II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3415 

To authorize the construction of the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority 

System in the State of Montana and a portion of McKenzie County, 

North Dakota, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2008 

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To authorize the construction of the Dry-Redwater Regional 

Water Authority System in the State of Montana and 

a portion of McKenzie County, North Dakota, 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 ‘‘Dry-Redwater Re5 gional Water Authority System Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) there are insufficient available supplies of 

2 safe water to meet the minimum health and safety 

3 standards of the citizens of— 

4 (A) Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Prairie, 

5 and Richland Counties of the State; and 

6 (B) McKenzie County, North Dakota; 

7 (2) McCone and Garfield Counties of the State 

8 were— 

9 (A) directly and physically impacted when 

10 the Fort Peck Dam was constructed; and 

11 (B) to receive certain impact benefits as a 

12 result of the Pick-Sloan program; and 

13 (3) the water that is contained in the Fort Peck 

14 Dam reservoir is managed for purposes relating to— 

15 (A) flood control; 

16 (B) the production of hydroelectric power; 

17 (C) irrigation; 

18 (D) the maintenance of a public water sup19 ply; 

20 (E) the conservation of fish and wildlife; 

21 (F) recreation; and 

22 (G) the improvement of water quality. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to ensure 

24 a safe and adequate municipal, rural, and industrial water 

25 supply for the citizens of— 


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1 (1) Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Prairie, and 

2 Richland Counties of the State; and 

3 (2) McKenzie County, North Dakota. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Western 

8 Area Power Administration. 

9 (2) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ 

10 means— 

11 (A) the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Au12 thority, which is a publicly owned nonprofit 

13 water authority formed in accordance with 

14 Mont. Code Ann. § 75–6–302 (2007); and 

15 (B) any nonprofit successor entity. 

16 (3) FIRM POWER RATE.—The term ‘‘firm power 

17 rate’’ means the rate charged by the Administrator 

18 for the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program—East19 ern Division. 

20 (4) PICK-SLOAN PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Pick21 Sloan program’’ means the Pick-Sloan Missouri 

22 River Basin Program (authorized by section 9 of the 

23 Act of December 22, 1944 (commonly known as the 

24 ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, chapter 

25 665)). 


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1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

4 of Montana. 

5 (7) WATER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Water Sys6 tem’’ means the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Au7 thority System authorized under section 4 for— 

8 (A) Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Prairie, 

9 and Richland Counties of the State; and 

10 (B) McKenzie County, North Dakota. 

11 SEC. 4. DRY-REDWATER REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY SYS12 TEM. 

13 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.— 

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

15 into a cooperative agreement with the Authority to 

16 provide Federal assistance for the planning, design, 

17 and construction of the Water System. 

18 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A cooperative agreement 

19 entered into under paragraph (1) shall specify, in a 

20 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary and the 

21 Authority— 

22 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the 

23 cooperative agreement relating to the Water 

24 System, including— 

25 (i) the final engineering report; 


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1 (ii) an environmental and cultural re2 source study; 

3 (iii) engineering and design; 

4 (iv) construction; 

5 (v) water conservation measures; and 

6 (vi) administration of contracts relat7 ing to the performance of the activities de8 scribed in clauses (i) through (v); 

9 (B) any procedure or requirement relating 

10 to— 

11 (i) the carrying out of each activity 

12 described in subparagraph (A); and 

13 (ii) the approval and acceptance of the 

14 design and construction of the Water Sys15 tem; and 

16 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil17 ities of each party to the cooperative agreement. 

18 (b) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

19 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 

21 the costs relating to the planning, design, and 

22 construction of the Water System shall not ex23 ceed 75 percent of the total cost of the Water 

24 System. 


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1 (B) LIMITATION.—Amounts made avail2 able under subparagraph (A) shall not be re3 turnable or reimbursable under the reclamation 

4 laws. 

5 (2) COMPLIANCE WITH COOPERATIVE AGREE6 MENT.—Federal funds made available to carry out 

7 this section shall be obligated and expended in ac8 cordance with a cooperative agreement entered into 

9 by the Secretary under subsection (a)(1). 

10 (c) COMPONENTS.—Components of the Water Sys11 tem facilities for which Federal funds may be obligated 

12 and expended under this section shall include— 

13 (1) facilities relating to— 

14 (A) water intake; 

15 (B) water pumping; 

16 (C) water treatment; and 

17 (D) water storage; 

18 (2) transmission pipelines and pumping sta19 tions; 

20 (3) appurtenant buildings, maintenance equip21 ment, and access roads; 

22 (4) any interconnection facility that connects a 

23 pipeline of the Water System to a pipeline of a pub24 lic water system; 


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1 (5) distribution, pumping, and storage facilities 

2 that— 

3 (A) serve the needs of citizens who use 

4 public water systems; 

5 (B) are in existence on the date of enact6 ment of this Act; and 

7 (C) may be purchased, improved, and re8 paired in accordance with a cooperative agree9 ment entered into by the Secretary under sub10 section (a)(1); 

11 (6) electrical power transmission and distribu12 tion facilities required for the operation and mainte13 nance of the Water System; 

14 (7) any other facility or service required for the 

15 development of a rural water distribution system, as 

16 determined by the Secretary; and 

17 (8) any property or property right required for 

18 the construction or operation of a facility described 

19 in this subsection. 

