II

Calendar No. 621

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2117

To authorize the construction of the Perkins County Rural Water System

and authorize financial assistance to the Perkins County Rural Water

System, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, in the planning and construction

of the water supply system, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 22, 1998

Mr. JOHNSON (for himself and Mr. DASCHLE) introduced the following bill;

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

SEPTEMBER 25, 1998

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the printed in italic]

A BILL

To authorize the construction of the Perkins County Rural

Water System and authorize financial assistance to the

Perkins County Rural Water System, Inc., a nonprofit

corporation, in the planning and construction of the

water supply system, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Perkins County Rural

3 Water System Act of 1997’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) there are insufficient water supplies of rea7 sonable quality available to the members of the Per8 kins County Rural Water System located in Perkins

9 County, South Dakota, and the water supplies that

10 are available do not meet minimum health and safe11 ty standards, thereby posing a threat to public

12 health and safety;

13 (2) in 1977, the North Dakota State Legisla14 ture authorized and directed the State Water Com15 mission to conduct the Southwest Area Water Sup16 ply Study, which included water service to a portion

17 of Perkins County, South Dakota;

18 (3) amendments made by the Garrison Diver19 sion Unit Reformulation Act of 1986 (Public Law

20 101–294) authorized the Southwest Pipeline project

21 as an eligible project for Federal cost share partici22 pation;

23 (4) the Perkins County Rural Water System

24 has continued to be recognized by the State of North

25 Dakota, the Southwest Water Authority, the North

26 Dakota Water Commission, the Department of the
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1 Interior, and Congress as a component of the South2 west Pipeline Project; and

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

4 and municipal water supply to serve the needs of the

5 Perkins County Rural Water System, Inc., members

6 is the waters of the Missouri River as delivered by

7 the Southwest Pipeline Project in North Dakota.

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

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

10 rural, and industrial water supply for the members

11 of the Perkins County Rural Water Supply System,

12 Inc., in Perkins County, South Dakota;

13 (2) to assist the members of the Perkins Coun14 ty Rural Water Supply System, Inc., in developing

15 safe and adequate municipal, rural, and industrial

16 water supplies; and

17 (3) to promote the implementation of water

18 conservation programs by the Perkins County Rural

19 Water System, Inc.

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

21 In this Act:

22 (1) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The term ‘‘feasibility

23 study’’ means the study entitled ‘‘Feasibility Study

24 for Rural Water System for Perkins County Rural

25 Water System, Inc.’’, as amended in March 1995.
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1 (2) PROJECT CONSTRUCTION BUDGET.—The

2 term ‘‘project construction budget’’ means the de3 scription of the total amount of funds that are need4 ed for the construction of the water supply system,

5 as described in the feasibility study.

6 (3) PUMPING AND INCIDENTAL OPERATIONAL

7 REQUIREMENTS.—The term ‘‘pumping and inciden8 tal operational requirements’’ means all power re9 quirements that are incidental to the operation of in10 take facilities, pumping stations, water treatment fa11 cilities, cooling facilities, reservoirs, and pipelines to

12 the point of delivery of water by the Perkins County

13 Rural Water System to each entity that distributes

14 water at retail to individual users.

15 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

16 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the

17 Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.

18 (5) WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘water

19 supply system’’ means the Perkins County Rural

20 Water System, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, estab21 lished and operated substantially in accordance with

22 the feasibility study.
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1 SEC. 4. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR WATER SUPPLY SYS2 TEM.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants

4 to the water supply system for the Federal share of the

5 costs of—

6 (1) the planning and construction of the water

7 supply system; and

8 (2) repairs to existing public water distribution

9 systems to ensure conservation of the resources and

10 to make the systems functional under the new water

11 supply system.

12 (b) SERVICE AREA.—The water supply system shall

13 provide for safe and adequate municipal, rural, and indus14 trial water supplies, mitigation of wetlands areas, repairs

15 to existing public water distribution systems, and water

16 conservation in Perkins County, South Dakota.

17 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—Grants made available

18 under subsection (a) to the water supply system shall not

19 exceed the Federal share under section 10.

20 (d) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUC21 TION FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for

22 the construction of the water supply system until—

23 (1) the requirements of the National Environ24 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

25 are met with respect to the water supply system;

26 system; and
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1 (2) a final engineering report has been prepared

2 and submitted to Congress for a period of not less

3 than 90 days before the commencement of construc4 tion of the system; and system.

5 (3) the water supply system has developed and

6 implemented a water conservation program.

7 SEC. 5. WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

8 (a) PURPOSE.—The water conservation program

9 under section 4(d)(3) shall be designed to ensure that

10 users of water from the water supply system will use the

11 best practicable technology and management techniques to

12 conserve water use.

