IB 

Union Calendar No. 475

107TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2202

[Report No. 107–760] 

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

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

Project to the pertinent irrigation districts. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 14, 2001

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

Committee on Resources 

OCTOBER 16, 2002

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 14, 2001] 

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 pertinent irrigation districts.

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 ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Rec3 lamation Projects Conveyance Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) INTAKE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term 

7 ‘‘Intake Irrigation District’’ means the Irrigation 

8 District by that name that is organized under the 

9 laws of the State of Montana and operates the Intake 

10 Project. 

11 (2) INTAKE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Intake 

12 Project’’ means the Federal irrigation development 

13 operated by the Intake Irrigation District and au14 thorized under the terms of the Act of August 11, 1939 

15 (chapter 717; 53 Stat. 1418). 

16 (3) IRRIGATION DISTRICTS.—The term ‘‘Irriga17 tion Districts’’ means—

18 (A) the Intake Irrigation District; 

19 (B) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis20 trict No. 1; 

21 (C) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis22 trict No. 2; and 

23 (D) the Savage Irrigation District. 

24 (4) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DISTRICT

25 NO. 1.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis26 trict No. 1’’ means the irrigation district by that 
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1 name that is organized under the laws of the State of 

2 Montana and operates the part of the Lower Yellow3 stone Irrigation Project located in the State of Mon4 tana. 

5 (5) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DISTRICT

6 NO. 2.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis7 trict No. 2’’ means the irrigation district by that 

8 name organized under the laws of the State of North 

9 Dakota and operates the part of the Lower Yellow10 stone Irrigation Project located in the State of North 

11 Dakota. 

12 (6) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION

13 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irrigation 

14 Project’’ means the Federal irrigation development 

15 operated by Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 

16 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2 

17 and authorized by the Act of June 17, 1902 (chapter 

18 1093; 32 Stat. 388). 

19 (7) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The 

20 term ‘‘Memorandum of Understanding’’ means the 

21 memorandum of understanding dated November 16, 

22 1999, and any subsequent replacements or amend23 ments between the Districts and the Montana Area 

24 Office, Great Plains Region, Bureau of Reclamation, 

25 for the purpose of defining certain principles by 
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1 which the title to the projects will be transferred from 

2 the United States to the districts. 

3 (8) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM.—

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

5 means the comprehensive Federal program for multi6 purpose benefits within the Missouri River Basin in7 cluding irrigation authorized by section 9 of the Act 

8 of December 22, 1944, commonly known as the ‘‘Flood 

9 Control Act of 1944’’ (chapter 665; 58 Stat. 891). 

10 (9) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM

11 PROJECT USE POWER.—The term ‘‘Pick-Sloan Mis12 souri Basin Program Project Use Power’’ means 

13 power available for establishing and maintaining the 

14 irrigation developments of the Pick-Sloan Missouri 

15 Basin Program. 

16 (10) PROJECTS.—The term ‘‘Projects’’ means—

17 (A) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation 

18 Project; 

19 (B) the Intake Project; and 

20 (C) the Savage Unit. 

21 (11) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term 

22 ‘‘Savage Irrigation District’’ means the irrigation 

23 district by that name that is organized under the 

24 laws of the State of Montana and operates the Savage 

25 Unit.
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1 (12) SAVAGE UNIT.—The term ‘‘Savage Unit’’ 

2 means the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri 

3 Basin Program, a Federal irrigation development au4 thorized by the Act of December 22, 1944, commonly 

5 known as the ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’ (chapter 

6 665; 58 Stat. 891). 

7 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of the Interior. 

9 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF PROJECTS. 

10 (a) CONVEYANCES.—

11 (1) GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convey 

12 works, facilities, and lands of the Projects to the Irri13 gation Districts in accordance with all applicable 

14 laws and pursuant to the terms of the Memorandum 

15 of Understanding. 

16 (2) LANDS.—

17 (A) GENERAL.—All lands, easements, and 

18 rights-of-way the United States possesses that are 

19 to be conveyed by the Secretary to the respective 

20 irrigation districts shall be conveyed by quit21 claim deed. Conveyance of such lands, easements, 

22 and rights-of-way is subject to permits, licenses, 

23 leases, rights-of-use, or right-of-way of record 

24 outstanding in third parties on, over, or across 

25 such lands, easements, and rights-of-way. 
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1 (B) MINERAL RIGHTS.—Conveyance of all 

2 lands herein described shall be subject to a res3 ervation by the United States reserving all min4 erals of a nature whatsoever, excluding sand and 

5 gravel, and subject to oil, gas, and other mineral 

6 rights heretofore reserved of record by or in favor 

7 of third parties. 

