S. 1761

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

To direct the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, to

conserve and enhance the water supplies of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

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 ‘‘Lower Rio Grande Valley Water

Resources Conservation and Improvement Act of 2000’’.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commissioner’’ means the

Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.

(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner.

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

Development Board and any other authorized entity of the

State of Texas.

(4) PROGRAM AREA.—The term ‘‘program area’’ means—

(A) the counties in the State of Texas in the Rio Grande

Regional Water Planning Area known as Region ‘‘M’’ as

designated by the Texas Water Development Board; and

(B) the counties of Hudspeth and El Paso, Texas.

SEC. 3. LOWER RIO GRANDE WATER CONSERVATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting pursuant to the Reclamation Act of 1902 (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388) and

Acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, shall undertake a program in cooperation with the State, water users in

the program area, and other non-Federal entities, to investigate

and identify opportunities to improve the supply of water for the

program area as provided in this Act. The program shall include

the review of studies or planning reports (or both) prepared by

any competent engineering entity for projects designed to conserve

and transport raw water in the program area. As part of the

program, the Secretary shall evaluate alternatives in the program

area that could be used to improve water supplies, including the

following:

(1) Lining irrigation canals.

(2) Increasing the use of pipelines, flow control structures,

meters, and associated appurtenances of water supply facilities.

(b) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—Within 6 months after the date

of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with
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the State, shall develop and publish criteria to determine which

projects would qualify and have the highest priority for financing

under this Act. Such criteria shall address, at a minimum—

(1) how the project relates to the near- and long-term

water demands and supplies in the study area, including how

the project would affect the need for development of new or

expanded water supplies;

(2) the relative amount of water (acre feet) to be conserved

pursuant to the project;

(3) whether the project would provide operational efficiency

improvements or achieve water, energy, or economic savings

(or any combination of the foregoing) at a rate of acre feet

of water or kilowatt energy saved per dollar expended on the

construction of the project; and

(4) if the project proponents have met the requirements

specified in subsection (c).

(c) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—A project sponsor seeking Federal

funding under this program shall—

(1) provide a report, prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation

or prepared by any competent engineering entity and reviewed

by the Bureau of Reclamation, that includes, among other

matters—

(A) the total estimated project cost;

(B) an analysis showing how the project would reduce,

postpone, or eliminate development of new or expanded

water supplies;

(C) a description of conservation measures to be taken

pursuant to the project plans;

(D) the near- and long-term water demands and supplies in the study area; and

(E) engineering plans and designs that demonstrate

that the project would provide operational efficiency

improvements or achieve water, energy, or economic

savings (or any combination of the foregoing) at a rate

of acre feet of water or kilowatt energy saved per dollar

expended on the construction of the project;

(2) provide a project plan, including a general map showing

the location of the proposed physical features, conceptual

engineering drawings of structures, and general standards for

design; and

(3) sign a cost-sharing agreement with the Secretary that

commits the non-Federal project sponsor to funding its proportionate share of the project’s construction costs on an annual

basis.

(d) FINANCIAL CAPABILITY.—Before providing funding for a

project to the non-Federal project sponsor, the Secretary shall determine that the non-Federal project sponsor is financially capable

of funding the project’s non-Federal share of the project’s costs.

(e) REVIEW PERIOD.—Within 1 year after the date a project

is submitted to the Secretary for approval, the Secretary, subject

to the availability of appropriations, shall determine whether the

project meets the criteria established pursuant to this section.

(f) REPORT PREPARATION; REIMBURSEMENT.—Project sponsors

may choose to contract with the Secretary to prepare the reports

required under this section. All costs associated with the preparation of the reports by the Secretary shall be 50 percent reimbursable

by the non-Federal sponsor.
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(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized

to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section

$2,000,000.

SEC. 4. LOWER RIO GRANDE CONSTRUCTION AUTHORIZATION.

(a) PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.—If the Secretary determines

that any of the following projects meet the review criteria and

project requirements, as set forth in section 3, the Secretary may

conduct or participate in funding engineering work, infrastructure

construction, and improvements for the purpose of conserving and

transporting raw water through that project:

(1) In the Hidalgo County, Texas Irrigation District #1,

a pipeline project identified in the Melden & Hunt, Inc.

engineering study dated July 6, 2000 as the Curry Main Pipeline Project.

(2) In the Cameron County, Texas La Feria Irrigation

District #3, a distribution system improvement project identified by the 1993 engineering study by Sigler, Winston,

Greenwood and Associates, Inc.

(3) In the Cameron County, Texas Irrigation District #2

canal rehabilitation and pumping plant replacement as identified as Job Number 48–05540–002 in a report by Turner Collie

& Braden, Inc. dated August 12, 1998.

(4) In the Harlingen Irrigation District Cameron #1 Irrigation District a project of meter installation and canal lining

as identified in a proposal submitted to the Texas Water

Development Board dated April 28, 2000.

(b) CONSTRUCTION COST SHARE.—The non-Federal share of the

costs of any construction carried out under, or with assistance

provided under, this section shall be 50 percent. Not more than

40 percent of the costs of such an activity may be paid by the

State. The remainder of the non-Federal share may include inkind contributions of goods and services, and funds previously spent

on feasibility and engineering studies.

(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized

to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section

$10,000,000.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.