II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1659

To convey the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, the Savage Unit of

the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, and the Intake Irrigation

Project to the appurtenant irrigation districts.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 29, 1999

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

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To convey the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program,

and the Intake Irrigation Project to the appurtenant

irrigation districts.

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 ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Ir5 rigation Project Facilities Conveyance Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:
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1 (1) CONTROL BOARD.—The term ‘‘Control

2 Board’’ means the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation

3 Project Board of Control organized under the laws

4 of the State of Montana for the purposes of—

5 (A) managing—

6 (i) Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis7 trict No. 1; and

8 (ii) Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis9 trict No. 2; and

10 (B) operating and maintaining the facili11 ties of the Savage Unit and the Intake Project,

12 under contract with the respective irrigation

13 districts.

14 (2) DIVERSION DAM.—The term ‘‘diversion

15 dam’’ means the Lower Yellowstone Diversion Dam,

16 a feature of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation

17 Project.

18 (3) INTAKE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term

19 ‘‘Intake Irrigation District’’ means the Montana Ir20 rigation District that

21 (A) is organized under the laws of the

22 State of Montana; and

23 (B) operates the Intake Project.

24 (4) INTAKE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION CON25 TRACT.—The term ‘‘Intake original construction
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1 contract’’ means the repayment contract between the

2 Intake Irrigation District and the Secretary, num3 bered Irl–1436.

4 (5) INTAKE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Intake

5 project’’ means the Federal irrigation feature oper6 ated by the Intake Irrigation District through con7 tract with the Control Board, located adjacent to the

8 main canal and 3 miles below the Diversion Dam,

9 serving approximately 828 irrigated acres, and au10 thorized under the terms of the Act of August 11,

11 1939 (53 Stat. 1418, chapter 717).

12 (6) IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘irriga13 tion district’’ means—

14 (A) the Intake Irrigation District;

15 (B) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis16 trict No. 1;

17 (C) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis18 trict No. 2; and

19 (D) the Savage Irrigation District.

20 (7) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DIS21 TRICT NO. 1.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irriga22 tion District No. 1’’ means the irrigation district

23 that is organized under the laws of the State of

24 Montana and operates the part of the Lower Yellow-
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1 stone Irrigation Project located in the State of Mon2 tana

3 (8) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DIS4 TRICT NO. 2.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irriga5 tion District No. 2’’ means the irrigation district or6 ganized under the laws of the State of North Dakota

7 and that operates the part of the Lower Yellowstone

8 Irrigation Project located in the State of North Da9 kota.

10 (9) MAIN CANAL.—The term ‘‘main canal’’

11 means the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project

12 main canal, a feature of the Lower Yellowstone Irri13 gation Project that—

14 (A) serves Lower Yellowstone Irrigation

15 District No. 1, Lower Yellowstone Irrigation

16 District No. 2, the Savage Irrigation District,

17 and the Intake Irrigation District; and

18 (B) is operated and maintained by the

19 Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project Board of

20 Control.

21 (10) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM.—

22 The term ‘‘Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program’’

23 means the comprehensive Federal program for mul24 tipurpose benefits within the Missouri River Basin

25 (including irrigation) authorized by section 9 of the
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1 Act of December 22, 1944 (commonly known as the

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

3 665).

4 (11) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means—

5 (A) the Yellowstone Project;

6 (B) the Intake Irrigation Project; and

7 (C) the Savage Unit.

8 (12) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term

9 ‘‘Savage Irrigation District’’ means the irrigation

10 district that is organized under the laws of the State

11 of Montana that operates the Savage Unit.

12 (13) SAVAGE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION CON13 TRACT.—The term ‘‘Savage original construction

14 contract’’ means the repayment contract between the

15 Savage Irrigation District and the Secretary, num16 bered Irl–1525, as extended or amended.

17 (14) SAVAGE UNIT.—The term ‘‘Savage Unit’’

18 means the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri

19 Basin Program, a Federal irrigation feature trans20 ferred under this Act, operated by the Savage Irriga21 tion District through contract with the Control

22 Board, located adjacent to the Main Canal and 12

23 miles below the Diversion Dam, serving approxi24 mately 2,187 irrigated acres and authorized by the

25 Act of December 22, 1944 (commonly known as the
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1 ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, chapter

2 665).

3 (15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

4 means the Secretary of the Interior.

5 (16) YELLOWSTONE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION

6 CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘Yellowstone original con7 struction contract’’ means—

8 (A) the repayment contract between the

9 Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 1 and

10 the Secretary, numbered Irl–103; and

11 (B) the repayment contract between the

12 Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2 and

13 the Secretary, numbered Irl–104.