8 (3) WATER RIGHTS.—The Secretary shall trans9 fer to the respective Irrigation Districts in accordance 

10 with and subject to the law of the State of Montana, 

11 all natural flow, wastewater, seepage, return flow, do12 mestic water, stock water, and groundwater rights 

13 held in part or wholly in the name of the United 

14 States that are used to serve the lands within the Irri15 gation Districts. 

16 (4) COSTS.—

17 (A) RECLAMATION WITHDRAWN LANDS.—

18 The Irrigation Districts shall purchase Reclama19 tion withdrawn lands as identified in the Memo20 randum of Understanding for their value in pro21 viding operation and maintenance benefits to the 

22 Irrigation Districts. 

23 (B) SAVAGE UNIT REPAYMENT OBLIGA24 TIONS.—
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1 (i) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—As 

2 a condition of transfer, the Secretary shall 

3 receive an amount from the Savage Irriga4 tion District equal to the present value of 

5 the remaining water supply repayment obli6 gation of $60,480 that shall be treated as 

7 full payment under Contract Number I1r–

8 1525, as amended and as extended by Con9 tract No. 9–07–60–W0770. 

10 (ii) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PRO11 GRAM CONSTRUCTION OBLIGATION.—As a 

12 condition of transfer, the Secretary shall ac13 cept $94,727 as payment from the Pick14 Sloan Missouri Basin Program (Eastern 

15 Division) power customers under the terms 

16 specified in this section, as consideration for 

17 the conveyance under this subsection. This 

18 payment shall be out of the receipts from 

19 the sale of power from the Pick-Sloan Mis20 souri Basin Program (Eastern Division) 

21 collected by the Western Area Power Admin22 istration and deposited into the Reclama23 tion fund of the Treasury in fiscal year 

24 2003. This payment shall be treated as full 

25 and complete payment by the power cus-
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1 tomers of the construction aid-to-irrigation 

2 associated with the facilities of the Savage 

3 Unit. 

4 (b) REVOCATION OF RECLAMATION WITHDRAWALS

5 AND ORDERS.—

6 (1) The Reclamation withdrawal established by 

7 Public Land Order 4711 dated October 6, 1969, for 

8 the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project in lots 1 and 

9 2, section 3, T.23N., R. 59 E., is hereby revoked in 

10 its entirety. 

11 (2) The Secretarial Order of March 22, 1906, 

12 which was issued for irrigation works on lots 3 and 

13 4 section 2, T. 23N., R. 59E., and Secretarial Order 

14 of August 8, 1905, which was issued for irrigation 

15 works in section 2, T. 17 N., R. 56 E. and section 

16 6, T. 17 N., R. 57 E., are hereby revoked in their en17 tirety. 

18 (3) The Secretarial Order of August 24, 1903, 

19 and July 27, 1908, which were issued in connection 

20 with the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, are re21 voked insofar as they affect the following lands: 

22 (A) Lot 9 of Sec. 2 and lot 2 of Sec. 30, 

23 T.18N., R.57E.; lot 3 of Sec. 4, T.19N., R.58E.; 

24 lots 2 and 3 and 6 and 7 of Sec. 12, T.21N., 

R.58E.; SW1⁄4NW1 25 ⁄4 of Sec. 26, T.22N., R.58E;
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lots 1 and 4 and 7 and NW1⁄4SW1 1 ⁄4 of Sec. 20, 

T.22N., R.59E.; SE1⁄4NE1 2 ⁄4 of Sec. 13, T.23N., 

3 R.59E.; and lot 2 of Sec. 18, T.24N., R.60E.; all 

4 in the Principal Meridian, Montana.–

5 (B) Lot 8 of Sec. 2 and lot 1 and lot 2 and 

lot 3 and NE1⁄4NE1 6 ⁄4 of Sec. 10 and lot 2 of Sec. 

