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Union Calendar No. 483

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 624

[Report No. 106–823]

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 27, 2000

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 referred on January 27, 2000]

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 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

2 The purposes of this Act are—

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

4 rural, and industrial water supply for the residents

5 of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in the State of

6 Montana; and

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

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

9 Fort Peck Indian Reservation, in developing safe and

10 adequate municipal, rural, and industrial water sup11 plies.

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

13 In this Act:

14 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER SYS15 TEM.—The term ‘‘Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

16 System’’ means the rural water system within the

17 Fort Peck Indian Reservation authorized by section 4.

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

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

20 rural water system authorized by section 5 in the

21 Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels, and Valley Counties of

22 the State.

23 (3) FORT PECK RESERVATION RURAL WATER

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

25 Water System’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux
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1 Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural

2 Water System.

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

4 Tribes’’ means the Assiniboine and Sioux Indian

5 Tribes within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

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

7 the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program (au8 thorized by section 9 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act au9 thorizing the construction of certain public works on

10 rivers and harbors for flood control, and for other

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

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

13 891)).

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

15 the Secretary of the Interior.

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

17 of Montana.

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

19 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall plan, de20 sign, construct, operate, maintain, and replace a munic21 ipal, rural, and industrial water system, to be known as

22 the ‘‘Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System’’, as gen23 erally described in the report required by subsection (g)(2).

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

25 Water System shall consist of—
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1 (1) pumping and treatment facilities located

2 along the Missouri River within the boundaries of the

3 Fort Peck Indian Reservation;

4 (2) pipelines extending from the water treatment

5 plant throughout the Fort Peck Indian Reservation;

6 (3) distribution and treatment facilities to serve

7 the needs of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,

8 including—

9 (A) public water systems in existence on the

10 date of enactment of this Act that may be pur11 chased, improved, and repaired in accordance

12 with the cooperative agreement entered into

13 under subsection (c); and

14 (B) water systems owned by individual

15 tribal members and other residents of the Fort

16 Peck Indian Reservation;

17 (4) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

18 (5) all property and property rights necessary

19 for the facilities described in this subsection;

20 (6) electrical power transmission and distribu21 tion facilities necessary for services to Fort Peck Res22 ervation Rural Water System facilities; and

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

24 facilities as the Secretary determines to be appro25 priate to meet the water supply, economic, public
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1 health, and environmental needs of the Fort Peck In2 dian Reservation, including water storage tanks,

3 water lines, and other facilities for the Fort Peck

4 Tribes and the villages, towns, and municipalities in

5 the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

6 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

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

8 a cooperative agreement with the Fort Peck Tribal

9 Executive Board for planning, designing, con10 structing, operating, maintaining, and replacing the

11 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System.

12 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

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

14 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and the

15 Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board—

16 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

17 agreement for—

18 (i) needs assessment, feasibility, and

19 environmental studies;

20 (ii) engineering and design;

21 (iii) construction;

22 (iv) water conservation measures; and

23 (v) administration of contracts relat24 ing to performance of the activities de25 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);
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1 (B) the procedures and requirements for ap2 proval and acceptance of the design and con3 struction and for carrying out other activities

4 described in subparagraph (A); and

5 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil6 ities of each party to the agreement.

7 (3) OPTIONAL PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

8 agreement under paragraph (1) may include provi9 sions relating to the purchase, improvement, and re10 pair of water systems in existence on the date of en11 actment of this Act, including systems owned by indi12 vidual tribal members and other residents of the Fort

13 Peck Indian Reservation.

14 (4) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may termi15 nate a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1) if

16 the Secretary determines that—

17 (A) the quality of construction does not

18 meet all standards established for similar facili19 ties constructed by the Secretary; or

20 (B) the operation and maintenance of the

21 Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System does

22 not meet conditions acceptable to the Secretary

23 that are adequate to fulfill the obligations of the

24 United States to the Fort Peck Tribes.
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1 (5) TRANSFER.—On execution of a cooperative

2 agreement under paragraph (1), in accordance with

3 the cooperative agreement, the Secretary may transfer

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

5 funds made available for the Assiniboine and Sioux

6 Rural Water System under section 9.

7 (d) SERVICE AREA.—The service area of the Assini8 boine and Sioux Rural Water System shall be the area

9 within the boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

10 (e) CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.—The components

11 of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System shall be

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

13 the municipal, rural, and industrial water supply require14 ments of the service area of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural

15 Water System.

16 (f) TITLE TO ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER

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

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

19 Fort Peck Tribes and shall not be transferred unless a trans20 fer is authorized by an Act of Congress enacted after the

21 date of enactment of this Act.

