I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1946

To require the Secretary of the Interior to construct the Rocky Boy’s/North

Central Montana Regional Water System in the State of Montana, to

offer to enter into an agreement with the Chippewa Cree Tribe to

plan, design, construct, operate, maintain and replace the Rocky Boy’s

Rural Water System, and to provide assistance to the North Central

Montana Regional Water Authority for the planning, design, and construction of the noncore system, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 22, 2001

Mr. REHBERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Interior to construct the

Rocky Boy’s/North Central Montana Regional Water

System in the State of Montana, to offer to enter into

an agreement with the Chippewa Cree Tribe to plan,

design, construct, operate, maintain and replace the

Rocky Boy’s Rural Water System, and to provide assistance to the North Central Montana Regional Water Authority for the planning, design, and construction of the

noncore 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,
2

•HR 1946 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rocky Boy’s/North

3 Central Montana Regional Water System Act of 2001’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) the water systems serving residents of the

7 Rocky Boy’s Reservation in the State of Montana—

8 (A) do not meet minimum health and safe9 ty standards;

10 (B) pose a threat to public health and

11 safety; and

12 (C) are inadequate to supply the water

13 needs of the Chippewa Cree Tribe;

14 (2) the United States has a trust responsibility

15 to ensure that adequate and safe water supplies are

16 available to meet the economic, environmental, water

17 supply, and public health needs of the Reservation;

18 (3) the entities administering the rural and mu19 nicipal water systems in North Central Montana are

20 having difficulty complying with regulations promul21 gated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (42

22 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); and

23 (4) Lake Elwell, near Chester, Montana, would

24 provide the most available, reliable, and safe rural

25 and municipal water supply for serving the needs of

26 the Reservation and north central Montana.
3

•HR 1946 IH

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

2 (1) to ensure a safe and adequate rural, munic3 ipal, and industrial water supply for the residents of

4 the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in the State of Mon5 tana;

6 (2) to assist the citizens residing in Chouteau,

7 Hill, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, and Toole Counties,

8 Montana, but outside the Reservation, in developing

9 safe and adequate rural, municipal, and industrial

10 water supplies;

11 (3) to require the Secretary of the Interior, act12 ing through the Commissioner of Reclamation—

13 (A) to plan, design, and construct the core

14 and noncore systems of the Rocky Boy’s/North

15 Central Montana Regional Water System in the

16 State of Montana; and

17 (B) to operate, maintain, and replace the

18 core system and the on-Reservation water dis19 tribution systems, including service connections

20 to communities and individuals; and

21 (4) to require the Secretary, at the request of

22 the Chippewa Cree Tribe, to enter into a self-govern23 ance agreement with the Tribe under title IV of the

24 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance

25 Act (25 U.S.C. 458aa et seq.), under which the
4

•HR 1946 IH

1 Tribe will plan, design, construct, operate, maintain,

2 and replace (including service connections to commu3 nities and individuals)—

4 (A) the core system of the water supply

5 system; and

6 (B) on-Reservation water distribution sys7 tems.

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

9 In this Act:

10 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means

11 the North Central Montana Regional Water Author12 ity established under State law to allow public agen13 cies to join together to secure and provide water for

14 resale.

15 (2) CORE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘core system’’

16 means a component of the water system described in

17 section 4(a)(5) and the study.

18 (3) NONCORE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘noncore

19 system’’ means the rural water system for Chouteau,

20 Hill, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, and Toole Counties,

21 Montana, described in section 5(c) and the study.

22 (4) RESERVATION.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Reserva24 tion’’ means the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in the

25 State.
5

•HR 1946 IH

1 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Reserva2 tion’’ includes all land and interests in land

3 that are held in trust by the United States for

4 the Tribe (including future additions to the

5 Reservation).

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

7 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the

8 Commissioner of Reclamation.

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

10 of Montana.

11 (7) STUDY.—The term ‘‘study’’ means the

12 study entitled ‘‘North Central Montana Regional

13 Water System Planning/Environmental Report’’

14 dated May 2000 (including the needs assessment,

15 environmental report, and feasibility level study).

16 (8) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means—

17 (A) the Chippewa Cree Tribe on the Res18 ervation; and

19 (B) all officers, agents, and departments of

20 the Tribe.

21 (9) WATER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘water sys22 tem’’ means—

23 (A) the core system; and

24 (B) on-Reservation water distribution sys25 tems.
6

•HR 1946 IH

1 SEC. 4. ROCKY BOY’S RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

2 (a) CORE SYSTEM.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall plan, de4 sign, construct, operate, maintain, and replace the

5 core system.

