I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2202
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
A BILL
To convey the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, the Sav-
age Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program,
and the Intake Irrigation Project to the pertinent irriga-
tion districts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lower Yellowstone
Reclamation Projects Conveyance Act’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) INTAKE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term
‘‘Intake Irrigation District’’ means the irrigation
district by that name that is organized under the
laws of the State of Montana and operates the In-
take Project.
(2) INTAKE
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Intake
Project’’ means the Federal irrigation feature oper-
ated by the Intake Irrigation District and authorized
under the Act of August 11, 1939 (chapter 717; 53
Stat. 1418).
(3) IRRIGATION DISTRICTS.—The term ‘‘irriga-
tion districts’’ means—
(A) the Intake Irrigation District;
(B) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis-
trict No. 1;
(C) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Dis-
trict No. 2; and
(D) the Savage Irrigation District.
(4) LOWER
YELLOWSTONE
IRRIGATION
DIS-
TRICT NO. 1.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irriga-
tion District No. 1’’ means the irrigation district by
that name that is organized under the laws of the
State of Montana and operates the part of the
Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project located in the
State of Montana.
(5) LOWER
YELLOWSTONE
IRRIGATION
DIS-
TRICT NO. 2.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irriga-
tion District No. 2’’ means the irrigation district by
that name that is organized under the laws of the
State of North Dakota and operates the part of the
Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project located in the
State of North Dakota.
(6) 
LOWER
YELLOWSTONE
IRRIGATION
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Lower Yellowstone Irrigation
Project’’ means the Federal irrigation feature oper-
ated by Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 1
and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2 and
authorized by the Act of June 17, 1902 (chapter
1093; 32 Stat. 388).
(7) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The
term ‘‘Memorandum of Understanding’’ means the
memorandum of understanding dated November 16,
1999, between the districts and the Montana Area
Office, Great Plains Region, Bureau of Reclamation,
for the purpose of defining certain principles by
which the title to the projects will be transferred
from the United States to the districts.
(8) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM.—
The term ‘‘Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program’’
means the comprehensive Federal program for mul-
tipurpose benefits within the Missouri River Basin,
including irrigation authorized by section 9 of the
Act of December 22, 1944, commonly known as the
‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’ (chapter 665; 58 Stat.
891).
(9) PICK-SLOAN
MISSOURI
BASIN
PROGRAM
PROJECT USE POWER.—The term ‘‘Pick-Sloan Mis-
souri Basin Program Project Use Power’’ means
power generated and transmitted at a rate covering
operation, maintenance, and replacement expenses of
the Pick-Sloan power system for maintaining the ir-
rigation developments of the Pick-Sloan Missouri
Basin Program.
(10) PROJECTS.—The term ‘‘projects’’ means—
(A) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation
Project;
(B) the Intake Irrigation Project; and
(C) the Savage Unit.
(11) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term
‘‘Savage Irrigation District’’ means the irrigation
district by that name that is organized under the
laws of the State of Montana and operates the Sav-
age Unit.
(12) SAVAGE UNIT.—The term ‘‘Savage Unit’’
means the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri
lows: Lots 1 through 6 of Sec. 2, T.17N.,
R.56E.; NW1/4 of Sec. 6, T.17N., R.57E.;
SW1/4NW1/4 of Sec. 26, T.22N., R.58E.; lots
4 through 7 of Sec. 2 and lot 1 and lot 2 of
Sec. 3, T.23N., R.59E.; and lot 2 of Sec. 18,
T.24N., R.60E.; all in the Principal Meridian,
Montana.
(2) FEE OWNERSHIP LAND, EASEMENTS, AND
RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—The Secretary shall convey to the
respective irrigation districts by quitclaim deed all
fee ownership land, easements, and rights-of-way in
connection with the projects.
(3) PHYSICAL FEATURES.—The Secretary shall
convey to the districts all right, title, and interest of
the United States in and to all diversion, carriage,
distribution, drainage, and appurtenant physical fea-
tures used to serve the lands within the districts.
(4) WATER
RIGHTS.—The Secretary shall
transfer to the respective irrigation districts in ac-
cordance with and subject to the law of the State of
Montana, all natural flow, wastewater, seepage, re-
turn flow, domestic water, stock water, and ground-
water rights held in part or wholly in the name of
the United States that are used to serve the lands
within the irrigation districts.
(b) REVOCATION OF RECLAMATION WITHDRAWALS
AND ORDERS.—(1) The Reclamation withdrawal estab-
lished by Public Land Order 4711 dated October 6, 1969,
for the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project in lots 1 and
2, section 3, T. 23 N., R. 59 E., is hereby revoked in its
entirety.
(2) The Secretarial Order of March 22, 1906, which
was issued for irrigation works on lot 3 (now lots 5, 6,
and 7) and lot 4, section 2, T. 23 N., R. 59 E., and the
Secretarial Order of August 8, 1905, which was issued for
irrigation works in section 2, T. 17 N., R. 56 E. and sec-
tion 6, T. 17 N., R. 57 E., are hereby revoked in their
entirety.
