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[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1230 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1230

  To amend the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 to provide for 
    Federal cooperation in non-Federal reclamation projects and for 
       participation by non-Federal agencies in Federal projects.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 26, 1997

   Mr. Craig introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To amend the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 to provide for 
    Federal cooperation in non-Federal reclamation projects and for 
       participation by non-Federal agencies in Federal projects.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Reclamation Water Resources 
Project Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF SMALL RECLAMATION PROJECTS ACT OF 1956.

    (a) The first section of the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 
(70 Stat. 1044; 43 U.S.C. 422a) is amended by striking ``under the'' 
and inserting ``under this Act and other'' and by adding the following 
at the end thereof: ``Such projects may include, but shall not be 
limited to, irrigation projects. Irrigation shall not be a required 
purpose for projects receiving assistance under this Act.''.
    (b) Section 2 of the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 (70 
Stat. 1044; 43 U.S.C. 422b) is amended as follows:
            (1) By amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
    ``(d) The term `project' means a project carried out by a non-
Federal organization under the Federal reclamation laws in 1 or more of 
the 17 western reclamation States that is one of the following:
            ``(1) A single or multipurpose water resource development 
        project carried out by a non-Federal organization involving 
        water conservation, energy conservation, fish and wildlife 
        conservation, protection, or enhancement, public safety, public 
        outdoor recreation, environmental education, archaeological 
        surveys, integrated resource planning, watershed management, 
        water quality improvements, rural water supply, augmentation 
        and management of local water supplies, supplemental water for 
        existing supplies, technology transfer, groundwater management 
        or research, nonstructural flood control activities, or total 
        water resources management.
            ``(2) A project for the rehabilitation, betterment, or 
        retrofit of any existing Federal or non-Federal water 
        infrastructure for purposes of--
                    ``(A) significant preservation, protection, 
                enhancement, or extension of water or energy resources, 
                or
                    ``(B) those operational measures, habitat, or 
                physical features associated with the protection, 
                preservation, enhancement, or recovery of those fish 
                and wildlife resources that are considered of 
                importance and interest and which shall include, but 
                not be limited to, migratory species, threatened or 
                endangered species as listed, or proposed for listing, 
                under the Endangered species Act, or other species, as 
                determined by the Secretary, to be worthy of 
                consideration under these terms.''.
            (2) By adding the following at the end thereof:
    ``(g) The term `water quality improvements' shall mean and involve 
those operational measures and physical features associated with--
            ``(1) the reclamation and reuse of irrigation drainage or 
        municipal and industrial return flows, including wastewater 
        flows;
            ``(2) the reclamation, dilution, or control, of brackish, 
        toxic, or hazardous waters for beneficial reuse or protection 
        of other related water, land, or environmental resources; or
            ``(3) flow augmentation from storage to achieve national or 
        State water quality goals.''.
    (c) Sections 3 through 8 of such Act are amended to read as 
follows:

