I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4623 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance 

to the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority for the planning, 

design, and construction of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2004 

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial 

assistance to the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority for the planning, design, and construction of the 

Eastern New Mexico Rural Water 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eastern New Mexico 

5 Rural Water System Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) the Entrada Aquifer and the Southern High 

2 Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer— 

3 (A) provide 100 percent of the municipal 

4 and industrial water supplies for communities 

5 in East Central New Mexico; and 

6 (B) serve a large majority of the agricul7 tural water users in East Central New Mexico; 

8 (2) the Entrada and Southern High Plains 

9 Aquifers are declining in quantity and deteriorating 

10 in quality; 

11 (3) despite voluntary conservation efforts and 

12 improvements in agricultural water use efficiencies, 

13 current estimates indicate that present levels of 

14 groundwater use in some areas of eastern New Mex15 ico are not sustainable beyond 12 to 25 years after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act; 

17 (4) in 1959, the State of New Mexico began 

18 construction of the Ute Dam and Reservoir on the 

19 Canadian River to develop a long-term sustainable 

20 water supply for eastern New Mexico; 

21 (5) section 2 of Public Law 89–561 (80 Stat. 

22 711) authorized the development of a feasibility 

23 study for a water supply project in eastern New 

24 Mexico; 
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1 (6) since the feasibility study was authorized, a 

2 number of studies have been completed as part of 

3 the feasibility study process, including a 1994 study 

4 by the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission 

5 estimating the firm annual yield of water from Ute 

6 Reservoir at 24,000 acre-feet per year; 

7 (7) in March 1997, the New Mexico Interstate 

8 Stream Commission and the Ute Water Commission 

9 entered into an agreement for the purchase of 

10 24,000 acre-feet of water per year for beneficial con11 sumptive use in eastern New Mexico; 

12 (8) the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Au13 thority was established to plan, finance, develop, and 

14 operate the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Sys15 tem; 

16 (9) the conceptual design report for the Eastern 

17 New Mexico Rural Water System— 

18 (A) was finalized in August 2003; 

19 (B) incorporates a Bureau of Reclamation 

20 willingness and ability to pay report prepared in 

21 August 2002; and 

22 (C) was subject to a peer review process 

23 that resulted in a supplement to the conceptual 

24 design report, the Eastern New Mexico Rural 
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1 Water System Conceptual Design Peer Review 

2 Final Report (December 2003); 

3 (10) the State of New Mexico— 

4 (A) strongly supports the development of 

5 the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System; 

6 and 

7 (B) has appropriated amounts to the New 

8 Mexico Water Trust Fund to assist commu9 nities in eastern New Mexico in securing the fi10 nancial resources necessary to provide an ac11 ceptable cost share for development of the sys12 tem; and 

13 (11) completion of the Eastern New Mexico 

14 Rural Water System would provide Quay, Roosevelt, 

15 and Curry Counties in the State of New Mexico with 

16 a long-term reliable and renewable source of water 

17 that would— 

18 (A) sustain current economic activity; and 

19 (B) support future economic development 

20 and growth in the region. 

21 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author22 ize the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial and 

23 technical assistance to the Eastern New Mexico Rural 

24 Water Authority to plan, design, and construct the East25 ern New Mexico Rural Water System to provide a long- 
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1 term reliable and renewable source of water to commu2 nities in eastern New Mexico. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

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

6 the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority, an 

7 entity formed under State law for the purposes of 

8 planning, financing, developing, and operating the 

9 System. 

10 (2) CONCEPTUAL DESIGN REPORT.—The term 

11 ‘‘Conceptual Design Report’’ means the Eastern 

12 New Mexico Rural Water System final report dated 

13 August, 2003, as supplemented by the Eastern New 

14 Mexico Rural Water System Conceptual Design Peer 

15 Review Final Report (December 2003). 

16 (3) LOGAN SEWER PROJECT.—The term 

17 ‘‘Logan sewer project’’ means the project to improve 

18 the water quality in Ute Reservoir, as described in 

19 the Village of Logan Wastewater System Prelimi20 nary Engineering Report (November 2003). 

21 (4) PLAN.—The term ‘‘plan’’ means the oper22 ation, maintenance, and replacement plan required 

23 by section 5(b)(1). 

24 (5) PORTALES ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM.— 

25 The term ‘‘Portales energy recovery system’’ means 
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1 the infrastructure to reduce pressure in the water 

2 system and generate useable power, as described in 

3 the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System Con4 ceptual Design Peer Review Final Report (December 

5 2003). 

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

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

9 of New Mexico. 

10 (8) SYSTEM.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘System’’ 

12 means the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water 

13 System, a water delivery project designed to de14 liver approximately 24,000 acre-feet of water 

15 per year from the Ute Reservoir to communities 

16 located in Quay, Roosevelt, and Curry Counties 

17 in eastern New Mexico, as described in the Con18 ceptual Design Report. 