6 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—

7 (A) PLANNING, DESIGN, AND CONSTRUC8 TION.—The Federal share of the cost of plan9 ning, design, and construction of the core sys10 tem shall be—

11 (i) 100 percent; and

12 (ii) funded through annual appropria13 tions to the Bureau of Reclamation.

14 (B) OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND RE15 PLACEMENT.—The Federal share of the cost of

16 operation, maintenance, and replacement of the

17 core system shall be—

18 (i) 100 percent of the Tribe’s share of

19 the total capacity of the core pipeline of

20 the core system; and

21 (ii) funded through annual appropria22 tions to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

23 (3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal

24 share of the cost of operation, maintenance, and re25 placement of the core shall be—
7

•HR 1946 IH

1 (A) prorated according to the nontribal

2 users’ share of the total capacity of the core

3 pipeline of the core system; and

4 (B) fully reimbursable to the Secretary.

5 (4) AGREEMENTS.—Federal funds made avail6 able to carry out this subsection may be obligated

7 and expended only in accordance with an agreement

8 entered into under subsection (c).

9 (5) COMPONENTS.—The core system shall con10 sist of—

11 (A) intake, pumping, water storage, and

12 treatment facilities located at Tiber Reservoir,

13 with water obtained from Lake Elwell stored

14 behind Tiber Dam, near Chester, Montana;

15 (B) transmission pipelines, pumping sta16 tions, and storage reservoirs extending from

17 Lake Elwell near Chester, Montana, approxi18 mately 60 miles east to the communities

19 throughout the Reservation;

20 (C) appurtenant buildings and access

21 roads;

22 (D) all property and property rights nec23 essary for the facilities described in this sub24 section; and
8

•HR 1946 IH

1 (E) electrical power transmission and dis2 tribution facilities necessary for services to core

3 system facilities and noncore system facilities.

4 (b) ON-RESERVATION WATER DISTRIBUTION SYS5 TEMS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall operate,

7 maintain, and replace the water distribution systems

8 of the Reservation.

9 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

10 the cost of operation, maintenance, and replacement

11 of a water distribution system on the Reservation

12 shall be—

13 (A) 100 percent; and

14 (B) funded through annual appropriations

15 to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

16 (3) AGREEMENTS.—Federal funds made avail17 able to carry out this subsection may be obligated

18 and expended only in accordance with an agreement

19 entered into under subsection (c).

20 (4) COMPONENTS.—The water distribution sys21 tems of the Reservation shall consist of—

22 (A) water systems in existence on the date

23 of enactment of this Act that may be pur24 chased, improved, and repaired in accordance
9

•HR 1946 IH

1 with an agreement entered into under sub2 section (c);

3 (B) water systems owned by individual

4 members of the Tribe and other residents of the

5 Reservation;

6 (C) any water distribution system that is

7 upgraded to current standards, disconnected

8 from low-quality wells, or expanded to serve in9 creased demands;

10 (D) interconnections; and

11 (E) such other pipelines, pumping plants,

12 power lines, and facilities as the Secretary de13 termines to be appropriate to meet the water

14 supply, economic, public health, and environ15 mental needs of the Reservation, including

16 water storage tanks, water lines, and other fa17 cilities for the Tribe and the villages, commu18 nities, and towns on the Reservation.

19 (c) AGREEMENTS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Tribe,

21 the Secretary shall enter into a self-governance

22 agreement under title IV of the Indian Self-Deter23 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.

24 458aa et seq.) with the Tribe to, in accordance with

25 this Act—
10

•HR 1946 IH

1 (A) plan, design, construct, operate, main2 tain, and replace the core system; and

3 (B) operate, maintain, and replace on-Res4 ervation water distribution systems.

5 (2) PROJECT OVERSIGHT ADMINISTRATION.—

6 The amount of Federal funds that may be used to

7 carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall not exceed the

8 amount that is equal to 3 percent of the total field

9 cost budget provided in the construction budget for

10 the core system prepared by the Tribe and approved

11 by the Secretary for the entire project construction

12 period.

13 (d) SERVICE AREA.—The service area of the core sys14 tem shall be the Reservation and those non-tribal commu15 nities and persons that are supplied with water directly

16 from the core transmission line of the core system.

17 (e) CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS.—The compo18 nents of the core system shall be planned and constructed

19 to the extent necessary to meet the municipal, rural, and

20 industrial water supply requirements of the service area

21 of the core system as described in the study.

22 (f) TITLE TO CORE SYSTEM.—Title to the core

23 system—

24 (1) shall be held in trust by the United States

25 for the Tribe; and
11

•HR 1946 IH

1 (2) shall not be transferred unless a transfer is

2 authorized by an Act of Congress enacted after the

3 date of enactment of this Act.