(3) The Secretarial Order of August 24, 1903, which
was issued in connection with the Lower Yellowstone Irri-
gation Project is revoked insofar as it affects the following
lands:
(A) Lot 9 of Sec. 2 and lot 2 of Sec. 30,
T.18N., R.57E.; lot 3 of Sec. 4, T.19N., R.58E.;
lots 2 and 3 and 6 and 7 of Sec. 4, T.21N., R.58E.;
SW1/4NW1/4 of Sec. 26, T.22N., R. 58E.; lots 1
and 4 and 7 and NW1/4SW1/4 of Sec. 20, T.22N.,
R.59E.; SE1/4NE1/4 of Sec. 13, T.23N., R.59E.;
and lot 2 of Sec. 18, T.24N., R.60E.; all in the
Principal Meridian, Montana.
(B) Lot 8 of Sec. 2 and lot 1 and lot 2 and lot
3 and NE1/4NE1/4 of Sec. 10 and lot 2 of Sec. 11
and lot 6 of Sec. 18 and lot 3 of Sec. 35, T.151N.,
R.104W.; and lot 7 of 28, T.152N., R.104W.; all in
the Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota.
(c) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTS.—The Secretary shall
transfer to the irrigation districts all patents, land deeds,
court proceedings, water right abstracts, contracts, special
use permits, licenses, permits, and any other documents
of the projects executed on behalf of the Secretary.
(d) SAVAGE UNIT FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS.—
(1) SAVAGE
IRRIGATION
DISTRICT
OBLIGA-
TION.—The Secretary shall accept an amount from
the Savage Irrigation District equal to the current
value of the remaining water supply payment obliga-
tion of $68,280 under Contract Number Ilr–1525,
as amended and as extended by Contract No. 9–07–
60–W0770, as full payment of the Savage Irrigation
District’s share of the construction of the Savage
Unit.
(2) PICK-SLOAN
MISSOURI
BASIN
PROGRAM
BENEFICIARIES
OBLIGATION.—The Secretary shall
accept an amount from the Pick-Sloan Missouri
Basin Program power beneficiaries equal to the cur-
rent value of the aid-to-irrigation payment obligation
of $667,702 as full payment of aid-to-irrigation as-
sociated with the construction of the Savage Unit.
(e) REPORT.—If any conveyance required under sub-
section (a) has not occurred within 2 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit
to the Congress a report on the status of the conveyance.
SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING OPERATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act expands or
otherwise changes the use or operation of the projects
from the use and operation of the projects on the date
of enactment of this Act.
(b) RECREATION MANAGEMENT.—As a condition of
the conveyance of lands under section 3, the Secretary
shall require that Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District
No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2
convey a perpetual conservation easement to the State of
Montana, at no cost to the State, for the purposes of pro-
tecting, preserving, and enhancing the conservation values
and permitting recreation on—
(1) lands to be conveyed under section
3(a)(1)(B); and
(2) lands in part to be conveyed under section
3(a)(2);
as mutually agreed upon by Lower Yellowstone Irrigation
District No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District
No. 2, and the State of Montana.
(c) 
PICK-SLOAN
MISSOURI
BASIN
PROGRAM
PROJECT PUMPING POWER SERVICE.—The Secretary
shall sustain the irrigation developments established by
the projects as components of the irrigation plan under
the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program and shall
continue to provide the irrigation districts with Pick-Sloan
Missouri Basin Project Use Power at the irrigation dis-
tricts’ pumping plants (subject to section 5(a)), except
that there shall be no ability-to-pay adjustment for the
power rate.
SEC. 5. YELLOWSTONE RIVER FISHERIES PROTECTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in cooperation
with the irrigation districts, shall provide fish protection
devices to prevent juvenile and adult fish from entering
the main canal of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation
Project and allow bottom dwelling fish species to migrate
above the intake diversion dam on the Yellowstone River
for that project.
(b) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary and the irriga-
tion districts shall work cooperatively in planning, engi-
neering, and constructing the fish protection devices.
(c) MONITORING.—The Secretary, acting through the
Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Di-
rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, shall
establish and conduct a monitoring plan to measure the
effectiveness of the devices for a minimum of 2 years after
construction is completed. The Commissioner of the Bu-
reau of Reclamation shall be responsible for modifying the
devices as necessary to ensure proper functioning.
SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAWS AND FUTURE
BENEFITS.
Upon conveyance of the projects under this Act, the
irrigation districts shall not be subject to the reclamation
laws or entitled to receive any reclamation benefits under
those laws except as provided in section 4(c).
SEC. 7. LIABILITY.
Effective on the date of conveyance of a project under
this Act, the United States shall not be liable under any
State or Federal law for damages of any kind arising out
of any act, omission, or occurrence relating to the projects,
except for damages caused by acts of negligence com-
mitted by the United States or by its employees, agents,
or contractors prior to the date of the conveyance. Nothing
in this section shall be considered to increase the liability
of the United States beyond that currently provided in