19 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘System’’ in20 cludes— 

21 (i) the Logan sewer project; 

22 (ii) the Tucumcari advanced waste23 water treatment facility; and 

24 (iii) the Portales energy recovery sys25 tem. 
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1 (9) TUCUMCARI ADVANCED WASTEWATER

2 TREATMENT FACILITY.—The term ‘‘Tucumcari ad3 vanced wastewater treatment facility’’ means the 

4 project to improve the water quality in the Ute Res5 ervoir, as described in the Eastern New Mexico 

6 Rural Water System Conceptual Design Peer Review 

7 Final Report (December 2003). 

8 (10) UTE RESERVOIR.—The term ‘‘Ute Res9 ervoir’’ means the impoundment of water created in 

10 1962 by the construction of the Ute Dam on the Ca11 nadian River, located approximately 32 miles up12 stream of the border between New Mexico and 

13 Texas. 

14 SEC. 4. EASTERN NEW MEXICO RURAL WATER SYSTEM. 

15 (a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 

17 financial assistance to the Authority to assist in 

18 planning, designing, conducting related 

19 preconstruction activities for, and constructing the 

20 System. 

21 (2) USE.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any financial assist23 ance provided under paragraph (1) shall be ob24 ligated and expended only in accordance with a 
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1 cooperative agreement entered into under sec2 tion 6(a)(2). 

3 (B) LIMITATIONS.—Financial assistance 

4 provided under paragraph (1) shall not be 

5 used— 

6 (i) for any activity that is inconsistent 

7 with developing the facilities described in 

8 the Conceptual Design Report, including 

9 development of the Logan sewer project; 

10 and 

11 (ii) to plan or construct facilities used 

12 to supply water to supply irrigation for ag13 ricultural purposes. 

14 (b) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

16 total cost of any activity or construction carried out 

17 using amounts made available under this Act shall 

18 be 80 percent of the total cost of the System. 

19 (2) SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT COSTS.—For pur20 poses of paragraph (1), the total cost of the System 

21 shall include any costs incurred by the Authority on 

22 or after October 1, 2003, for the development of the 

23 System. 
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1 (c) LIMITATION.—No amounts made available under 

2 this Act may be used for the construction of the System 

3 until— 

4 (1) a plan is developed under section 5(b); and 

5 (2) the Secretary and the Authority have com6 plied with any requirements of the National Envi7 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

8 seq.) applicable to the System. 

9 (d) TITLE TO PROJECT WORKS.—Title to the infra10 structure of the System shall be held by the Authority, 

11 the Town of Logan, New Mexico, the City of Tucumcari, 

12 New Mexico, or as may otherwise be specified under State 

13 law. 

14 SEC. 5. OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPLACEMENT 

15 COSTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall be responsible 

17 for the annual operation, maintenance, and replacement 

18 costs associated with the System. 

19 (b) OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPLACEMENT

20 PLAN.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority, in consulta22 tion with the Secretary, shall develop an operation, 

23 maintenance, and replacement plan that establishes 

24 the rates and fees for beneficiaries of the System in 

25 the amount necessary to ensure that the System is 
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1 properly maintained and capable of delivering the 

2 quantities of water described in the Conceptual De3 sign Report. 

4 (2) MODIFICATIONS.—The allocation of water 

5 to the communities specified in the Conceptual De6 sign Report may be modified to adjust the rates and 

7 fees in a manner that ensures that the purposes of 

8 the plan are addressed. 

9 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

10 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

12 into any contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or 

13 other agreement that is necessary to carry out this 

14 Act. 

15 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR PROVISION

16 OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 enter into a cooperative agreement with the Au19 thority to provide financial assistance or any 

20 other assistance requested by the Authority for 

21 planning, design, related preconstruction activi22 ties, and construction of the System. 

23 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The cooperative 

24 agreement entered into under subparagraph (A) 

25 shall, at a minimum, specify the responsibilities 
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1 of the Secretary and the Authority with respect 

2 to— 

3 (i) ensuring that the cost-share re4 quirements established by section 4(b) are 

5 met; 

6 (ii) completing the planning and final 

7 design of the System; 

8 (iii) any environmental and cultural 

9 resource compliance activities required for 

10 the System; and 

11 (iv) the construction of the System. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request of the 

13 Authority, the Secretary may provide to the Authority any 

14 technical assistance that is necessary to assist the Author15 ity in planning, designing, constructing, and operating the 

16 System. 

17 (c) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act— 

18 (1) affects or preempts— 

19 (A) State water law; or 

20 (B) an interstate compact relating to the 

21 allocation of water; or 

22 (2) confers on any non-Federal entity the abil23 ity to exercise any Federal rights to— 

24 (A) the water of a stream; or 

25 (B) any groundwater resource. 
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act 

4 $250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2005 through 

5 2016. 

6 (b) ADJUSTMENTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amount authorized 

8 under subsection (a) shall be adjusted as necessary 

9 to account for increases in development costs after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, as determined 

11 using appropriate engineering cost indices (as deter12 mined by the Secretary). 

13 (2) ALLOCATION.—The Federal share and non14 Federal share of the cost increases determined under 

15 paragraph (1) shall be allocated in accordance with 

16 the cost-sharing requirements established by section 

17 4(b). 

18 (c) NONREIMBURSABLE AMOUNTS.—Amounts made 

19 available to the Authority in accordance with the cost20 sharing requirement under section 4(b) shall be non21 reimbursable and nonreturnable to the United States. 

22 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—At the end of each 

23 fiscal year, any unexpended funds appropriated pursuant 

24 to this Act shall be retained for use in future fiscal years 

25 consistent with the purposes of this Act. 

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