22 (g) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION

23 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for con24 struction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

25 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 the

6 date of submission to Congress of a final engineering

7 report approved by the Secretary; and

8 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

9 that the water conservation plan developed under sec10 tion 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 train19 ing.

20 (i) APPLICATION OF INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION

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

23 Water System within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation

24 shall be subject to the Indian Self-Determination and Edu25 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).
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1 (j) COST SHARING.—

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

3 cost of construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux

4 Rural Water System shall be 100 percent, and shall

5 be funded through annual appropriations to the Bu6 reau of Reclamation.

7 (2) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—The Fed8 eral share of the cost of operation and maintenance

9 of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System

10 shall be 100 percent, and shall be funded through an11 nual appropriations to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

12 SEC. 5. DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

13 (a) PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION.—

14 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall enter

15 into a cooperative agreement with Dry Prairie Rural

16 Water Association Incorporated (or any successor

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

18 planning, design, and construction of the Dry Prairie

19 Rural Water System in Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels,

20 and Valley Counties, Montana, outside the Fort Peck

21 Indian Reservation.

22 (2) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—

23 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share

24 of the cost of planning, design, and construction

25 of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall be
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1 not more than 76 percent, and shall be funded

2 with amounts appropriated from the reclamation

3 fund. Such amounts shall not be returnable or

4 reimbursable under the Federal reclamation

5 laws.

6 (B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Federal

7 funds made available to carry out this section

8 may be obligated and expended only through a

9 cooperative agreement entered into under sub10 section (c).

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

12 Rural Water System facilities on which Federal funds may

13 be obligated and expended under this section shall include—

14 (1) storage, pumping, interconnection, and pipe15 line facilities;

16 (2) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

17 (3) all property and property rights necessary

18 for the facilities described in this subsection;

19 (4) electrical power transmission and distribu20 tion facilities necessary for service to Dry Prairie

21 Rural Water System facilities; and

22 (5) other facilities customary to the development

23 of rural water distribution systems in the State, in24 cluding supplemental water intake, pumping, and

25 treatment facilities.
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1 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, with the con3 currence of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

4 System Board, shall enter into a cooperative agree5 ment with Dry Prairie Rural Water Association In6 corporated to provide Federal assistance for the plan7 ning, design, and construction of the Dry Prairie

8 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 Dry

12 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated—

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 ap24 proval 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 (d) SERVICE AREA.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the service area of the Dry Prairie Rural

8 Water System shall be the area in the State—

9 (A) north of the Missouri River;

10 (B) south of the border between the United

11 States and Canada;

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

13 North Dakota and Montana; and

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

15 (2) FORT PECK INDIAN RESERVATION.—The serv16 ice area shall not include the area inside the Fort

17 Peck Indian Reservation.

18 (e) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION

19 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for con20 struction of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System until—

21 (1) the requirements of the National Environ22 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

23 are met with respect to the Dry Prairie Rural Water

24 System;
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1 (2) on or after the date that is 90 days after the

2 date of submission to Congress of a final engineering

3 report approved by the Secretary; and

4 (3) the Secretary publishes a written finding

5 that the water conservation plan developed under sec6 tion 7 includes prudent and reasonable water con7 servation measures for the operation of the Dry Prai8 rie Rural Water System that have been shown to be

9 economically and financially feasible.

10 (f) INTERCONNECTION OF FACILITIES.—The Secretary

11 shall—

12 (1) interconnect the Dry Prairie Rural Water

13 System with the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

14 System; and

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

16 Prairie Rural Water System from the Missouri River

17 through the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water Sys18 tem.