    ``TITLE I--STATE AND LOCAL PARTICIPATION IN RECLAMATION PROJECTS

    ``Sec. 101. There is hereby established under this title a program 
within the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior 
pursuant to which the Secretary of the Interior may make grants and 
loans to organizations to carry out projects as defined in section 
2(d).
    ``Sec. 102. (a) Any organization seeking assistance under this 
title shall submit a proposal to the Secretary in such form and manner 
as the Secretary may prescribe. Any proposal for a project submitted 
under this title shall set forth a plan and estimated cost in detail 
comparable to those included in preauthorization reports required for a 
Federal reclamation project.
    ``(b) Each proposal submitted under this title shall include a 
showing that the project sponsor holds or can acquire all lands and 
interests in land (except public and other lands and interest in land 
owned by the United States which are within the administrative 
jurisdiction of the Secretary and subject to disposition by the 
Secretary) and rights, pursuant to applicable State law, to the use of 
water necessary for the successful construction, operation, and 
maintenance of the project and that it is ready, able, and willing to 
finance otherwise than by loan and grant of Federal funds the non-
Federal portion of the costs of the project (which portion shall 
include all costs of acquiring lands, interests in land, and rights to 
the use of water except as provided in section 103(b)(2).
    ``(c) The Secretary shall require each organization to contribute 
toward the cost of the project (other than by loan or grant of Federal 
funds) not less than 25 percent nor more than 40 percent of the 
allowable estimated costs of the project. In determining the amount of 
such non-Federal contribution for the proposed project, the Secretary 
shall credit toward that amount--
            ``(1) the cost of investigations, surveys, engineering, and 
        other services necessary to the preparation of proposals and 
        plans for the proposed project as required by the Secretary;
            ``(2) the costs of lands and rights-of-way acquisition 
        required of the proposed project;
            ``(3) amounts spent by the organization for construction or 
        acquisition of facilities for the proposed project prior to 
        project approval; and
            ``(4) the filing fee required by this Act. Such proposal 
        shall also include an investigation of soil characteristics 
        which might result in toxic or hazardous return flows. The 
        costs of measures to prevent loss of and damage to existing 
        fish and wildlife resources shall be considered as non-Federal 
        project costs and allocated as may be appropriate among project 
        functions. The maximum allowable Federal share per project 
        shall be $30,000,000 plus or minus an adjustment of such amount 
        as may be determined by the Secretary using the Bureau of 
        Reclamation composite construction cost index for January of 
        the year concerned.
    ``(d) Not later than one year after the time the initial project 
proposal is submitted to the Secretary, the Secretary shall make a 
determination whether the proposal is financially feasible and 
constitutes a reasonable risk under the provisions of this title and 
either approve or disapprove the proposal. The Secretary shall promptly 
transmit any approved proposals to the Congress. Any National 
Environmental Policy Act documentation for the project shall be 
completed prior to Secretarial transmittal of the proposal to the 
Congress.
    ``(e) At any time prior to the completion of construction of the 
project, the Secretary may increase the amount of the requested loan or 
grant, or both, subject to the limitations allowed by subsection (c), 
using the Bureau of Reclamation composite construction cost index to 
compensate for increases in construction costs due to price escalation.
    ``Sec. 103. (a) Upon approval of any project proposal submitted 
under this title, the Secretary shall negotiate a contract which shall 
set out the maximum amount of any loan to be made to the organization 
and the time and method of making the same available to the 
organization or the maximum amount of any grant to be accorded the 
organization.
    ``(b) A grant under this title shall not exceed the sum of the 
following:
            ``(1) The costs of investigations, surveys, and engineering 
        and other services necessary to the preparation of proposals 
        and plans for the project allocable to fish and wildlife 
        enhancement or public recreation.
            ``(2) One-half the costs of acquiring lands or interests 
        therein to serve exclusively the purposes of fish and wildlife 
        enhancement or public recreation, plus the costs of acquiring 
        joint use lands and interests therein properly allocable to 
        fish and wildlife enhancement and public recreation.
            ``(3) One-half the costs of basic public outdoor recreation 
        facilities or facilities serving fish and wildlfie enhancement 
        purposes exclusively.
            ``(4) One-half the costs of construction of joint use 
        facilities properly allocable to fish and wildlife enhancement 
        or public recreation.
            ``(5) That portion of the estimated cost of constructing 
        the project which, if it were constructed as a Federal 
        reclamation project, would be properly allocable to functions, 
        other than recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement and 
        flood control, which are nonreimbursable under general 
        provisions of law applicable to such projects.
            ``(6) That portion of the estimated cost of constructing 
        the project which is allocable to flood control and which would 
        be nonreimbursable under general provisions of law applicable 
        to projects constructed by the Secretary of the Army.
    ``(c) The contract for each loan under this title shall contain 
such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems necessary or proper to 
provide assurance of and security for prompt repayment and to ensure 
achievement of the purposes for which the loan was made. The contract 
shall include a plan for repayment by the organization within not less 
than 15 years nor more than 25 years, except that the organization 
shall have the right to repay the loan without penalty. The contract 
for each loan under this title shall require repayment of the principal 
of each loan, together with interest on those features required to bear 
interest under Federal Reclamation laws at a rate determined by the 
Secretary of the Treasury as of the beginning of the fiscal year in 
which the contract is executed on the basis of the average market 
yields on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States with 
remaining periods to maturity comparable to the applicable repayment 
period of the project. The Secretary, at his discretion, may reduce the 
interest on any loan under this title to not less than one-half the 
average market rate as so determined, or to the extent that he 
determines that the organization is unable to secure financing from 
other sources under reasonable terms and conditions, and shall include 
letters from lenders or other written evidence in support of any 
finding of an applicant's inability to secure such financing in any 
project proposal transmitted to the Congress.