14 (17) YELLOWSTONE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Yel15 lowstone project’’ means the Lower Yellowstone Irri16 gation Project, operated by Lower Yellowstone Irri17 gation District No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irriga18 tion District No. 2, serving approximately 51,429 ir19 rigated acres, and authorized by the Act of June 17,

20 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093).

21 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF PROJECT.

22 (a) CONVEYANCES.—

23 (1) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DIS24 TRICT NO. 1, LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DIS25 TRICT NO. 2, AND SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—On acceptance by

2 Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 1 and

3 Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2 and

4 by the Intake Irrigation District of the obliga5 tions of the Federal Government for the Yellow6 stone Project and the Intake Irrigation Project,

7 respectively, the Secretary shall convey the re8 spective portions of the projects to each of the

9 irrigation districts.

10 (B) METHOD.—The conveyance under sub11 paragraph (A)—

12 (i) shall be by quitclaim deed or pat13 ent; and

14 (ii) shall convey—

15 (I) all right, title, and interest in

16 all withdrawn land except certain par17 cels not used for purposes of the

18 projects;

19 (II) all fee ownership land used

20 for diversion dam maintenance;

21 (III) all fee ownership land, ease22 ments, and rights-of-way in connec23 tion with the carriage, distribution,

24 and drainage of water to serve the

25 land of the projects; and
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1 (IV) all diversion, carriage, dis2 tribution, and drainage physical fea3 tures used to serve the land of the

4 projects.

5 (2) CONVEYANCE TO SAVAGE IRRIGATION DIS6 TRICT.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

8 convey the Savage Unit to the Savage Irrigation

9 District, in accordance with the methods de10 scribed in subsection (a)(2), immediately after

11 the conditions in subparagraph (B) are satis12 fied.

13 (B) CONDITIONS.—The conditions for con14 veyance under subparagraph (A) are—

15 (i) the acceptance by the Savage Irri16 gation District of the obligations of the

17 Federal Government for the Savage Unit;

18 and

19 (ii) the payment by the Savage Irriga20 tion District of the net present value of the

21 remaining repayment obligation of the Sav22 age Irrigation District under the Savage

23 original construction contract, determined

24 in accordance with Office of Management
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1 and Budget Circular A–129 (as in effect

2 on the date of enactment of this Act).

3 (3) WATER RIGHTS.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

5 transfer the ownership of the water rights of

6 the projects to the respective and appurtenant

7 irrigation districts in accordance with applicable

8 laws of the State of Montana.

9 (B) NO ALTERATION.—The purpose, point

10 of diversion, place of use, flow rate, and volume

11 of each water right transferred shall not be al12 tered.

13 (b) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTS.—Patents, land

14 deeds, court proceedings, water right abstracts, contracts,

15 special use permits, licenses, permits, and any other docu16 ments of each project executed on behalf of the Secretary

17 shall be transferred to the district of the project.

18 (c) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM PUMP19 ING POWER.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—

21 (A) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION

22 DISTRICTS.—The Secretary and the Western

23 Area Power Administration shall continue to

24 provide Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District

25 No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District
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1 No. 2 with Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program

2 power at 3 pump stations for as long as the

3 Yellowstone Project continues to operate under

4 the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program.

5 (B) RATE OF DELIVERY.—Pick-Sloan

6 power shall be delivered under subparagraph

7 (A) at 460 volts and at a collective rate not to

8 exceed 500 kilowatts.

9 (C) COST.—The cost to Lower Yellowstone

10 Irrigation District No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone

11 Irrigation District No. 2 of power delivered

12 under subparagraph (A) (including trans13 mission costs) shall be based on the payment

14 ability of the irrigation districts, as determined

15 by the Secretary.

16 (2) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the

18 Western Area Power Administration shall con19 tinue to provide the Savage Irrigation District

20 with Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program power

21 at the Savage Pumping Plant for as long as the

22 Savage Irrigation District continues to operate

23 as intended under the Pick-Sloan Missouri

24 Basin Program.
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1 (B) RATE OF DELIVERY.—Pick-Sloan

2 power shall be delivered under subparagraph

3 (A) at 2,400 volts and at a capacity rate not to

4 exceed 650 kilowatts.

5 (C) COST.—The cost to the Savage Irriga6 tion District of power delivered under subpara7 graph (A) (including transmission costs) shall

8 be based on the payment ability of the Savage

9 Irrigation District, as determined by the Sec10 retary.

11 (3) INTAKE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the

13 Western Area Power Administration shall con14 tinue to provide the Intake Irrigation District

15 with Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program power

16 at the Intake Pumping Plant for as long as the

17 Intake Irrigation District continues to operate

18 as intended under the Pick-Sloan Missouri

19 Basin Program.

20 (B) RATE OF DELIVERY.—Pick-Sloan

21 power shall be delivered under subparagraph

22 (A) at 460 volts and at a capacity rate not to

23 exceed 50 kilowatts.