4 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

5 provide such technical assistance as is necessary to enable

6 the Tribe to plan, design, construct, operate, maintain,

7 and replace the core system, including operation and man8 agement training.

9 SEC. 5. NONCORE SYSTEM.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into a

11 cooperative agreement with the Authority to provide Fed12 eral funds for the planning, design, and construction of

13 the noncore system in Chouteau, Hill, Liberty, Pondera,

14 Teton, and Toole Counties, Montana, outside the Reserva15 tion.

16 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—

17 (1) PLANNING, DESIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION.—

18 The Federal share of the cost of planning, design,

19 and construction of the noncore system shall be not

20 more than 75 percent, as determined by the Sec21 retary.

22 (2) OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPLACE23 MENT.—The cost of operation, maintenance, and re24 placement of the noncore system shall be fully reim25 bursable to the Secretary.
12

•HR 1946 IH

1 (3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—Federal funds

2 made available to carry out this section may be obli3 gated and expended only in accordance with a coop4 erative agreement entered into under subsection (d).

5 (c) COMPONENTS.—The components of the noncore

6 system on which Federal funds may be obligated and ex7 pended under this section shall include—

8 (1) storage, pumping, and pipeline facilities;

9 (2) appurtenant buildings and access roads;

10 (3) all property and property rights necessary

11 for the facilities described in this subsection;

12 (4) electrical power transmission and distribu13 tion facilities necessary for service to noncore system

14 facilities;

15 (5) planning and design services for all such fa16 cilities; and

17 (6) other facilities and services customary to

18 the development of a rural water distribution system

19 in the State.

20 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Chip22 pewa Cree Water Resources Subcommittee, the Sec23 retary shall enter into a cooperative agreement with

24 the Authority to provide Federal assistance for the
13

•HR 1946 IH

1 planning, design, and construction of the noncore

2 system.

3 (2) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The cooperative

4 agreement under paragraph (1) shall specify, in a

5 manner that is acceptable to the Secretary, the

6 Tribe, and the Authority—

7 (A) the responsibilities of each party to the

8 agreement for—

9 (i) the final engineering report;

10 (ii) engineering and design;

11 (iii) construction;

12 (iv) water conservation measures; and

13 (v) administration of contracts relat14 ing to performance of the activities de15 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv);

16 (B) the procedures and requirements for

17 approval and acceptance of the design and con18 struction and for carrying out other activities

19 described in subparagraph (A); and

20 (C) the rights, responsibilities, and liabil21 ities of each party to the agreement.

22 (3) PROJECT OVERSIGHT ADMINISTRATION.—

23 The amount of Federal funds that may be used to

24 carry out paragraph (1) shall not exceed the amount

25 that is equal to 3 percent of the total field cost
14

•HR 1946 IH

1 budget provided in the construction budget for the

2 noncore system prepared by the Authority and ap3 proved by the Secretary for the entire project con4 struction period.

5 (4) OVERSIGHT.—The Authority shall have

6 oversight responsibility over the noncore system.

7 (e) SERVICE AREA.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), the service area of the noncore system

10 shall be generally defined as the area—

11 (A) north of the Missouri River and

12 Dutton, Montana;

13 (B) south of the border between the

14 United States and Canada;

15 (C) west of Havre, Montana; and

16 (D) east of Cut Bank, Montana.

17 (2) EXCLUSIONS FROM SERVICE AREA.—The

18 service area of the noncore system shall not include

19 the area inside the Reservation.

20 (f) LIMITATION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—The

21 operation and maintenance expenses associated with non22 tribal water deliveries from the core system to the noncore

23 system—

24 (1) shall not be a Federal responsibility; and

25 (2) shall be borne by the noncore system.
15

•HR 1946 IH

1 (g) TITLE TO NONCORE SYSTEM.—Title to the

2 noncore system shall be held by the Authority.

3 SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION

4 FUNDS.

5 The Secretary shall not obligate funds for construc6 tion of the core system or the noncore system until—

7 (1) the requirements of the National Environ8 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

9 are met with respect to the core system and the

10 noncore system; and

11 (2) the date that is 90 days after the date of

12 submission to Congress of a final engineering report

13 approved by the Secretary.

14 SEC. 7. INTERCONNECTION CHARGES.

15 The cost of interconnection of nontribal community

16 water distribution systems and individual service systems

17 to transmission lines of the core system and noncore sys18 tem shall be the responsibility of the entities receiving

19 water from the transmission lines.