                    ``TITLE II--PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

    ``Sec. 201. There is hereby established within the Department of 
the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation the Small Reclamation Water 
Resources Management Partnership Program for a small grant and loan 
program to be carried out under this title. Grants under this title 
shall not exceed $5,000,000 for any one project under such program and 
shall be matched on a 50-50 basis. Loans under this title shall not 
exceed $1,500,000 per project. The Secretary is authorized to use up to 
$50,000,000 of the amounts available under this Act for the purposes of 
this title.
    ``Sec. 202. Once work is certified complete by the Secretary, each 
loan made under this title shall be repaid within a 5-year period and 
deposited in a revolving loan fund that shall be established in the 
Department of the Treasury. Money from the repayment of the loans shall 
be available from the revolving loan program fund without further 
appropriation to carry out the purposes of this title.
    ``Sec. 203. (a) The following types of activities shall be eligible 
for grants or loans under this title:
            ``(1) Water conservation.--
                    ``(A) Rehabilitation of existing structures;
                    ``(B) wastewater reuse systems;
                    ``(C) groundwater recharge and development systems;
                    ``(D) watershed management programs;
                    ``(E) water quality improvement projects;
                    ``(F) conjunctive use projects;
                    ``(G) metering of systems; and
                    ``(H) public environmental education.
            ``(2) Fish and wildlife enhancement.--
                    ``(A) Fish and wildlife habitat improvement and 
                protection programs;
                    ``(B) grassland/water/wetland areas;
                    ``(C) stabilization of instream flows; and
                    ``(D) Federal or State endangered species habitat 
                protection and enhancement where improvement or 
                enhancement activities are within normal operating 
                criteria.
            ``(3) Public safety.--
                    ``(A) Downstream warning system projects;
                    ``(B) canal fencing or canal modification for 
                public safety; and
                    ``(C) public access facilities.
            ``(4) Public outdoor recreation.--
                    ``(A) Replacement, repair, or improvement of boat 
                ramps, hiking and biking trails, benches, picnic areas, 
                parking facilities associated with Federal reclamation 
                projects; and
                    ``(B) addition of public access facilities.
            ``(5) Archeological surveys.--Site clearances.
    ``(b) The Secretary may add to the list referred to in subsection 
(a) as he deems appropriate, except that any such addition shall not 
take effect until 60 days after the Secretary publishes a notice of the 
proposed addition in the Federal Register and has notified the 
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate 
in writing of the proposed addition and the reasons therefor.
    ``Sec. 204. (a) Each applicant for a grant or loan under this title 
shall submit a Notice of Intent to the Secretary outlining the proposed 
project and the public benefits thereof. The Secretary shall provide a 
written response to the applicant within 30 days of receiving the 
application either affirming or rejecting Bureau of Reclamation 
interest in participating in the project. Upon notification of Bureau 
of Reclamation interest, the applicant shall submit a project proposal 
for an appropriate loan or grant giving details of the project and the 
associated public benefits. The contents of any policy proposal under 
this title shall include, but need not be limited to, each of the 
following:
            ``(1) A resolution by the board of directors of the 
        qualifying organization stating--
                    ``(A) the total estimated cost;
                    ``(B) the amount of the grant or loan requested;
                    ``(C) the amount of the local contribution for the 
                grant;
                    ``(D) the sponsor's ability to finance and 
                construct the project; and
                    ``(E) the project objectives.
            ``(2) A summary of the proposal.
            ``(3) A brief description of the anticipated effects of the 
        project on the natural, as well as manmade environment.
            ``(4) Evidence that the applicant has all lands and water 
        rights needed for the project, or can obtain them.
            ``(5) A description of the project plan, including a 
        general map showing the location of proposed physical features, 
        sufficient engineering drawings of major and typical 
        structures, and general standards for design.
            ``(6) A construction schedule, if applicable, with dates 
        and schedule of funding requirements under this title, in 
        sufficient detail to permit analysis of the proposed 
        construction program.
            ``(7) A determination of those portions of the project 
        costs which constitute the Federal grant/loan amounts and the 
        applicant's local contribution.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall examine the proposal submitted under this 
title to determine if the project can reasonably be expected to 
accomplish its purpose. Once approved by the Secretary, funding, 
subject to the availability of appropriations or funds from repayments, 
shall be provided within 60 days for the schedule of work within that 
fiscal year. The cost of any investigations and preparation of any 
environmental documentation shall be borne by the project applicant and 
any such costs shall be credited as part of the local cost share for 
grant funding. The Secretary shall publish on a quarterly basis in the 
Federal Register a listing of the activities and total funding required 
for work committed under this title.