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

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

21 and replacement expenses associated with water deliv22 eries from the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water

23 System to the Dry Prairie Rural Water System shall

24 not be a Federal responsibility and shall be borne by

25 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System.
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1 (2) FEDERAL FUNDS.—The Secretary may not

2 obligate or expend any Federal funds for the oper3 ation, maintenance, or replacement of the Dry Prai4 rie Rural Water System.

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

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

7 by Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Incorporated.

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

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

10 irrigation and drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Mis11 souri Basin program, the Western Area Power Administra12 tion shall make available, at the firm power rate, the capac13 ity and energy required to meet the pumping and inci14 dental operational requirements of the Fort Peck Reserva15 tion Rural Water System.

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

17 For as long as the Fort Peck Reservation rural water sup18 ply system operates on a not-for-profit basis, the portions

19 of the water supply project constructed with assistance

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

21 the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin program established by sec22 tion 9 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (chapter 665; 58

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

24 1944.

25 (c) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—
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1 (1) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER SYS2 TEM.—In the case of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural

3 Water System, the Western Area Power Administra4 tion shall recover expenses associated with power pur5 chases under subsection (a) through a separate power

6 charge sufficient to cover such expenses. Such charge

7 shall be paid fully through the annual appropriations

8 to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

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

10 case of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System, the

11 Western Area Power Administration shall recover ex12 penses associated with power purchases under sub13 section (a) through a separate power charge sufficient

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

15 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System.

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

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

18 pumping requirements of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural

19 Water System, the Administrator of the Western Area

20 Power Administration may purchase the necessary addi21 tional power at the best available rate. The costs of such

22 purchases shall be reimbursed to the Administrator accord23 ing to the terms identified in subsection (c).
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1 SEC. 7. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.

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

3 Prairie Rural Water Association Incorporated shall develop

4 a water conservation plan containing—

5 (1) a description of water conservation objectives;

6 (2) a description of appropriate water conserva7 tion measures; and

8 (3) a time schedule for implementing the meas9 ures and this Act to meet the water conservation ob10 jectives.

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

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

13 from the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System and

14 the Dry Prairie Rural Water System will use the best prac15 ticable technology and management techniques to conserve

16 water.

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

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

19 apply to an activity authorized under this Act.

20 SEC. 8. WATER RIGHTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act does not—

22 (1) impair the validity of or preempt any provi23 sion of State water law or any interstate compact

24 governing water;

25 (2) alter the right of any State to any appro26 priated share of the water of any body of surface or
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1 ground water, whether determined by any past or fu2 ture interstate compact or by any past or future legis3 lative or final judicial allocation;

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

5 or interstate compact concerning water quality or dis6 posal;

7 (4) confer on any non-Federal entity the author8 ity to exercise any Federal right to the water of any

9 stream or to any ground water resource;

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

11 water, located within or outside the external bound12 aries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, based on

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

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

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

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

17 (6) validate or invalidate any assertion of the

18 existence, nonexistence, or extinguishment of any

19 water right held or Indian water compact entered

20 into by the Fort Peck Tribes or by any other Indian

21 tribe or individual Indian under Federal or State

22 law.

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

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

25 offset any claims for money damages against the United
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1 States by the Fort Peck Tribes, existing on the date of the

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

3 compact, executive order, agreement, Act of Congress, ab4 original title, the decision in Winters v. United States, 207

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

6 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 (a) ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX RURAL WATER SYS8 TEM.—There are authorized to be appropriated—

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

10 of 10 fiscal years, $124,000,000 for the planning, de11 sign, and construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux

12 Rural Water System; and

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

14 are necessary for the operation and maintenance of

15 the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System.

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

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

18 years, $51,000,000 for the planning, design, and construc19 tion of the Dry Prairie Rural Water System.

20 (c) COST INDEXING.—The funds authorized to be ap21 propriated may be increased or decreased by such amounts

22 as are justified by reason of ordinary fluctuations in devel23 opment costs incurred after October 1, 1998, as indicated

24 by engineering cost indices applicable for the type of con25 struction involved.

Union Calendar No. 483

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 624

[Report No. 106–823]

AN ACT

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 House on the State of the Union,

and ordered to be printed