II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1373

To amend the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to reform irrigation assistance

repayments and to require the Secretary of the Interior to redetermine

the ability of irrigators to repay construction charges at least every

5 years.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 5 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993

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

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to reform

irrigation assistance repayments and to require the Secretary of the Interior to redetermine the ability of

irrigators to repay construction charges at least every

5 years.

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 ‘‘Irrigation Assistance

5 Repayment Reform Act’’.
2

•S 1373 IS

1 SEC. 2. IRRIGATION ASSISTANCE REPAYMENT REFORM.

2 Section 9 of the Act of August 4, 1939 (known as

3 the Reclamation Project Act of 1939) (53 Stat. 1993;

4 chapter 418; 43 U.S.C. 485h), is amended by adding at

5 the end the following new subsection:

6 ‘‘(g)(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) and not7 withstanding any other provision of law, any costs of con8 struction that meet the requirements of paragraph (2)

9 shall be repaid not later than 40 years after the date on

10 which irrigation service begins for such irrigation project,

11 division, or development unit, upon terms no less favorable

12 to the Federal Government than payment in equal annual

13 installments.

14 ‘‘(2) This subsection shall apply to costs of construc15 tion incurred after September 30, 1992, that—

16 ‘‘(A) are allocated to irrigation;

17 ‘‘(B) are beyond the ability of the water user to

18 repay; and

19 ‘‘(C) may be repaid by revenues from power

20 marketed by the Western Area Power Administra21 tion.

22 ‘‘(3) An increase in wholesale power rates, if any,

23 charged as a result of the operation of paragraph (1) may

24 not exceed one mil per kilowatt-hour per year.’’.
3

•S 1373 IS

1 SEC. 3. DETERMINATIONS OF ABILITY TO PAY.

2 Section 9 of the Act of August 4, 1939 (known as

3 the Reclamation Project Act of 1939) (53 Stat. 1993;

4 chapter 418; 43 U.S.C. 485h) is further amended by add5 ing at the end the following new subsection:

6 ‘‘(h)(1) Except where expressly precluded by con7 tract, the Secretary shall make a determination of the abil8 ity of an irrigator to pay construction charges allocated

9 to irrigation no less frequently than every 5 years, and

10 shall adjust the amount of the charges to be recovered

11 from the irrigator accordingly.

12 ‘‘(2) Each new or renewed contract entered into by

13 the Secretary after the date of enactment of this sub14 section shall provide for the recomputation of the ability

15 of an irrigator to pay, pursuant to the provisions of para16 graph (1), and the repayment of any unpaid additional

17 charges resulting from prior adjustments.

18 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the

19 Secretary from recovering full cost where such recovery

20 is otherwise authorized under the reclamation laws.’’.

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