24 (C) COST.—The cost to the Intake Irriga25 tion District for power delivered under subpara-
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1 graph (A) (including transmission costs) shall

2 be based on the payment ability of the Intake

3 Irrigation District, as determined by the Sec4 retary.

5 (d) DEADLINE.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the Secretary shall complete each convey8 ance under this Act expeditiously, but not later than

9 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

10 (2) DEADLINES IF CHANGES IN OPERATIONS

11 INTENDED.—If an irrigation district notifies the

12 Secretary that the irrigation district intends to

13 change operations as a result of the conveyance

14 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

15 (A) take into account the potential changes

16 for the purpose of completing any required en17 vironmental evaluation associated with the con18 veyance; and

19 (B) complete the conveyance not later than

20 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

21 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF CONVEY22 ANCE.—

23 (A) UNTIMELY CONVEYANCE.—If the Sec24 retary fails to complete a conveyance under this

25 Act in accordance with the applicable deadline
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1 under paragraph (1) or (2), the full costs of

2 any administrative action and environmental

3 compliance for the conveyance shall be paid by

4 the Secretary.

5 (B) TIMELY CONVEYANCE.—If the Sec6 retary completes a conveyance under this Act in

7 accordance with the applicable deadline under

8 paragraph (1) or (2), the costs of administra9 tive action and environmental compliance for

10 the conveyance shall be paid—

11 (i) in an amount equal to 50 percent

12 of the costs, by the Secretary; and

13 (ii) in an amount equal to 50 percent

14 of the costs, by the irrigation district to

15 which the project is conveyed.

16 SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING OPERATIONS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act expands or

18 otherwise changes the use or operation of a project from

19 the use and operation of the project on the day before

20 the date of enactment of this Act.

21 (b) FUTURE ALTERATIONS.—If an irrigation district

22 alters the use or operation of a project, the irrigation dis23 trict shall comply with all applicable laws (including regu24 lations) governing the alteration of use.

25 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS.—
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1 (1) FISH ENTRAINMENT.—The Control Board

2 and the irrigation district for each project shall con3 tinue to work cooperatively with the Commissioner

4 of Reclamation and the Fish, Wildlife and Parks De5 partment of the State of Montana—

6 (A) to complete a fish entrainment study

7 at the diversion dam; and

8 (B) if necessary, to assist in the develop9 ment of a method for excluding fish from the

10 Main Canal.

11 (2) FISH PASSAGE.—The Control Board and

12 the irrigation district for each project shall continue

13 to work cooperatively with the Commissioner of Rec14 lamation and the United States Fish and Wildlife

15 Service—

16 (A) to identify any influences of the diver17 sion dam on fish passage; and

18 (B) if necessary, to assist in the develop19 ment of a method to improve fish passage.

20 (d) RECREATION MANAGEMENT.—Lower Yellow21 stone Irrigation District No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Ir22 rigation District No. 2 shall each convey a perpetual con23 servation easement to the State of Montana, at no cost

24 to the State, for the purposes of protecting, preserving,

25 and enhancing the conservation values and permitting
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1 recreation on Yellowstone Project land (including land

2 known as ‘‘Joe’s Island’’), located at the diversion dam.

3 SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP TO CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS.

4 (a) YELLOWSTONE ORIGINAL AND SUBSEQUENT

5 CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AND INTAKE ORIGINAL CON6 STRUCTION AND SUBSEQUENT CONTRACTS.—All repay7 ment obligations of Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District

8 No. 1, Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2, and

9 the Intake Irrigation District have been fulfilled.

10 (b) SAVAGE ORIGINAL AND SUBSEQUENT CONSTRUC11 TION CONTRACTS.—The acceptance of all obligations of

12 the Federal Government with respect to the Savage Unit

13 by the Savage Irrigation District in accordance with sec14 tion 3(a)(2) shall extinguish all repayment contract obliga15 tions under the Savage original construction contract.

16 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.

17 On conveyance of the projects under this Act, the Act

18 of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and Acts

19 supplemental to and amendatory of that Act (43 U.S.C.

20 371 et seq.) shall not apply to the projects.

21 SEC. 7. LIABILITY.

22 Except as otherwise provided by law, effective on the

23 date of conveyance of a project under this Act, the United

24 States shall not be liable for damages of any kind arising

25 out of any act, omission, or occurrence based on prior
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1 ownership or operation by the United States of the project

2 property.

Æ