                      ``TITLE III--LOAN GUARANTEES

    ``Sec. 301. There is hereby established within the Department of 
the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation a demonstration program under this 
title to guarantee loans for projects receiving, or eligible to 
receive, loans or grants under title I or II of this Act.
    ``Sec. 302. (a) The Secretary may provide support under the 
demonstration program to organizations through the provision of loan 
guarantees to such programmatic needs as authorized under titles I and 
II of this Act under such terms and conditions specified in this 
section and under applicable laws. Any proposal for a project submitted 
under this title shall set forth a plan and estimated cost in detail 
comparable to those included in preauthorization reports required for a 
Federal reclamation project.
    ``(b) The Secretary is authorized to use up to 10 percent of the 
amounts available under this Act for the loan guarantee demonstration 
program under this title over the 6 fiscal years commencing after the 
enactment of this title.
    ``(c) The Secretary shall use competitive procedures in the 
selection of entities to receive loan guarantees under this section. 
The criteria used for the selection of the entities to receive the loan 
guarantee under this section shall include, at a minimum, the 
following:
            ``(1) The extent to which the loan guarantees would support 
        new water supplies or more efficient use of existing supplies.
            ``(2) The extent to which the loan guarantees are necessary 
        as a result of no other financing mechanism being available to 
        the requesting entity.
            ``(3) The extent to which the loan guarantee can be repaid 
        in the shortest period possible.
            ``(4) The extent to which the loan guarantee would provide 
        for a project of wide public purpose.
            ``(5) The extent to which the loan guarantee would 
        alleviate a problem with a Federal or State environmental 
        statute or mandate.
            ``(6) The ability of the program to assist other local 
        water purveyors.
            ``(7) The extent to which the program would supplement, 
        rather than duplicate, other available water resource programs.
            ``(8) The likelihood that, within 10 years after the 
        commencement of assistance for a program under this section 
        that assistance from the Bureau of Reclamation will not be 
        necessary to sustain the program.
            ``(9) The extent to which the annual use of loan guarantee 
        ceiling authority has not created an undue fiscal burden on the 
        reclamation program.
    ``(d) The total amount available for request by the Administration 
for a fiscal year to cover the costs of loan guarantees under this 
section shall be divided between projects receiving or eligible to 
receive loans under titles I and II with title I projects receiving 75 
percent and title II projects receiving 25 percent. The maximum 
allowable guarantee percentage for loans guaranteed under this section 
may not exceed 75 percent of the total project cost: Provided, That, as 
the project sponsor repays such guaranteed loan, the ceiling authority 
used under this section for such guarantee shall revert back to the 10 
percent ceiling authorized under this section to serve as the basis for 
future loan guarantees. Applicable report and document requirements 
authorized under amendments contained in titles I and II shall 
similarly apply to loan guarantee projects. For purposes of this Act, 
any bonds issued under this section by an entity receiving loan 
guarantees under this section shall be considered federally guaranteed 
tax-exempt bonds under applicable State law.
    ``(e) Full Faith and Credit.--Any loan guarantee issued pursuant to 
this section shall constitute an obligation, in accordance with the 
terms of such guarantee, of the United States Government, and the full 
faith and credit of the United States is hereby pledged to the full 
performance of the obligations.
    ``(f) Report.--At the end of the third fiscal year after the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress 
on the beneficial use and suggested improvements associated with the 
use of loan guarantees as a mechanism for project construction.