7 11 and lot 6 of Sec. 18 and lot 3 of Sec. 35, 

8 T.151N., R.104W.; and lot 7 of Sec. 28, T.152N., 

9 R.104W.; all in the Fifth Principal Meridian, 

10 North Dakota. 

11 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

12 If the conveyance under this Act has not occurred with13 in 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 Secretary shall submit to the Congress a status report. 

15 SEC. 5. RECREATION MANAGEMENT. 

16 As a condition of the conveyance of lands under section 

17 3, the Secretary shall require that Lower Yellowstone Irri18 gation District No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation 

19 District No. 2 convey a perpetual conservation easement to 

20 the State of Montana, at no cost to the State, for the pur21 poses of protecting, preserving, and enhancing the conserva22 tion values and permitting recreation on Federal lands in 

23 part to be conveyed under this Act. Lower Yellowstone Irri24 gation District No. 1, Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District 
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1 No. 2, and the State of Montana have mutually agreed upon 

2 such conservation easement. 

3 SEC. 6. PROJECT PUMPING POWER. 

4 The Secretary shall sustain the irrigation develop5 ments established by the Lower Yellowstone and Intake 

6 Projects and the Savage Unit as components of the irriga7 tion plan under the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Pro8 gram and shall continue to provide the Irrigation Districts 

9 with Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Project Use power 

10 at the Irrigation Districts’ pumping plants, except that the 

11 rate shall be at the preference power rate and there shall 

12 be no ability-to-pay adjustment. 

13 SEC. 7. YELLOWSTONE RIVER FISHERIES PROTECTION. 

14 (a) GENERAL.—As a condition of transfer, the Sec15 retary, prior to the conveyances under section 3 and in co16 operation with the Irrigation Districts, shall provide fish 

17 protection devices to prevent juvenile and adult fish from 

18 entering the Main Canal of the Lower Yellowstone Irriga19 tion Project and allow bottom dwelling fish species to mi20 grate above the Project’s Intake Diversion Dam. 

21 (b) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary and the Irrigation 

22 District shall work cooperatively in planning, engineering, 

23 and constructing the fish protection devices. 

24 (c) MONITORING.—The Secretary, acting through the 

25 Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Direc-
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1 tor of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, shall 

2 establish and conduct a monitoring plan to measure the ef3 fectiveness of the devices for a minimum of 2 years after 

4 construction is completed. The Commissioner of the Bureau 

5 of Reclamation shall be responsible to modify the devices 

6 as necessary to ensure proper functioning. 

7 (d) YELLOWSTONE RIVER FISHERIES PROTECTION

8 DEVICES COSTS.—The cost incurred in planning, engineer9 ing, constructing, monitoring, and modifying all fish pro10 tection devices shall be deemed non-reimbursable. 

11 (e) OPERATION, MAINTENANCE AND REPLACE12 MENTS.—Following completion of the construction period 

13 and the two-year monitoring period, the Districts shall op14 erate, maintain, and replace the fisheries protection devices 

15 in a manner to ensure proper functioning. 

16 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

17 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec18 essary to implement this section. 

19 SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAWS AND FUTURE 

20 BENEFITS. 

21 Upon conveyance of the projects under this Act, the 

22 Irrigation Districts shall not be subject to the Reclamation 

23 laws or entitled to receive any Reclamation benefits under 

24 those laws except as provided in section 6. 
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1 SEC. 9. LIABILITY. 

2 Effective on the date of conveyance of a project under 

3 this Act, the United States shall not be liable under any 

4 State or Federal law for damages of any kind arising out 

5 of any act, omission, or occurrence relating to the projects, 

6 except for damages caused by acts of negligence committed 

7 by the United States or by its employees, agents, or contrac8 tors prior to the date of this conveyance. Nothing in this 

9 section shall be considered to increase the liability of the 

10 United States beyond that currently provided in chapter 

11 171 of title 28, United States Code, popularly known as 

12 the Federal Tort Act. 

13 SEC. 10. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS. 

14 As a condition of the conveyances under section 3, the 

15 Secretary shall by no later than the date on which the con16 veyances occur complete appropriate analyses of the trans17 fer in compliance with the requirements of the National En18 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

19 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

20 seq.), and other applicable laws.

Union Calendar No. 475

107TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2202

[Report No. 107–760] 

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 pertinent irrigation districts. 

OCTOBER 16, 2002

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

and ordered to be printed