20 SEC. 8. NONDIMINISHMENT OF TIBER RESERVOIR ALLOCA21 TION TO THE TRIBE.

22 In providing for the delivery of water to the noncore

23 system, the Secretary shall not diminish the 10,000 acre24 feet per year of water stored for the Tribe pursuant to

25 section 201 of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of The Rocky
16

•HR 1946 IH

1 Boy’s Reservation Indian Reserved Water Rights Settle2 ment and Water Supply Enhancement Act of 1999 (Public

3 Law 106–163; 113 Stat. 1789) in Lake Elwell, Lower

4 Marias Unit, Upper Missouri Division, Pick-Sloan Mis5 souri Basin Program, Montana.

6 SEC. 9. USE OF PICK-SLOAN POWER.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall authorize and

8 provide for the use of power from the Pick-Sloan Eastern

9 Division to start up and operate the water system and the

10 noncore system.

11 (b) RESERVATION OF POWER.—The Secretary shall

12 reserve, and make available, for the purpose authorized

13 by subsection (a)—

14 (1) during the irrigation season, Pick-Sloan

15 Eastern Division power identified for future project

16 use pumping; and

17 (2) during the nonirrigation season, Pick-Sloan

18 Eastern Division preference power, to the extent

19 that the power is available.

20 (c) RATE.—The rate for project use power made

21 available under subsection (b) shall be—

22 (1) during the irrigation season, the project use

23 pumping power rate; and

24 (2) during the nonirrigation season, the whole25 sale firm power rate.
17

•HR 1946 IH

1 (d) ADDITIONAL POWER.—If power in addition to the

2 power made available under subsection (b) is required to

3 meet the pumping requirements of the service area of the

4 water system and the noncore system, the Administrator

5 of the Western Area Power Administration may purchase

6 the necessary additional power under such terms and con7 ditions as the Administrator determines to be appropriate.

8 (e) RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.—Expenses associated

9 with power purchases under subsections (a) and (d) shall

10 be included in the operation, maintenance, and replace11 ment costs and recovered in accordance with sections

12 4(a)(3)(B) and section 5(b)(2).

13 SEC. 10. WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Tribe and the Authority shall

15 develop a water conservation plan that contains—

16 (1) a description of water conservation objec17 tives;

18 (2) a description of appropriate water conserva19 tion measures; and

20 (3) a time schedule for implementing the water

21 conservation measures to meet the water conserva22 tion objectives.

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The water conservation plan under

24 subsection (a) shall be designed to ensure that users of

25 water from the core system, on-Reservation water dis-
18

•HR 1946 IH

1 tribution systems, and the noncore system will use the best

2 practicable technology and management techniques to con3 serve water.

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

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

6 shall apply to an activity authorized under this Act.

7 SEC. 11. WATER RIGHTS.

8 This Act does not—

9 (1) impair the validity of or preempt any provi10 sion of State water law or any interstate compact

11 governing water;

12 (2) alter the right of any State to any appro13 priated share of the water of any body of surface or

14 ground water, whether determined by any past or

15 future interstate compact or by any past or future

16 legislative or final judicial allocation;

17 (3) preempt or modify any Federal or State law

18 or interstate compact concerning water quality or

19 disposal;

20 (4) confer on any non-Federal entity the au21 thority to exercise any Federal right to the water of

22 any stream or to any ground water resource;

23 (5) affect any right of the Tribe to water, lo24 cated within or outside the external boundaries of

25 the Reservation, based on a treaty, compact, Execu-
19

•HR 1946 IH

1 tive order, agreement, Act of Congress, aboriginal

2 title, the decision in Winters v. United States, 207

3 U.S. 564 (1908) (commonly known as the ‘‘Winters

4 Doctrine’’), or other law; or

5 (6) validate or invalidate any assertion of the

6 existence, nonexistence, or extinguishment of any

7 water right held or Indian water compact entered

8 into by the Tribe or by any other Indian tribe or in9 dividual Indian under Federal or State law.

10 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 (a) CORE SYSTEM.—There are authorized to be

12 appropriated—

13 (1) $120,000,000 for the planning, design, and

14 construction of the core system; and

15 (2) such sums as are necessary for the oper16 ation, maintenance, and replacement of the water

17 system, including power costs of the Western Area

18 Power Administration.

19 (b) NONCORE SYSTEM.—There is authorized to be

20 appropriated $60,000,000 for the planning, design, and

21 construction of the noncore system.

22 (c) COST INDEXING.—The sums authorized to be ap23 propriated under this section may be increased or de24 creased by such amounts as are justified by reason of ordi25 nary fluctuations in development costs incurred after July
20

•HR 1946 IH

1 1, 1997, as indicated by engineering cost indices applica2 ble for the type of construction involved.

Æ