                     ``TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS

    ``Sec. 401. Each proposal for a loan, grant, or loan guarantee 
under this Act shall be accompanied by a payment of $5,000 plus $1,000 
for each $1,000,000 of the estimated Federal share of project costs, or 
portion thereof to defray in part the costs of examining the proposal. 
Fifty percent of the payment shall accompany the application and the 
remaining 50 percent shall be due upon approval of the project by the 
Secretary, if approved.
    ``Sec. 402. Title of all project works and facilities constructed 
with assistance under this Act shall remain in the name of the 
organization. Nothing contained in this Act shall preclude the making 
of more than one loan or grant or guarantee, or any combination 
thereof, to an organization so long as no two such loans or grants or 
guarantees, or combinations thereof, are for the same project, as 
herein defined. In providing assistance under this Act, the Secretary 
shall give priority to approved proposals which are related to 
presently authorized Reclamation projects that will benefit from the 
work carried out under the proposal. The recipient of each loan, grant, 
or loan guarantee under this Act shall be solely responsible for 
planning, constructing, operating, and maintaining any project 
receiving a loan or grant under this title.
    ``Sec. 403. Upon request of an organization which has made or 
intends to make a proposal under this Act, the head of any Federal 
department or agency may make available to the organization any 
existing engineering, economic, hydrologic, or other appropriate 
information and printed material that it may have and that will be 
useful in connection with the planning, design, construction, or 
operation and maintenance of the project concerned. The reasonable cost 
of any plans, specifications, and other unpublished material furnished 
by the Secretary pursuant to this section and the cost of making and 
administering any provision under this Act shall, to the extent that 
they would not be nonreimbursable in the case of a project constructed 
under the Federal Reclamation Laws, be treated as a loan and covered in 
the provisions of the contract entered into under title I unless they 
are otherwise paid for by the organization.
    ``Sec. 404. For those projects where the planning and construction 
of projects undertaken pursuant to this Act is subject to the 
provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the cost of such 
provisions shall be a Federal expense and the Secretary is authorized, 
as may be provided in Appropriation Acts, to transfer to the Fish and 
Wildlife Service or to the National Marine Fisheries Service, such 
funds as may be necessary to conduct the investigations required to 
carry out the purposes of this Act, except that the Secretary may not 
use any funds appropriated for the purposes of projects or programs 
under the Bureau of Reclamation. No grant, loan, guarantee, or other 
assistance provided under this Act shall be considered to be a new or 
supplemental benefit under Reclamation law.''.
    Sec. 3. (a) Sections 9 through 13 of such Act are redesignated as 
sections 405 through 499 respectively.
    (b) Section 406 of such Act, as redesignated by paragraph (1) of 
this subsection, is amended by striking ``section 3'' and inserting 
``title I''.
    (c) Section 402 of such Act, as redesignated by paragraph (1) of 
this subsection, is amended by striking ``section 4(c)'' and inserting 
``title I''.
    (d) Within 120 days after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of the Interior shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary 
to carry out the amendments made by this Act.
    (e) The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date 
of the enactment of this Act. Nothing in this Act or in any amendment 
made by this Act shall affect any loan or grant that has been approved 
before the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>
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