20 (d) SERVICE AREA.—The service area of the Water 

21 System shall be— 

22 (1) the area of Garfield and McCone Counties 

23 in the State; 

24 (2) the area west of the Yellowstone River in 

25 Dawson and Richland Counties in the State; 


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1 (3) the area including, and north of, Township 

2 15N in Prairie County in the State; and 

3 (4) the portion of McKenzie County, North Da4 kota, that includes all land that is located west of 

5 the Yellowstone River in the State of North Dakota. 

6 (e) LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION

7 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not obligate funds for con8 struction of the Water System until the date— 

9 (1) on which the Water System complies with 

10 each requirement under the National Environmental 

11 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

12 (2) that is 90 days after the date of receipt by 

13 Congress of the final engineering report described in 

14 subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) that is approved by the Sec15 retary; and 

16 (3) on which the Secretary publishes a written 

17 finding that the water conservation plan developed 

18 pursuant to section 6 contains water conservation 

19 measures for the operation of the Water System that 

20 are— 

21 (A) prudent; 

22 (B) reasonable; and 

23 (C) economically and financially feasible. 

24 (f) LIMITATION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any cost relating to the op2 eration, maintenance, or replacement of the Water 

3 System— 

4 (A) shall not be a Federal responsibility; 

5 and 

6 (B) shall be paid by the Water System. 

7 (2) FEDERAL FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not 

8 obligate or expend Federal funds for the operation, 

9 maintenance, or replacement of the Water System. 

10 (g) TITLE TO THE WATER SYSTEM.—Title to the 

11 Water System shall be held by the Authority. 

12 SEC. 5. USE OF POWER FROM PICK-SLOAN PROGRAM. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that McCone and 

14 Garfield Counties in the State were designated— 

15 (1) as impact counties during the period in 

16 which the Fort Peck Dam was constructed; and 

17 (2) to receive impact mitigation benefits in ac18 cordance with the Pick-Sloan program. 

19 (b) AVAILABILITY OF POWER.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

21 the Administrator shall make available to the Water 

22 System a quantity of power required to meet the 

23 pumping and incidental operation requirements of 

24 the Water System— 

25 (A) from the water intake facilities; and 


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1 (B) through— 

2 (i) the water treatment facilities; and 

3 (ii) all first water distribution pump4 ing facilities. 

5 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—The Water System shall be 

6 eligible to receive power under paragraph (1) if the 

7 Water System— 

8 (A) operates on a not-for-profit basis; and 

9 (B) is constructed pursuant to a coopera10 tive agreement entered into by the Secretary 

11 under section 4(a)(1). 

12 (3) RATE.—The Administrator shall establish 

13 the cost of the power described in paragraph (1) at 

14 the firm power rate. 

15 (4) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—The Adminis16 trator shall recover the costs associated with the 

17 quantity of power used by the Authority under para18 graph (1). 

19 (5) RESPONSIBILITY FOR EXPENSES.—The Au20 thority shall be responsible for the payment of the 

21 costs described in paragraph (4). 

22 SEC. 6. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall develop a 

24 water conservation plan containing— 


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1 (1) a description of water conservation objec2 tives; 

3 (2) a description of appropriate water conserva4 tion measures; and 

5 (3) a time schedule for carrying out the meas6 ures described in paragraph (2) and this Act to meet 

7 the water conservation objectives described in para8 graph (1). 

9 (b) DESIGN REQUIREMENT.—The water conservation 

10 plan developed under subsection (a) shall be designed to 

11 ensure that users of water provided by the Water System 

12 will use the best practical technology and management 

13 techniques to conserve water. 

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

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

16 shall apply to each activity carried out under this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 (a) WATER SYSTEM.—There is authorized to be ap19 propriated to carry out the planning, design, and construc20 tion of the Water System $115,116,000 for the period of 

21 fiscal years 2009 through 2019. 

22 (b) COST INDEXING.—The amount authorized to be 

23 appropriated under subsection (a) may be increased or de24 creased in accordance with ordinary fluctuations in devel25 opment costs incurred after January 1, 2008, as indicated 


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1 by any available engineering cost indices applicable to con2 struction activities that are similar to the construction of 

3 the Water System. 

Æ 


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