13 (b) DESCRIPTION.—The water conservation program

14 shall include—

15 (1) low consumption performance standards for

16 all newly installed plumbing fixtures;

17 (2) leak detection and repair programs;

18 (3) rate structures that do not include declining

19 block rate schedules for municipal households or spe20 cial water users (as defined in the feasibility study);

21 (4) public education programs;

22 (5) coordinated operation and maintenance (in23 cluding necessary repairs to ensure minimal water

24 losses) by and between the water supply system and

25 any member of the system that is a preexisting
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1 water supply facility within the service area of the

2 system; and

3 (6) coordinated operation between the South4 west Pipeline Project of North Dakota and the Per5 kins County Rural Water System, Inc., of South Da6 kota.

7 (c) REVIEW AND REVISION.—The program described

8 in subsection (b) shall contain provisions for periodic re9 view and revision, in cooperation with the Secretary.

10 SEC. 6. 5. MITIGATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE LOSSES.

11 Mitigation of fish and wildlife losses incurred as a

12 result of the construction and operation of the water sup13 ply system shall be on an acre-for-acre basis, based on eco14 logical equivalency, concurrent with project construction,

15 as provided in the feasibility study.

16 SEC. 7. 6. USE OF PICK-SLOAN POWER.

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

18 irrigation and drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Mis19 souri River Basin Program, the Western Area Power Ad20 ministration shall make available the capacity and energy

21 required to meet the pumping and incidental operational

22 requirements of the water supply system during the period

23 beginning May 1 and ending October 31 of each year.
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1 (b) CONDITIONS.—The capacity and energy described

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

3 conditions:

4 (1) The water supply system shall be operated

5 on a not-for-profit basis.

6 (2) The water supply system shall contract to

7 purchase its entire electric service requirements, in8 cluding the capacity and energy made available

9 under subsection (a), from a qualified preference

10 power supplier that itself purchases power from the

11 Western Area Power Administration.

12 (3) The rate schedule applicable to the capacity

13 and energy made available under subsection (a) shall

14 be the firm power rate schedule of the Pick-Sloan

15 Eastern Division of the Western Area Power Admin16 istration in effect when the power is delivered by the

17 Administration.

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

19 (A) the Western Area Power Administra20 tion;

21 (B) the power supplier with which the

22 water supply system contracts under paragraph

23 (2);

24 (C) the power supplier of the entity de25 scribed in subparagraph (B); and
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1 (D) the Perkins County Rural Water Sys2 tem, Inc.;

3 that in the case of the capacity and energy made

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

5 rate schedule described in paragraph (3) shall be

6 passed through to the water supply system, except

7 that the power supplier of the water supply system

8 shall not be precluded from including, in the charges

9 of the supplier to the water system for the electric

10 service, the other usual and customary charges of

11 the supplier.

12 SEC. 8. 7. NO LIMITATION ON WATER PROJECTS IN STATES.

13 This Act does not limit the authorization for water

14 projects in South Dakota and North Dakota under law

15 in effect on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

16 SEC. 9. 8. WATER RIGHTS.

17 Nothing in this Act—

18 (1) invalidates or preempts State water law or

19 an interstate compact governing water;

20 (2) alters the rights of any State to any appro21 priated share of the waters of any body of surface

22 or ground water, whether determined by past or fu23 ture interstate compacts or by past or future legisla24 tive or final judicial allocations;
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1 (3) preempts or modifies any Federal or State

2 law, or interstate compact, dealing with water qual3 ity or disposal; or

4 (4) confers on any non-Federal entity the abil5 ity to exercise any Federal right to the waters of any

6 stream or to any ground water resource.

7 SEC. 10. 9. FEDERAL SHARE.

8 The Federal share under section 4 shall be 75 percent

9 of—

10 (1) the amount allocated in the total project

11 construction budget for the planning and construc12 tion of the water supply system under section 4; and

13 (2) such sums as are necessary to defray in14 creases in development costs reflected in appropriate

15 engineering cost indices after March 1, 1995.

16 SEC. 11. 10. NON-FEDERAL SHARE.

17 The non-Federal share under section 4 shall be 25

18 percent of—

19 (1) the amount allocated in the total project

20 construction budget for the planning and construc21 tion of the water supply system under section 4; and

22 (2) such sums as are necessary to defray in23 creases in development costs reflected in appropriate

24 engineering cost indices after March 1, 1995.
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1 SEC. 12. 11. CONSTRUCTION OVERSIGHT.

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary may provide

3 construction oversight to the water supply system for

4 areas of the water supply system.

5 (b) PROJECT OVERSIGHT ADMINISTRATION.—The

6 amount of funds used by the Secretary for planning and

7 construction of the water supply system may not exceed

8 an amount equal to 3 percent of the amount provided in

9 the total project construction budget for the portion of the

10 project to be constructed in Perkins County, South Da11 kota.

12 SEC. 13. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 There are authorized to be appropriated—

14 (1) $15,000,000 for the planning and construc15 tion of the water system under section 4; and

16 (2) such sums as are necessary to defray in17 creases in development costs reflected in appropriate

18 engineering cost indices after March 1, 1995.
Calendar No. 621

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2117

A BILL

To authorize the construction of the Perkins Counsystem, and for other purposes. planning and construction of the water supply System, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, in the assistance to the Perkins County Rural Water ty Rural Water System and authorize financial

SEPTEMBER 25, 1998

Reported with amendments