

17 and energy made available under subsection (a) shall

18 be the wholesale firm power rate schedule of the

19 Pick-Sloan Eastern Division of the Western Area

20 Power Administration in effect when the power is

21 delivered by the Administration.

22 (4) It shall be agreed by contract among—

23 (A) the Western Area Power Administra24 tion;
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1 (B) the power supplier with which the

2 water Dry Prairie Rural Water System and As3 siniboine and Sioux Rural Water System con4 tract under paragraph (2);

5 (C) the power supplier of the entity de6 scribed in subparagraph (B);

7 (D) the Dry Prairie Rural Water Associa8 tion, Inc.; and

9 (E) the Fort Peck Tribes;

10 that in the case of the capacity and energy made

11 available under subsection (a), the benefit of the

12 rate schedule described in paragraph (3) shall be

13 passed through to the Dry Prairie Rural Water Sys14 tem and Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System,

15 except that the power supplier of the Dry Prairie

16 Rural Water System and Assiniboine and Sioux

17 Rural Water System shall not be precluded from in18 cluding, in the charges of the supplier to the water

19 system for the electric service, the other usual and

20 customary charges of the supplier.

21 (c) ADDITIONAL POWER.—If power in addition to

22 that made available under subsection (a) is required to

23 meet the pumping requirements of the service area of the

24 Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System described in

25 sections 4 and 5, the Administrator of the Western Area
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1 Power Administration may purchase the necessary addi2 tional power under such terms and conditions as the Ad3 ministrator determines to be appropriate.

4 (d) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—

5 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER

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

7 Rural Water System, expenses associated with power

8 purchases under subsection (a) shall be recovered

9 through a separate power charge, sufficient to cover

10 expenses, applied to the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

11 Water System’s operation and maintenance 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) shall be recovered through a separate

16 power charge, sufficient to cover expenses, to be paid

17 fully by the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association,

18 Inc.

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) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER SYS22 TEM.—There are authorized to be appropriated—

23 (1) over a period of 10 fiscal years,

24 $124,000,000 for the planning, design, and con25 struction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water
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1 System in accordance with subsections (b), (d), and

2 (e) of section 4; and

3 (2) such sums as are necessary for the oper4 ation, maintenance, and replacement of the Assini5 boine and Sioux Rural Water System, including

6 power costs of the Western Area Power Administra7 tion.

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

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

10 years, $51,000,000 for the planning, design, and construc11 tion of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System.

12 (c) COST INDEXING.—The funds authorized to be ap13 propriated may be increased or decreased by such amounts

14 as are justified by reason of ordinary fluctuations in devel15 opment costs incurred after October 1, 1998, as indicated

16 by engineering cost indices applicable for the type of con17 struction involved.

Passed the Senate November 19, 1999.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.