I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3241
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine 
the feasibility of implementing a water supply and conservation project 
to improve water supply reliability, increase the capacity of water storage, 
and improve water management efficiency in the Republican River Basin 
between Harlan County Lake in Nebraska and Milford Lake in Kansas. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 2, 2003
Mr. OSBORNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
study to determine the feasibility of implementing a 
water supply and conservation project to improve water 
supply reliability, increase the capacity of water storage, 
and improve water management efficiency in the Repub-
lican River Basin between Harlan County Lake in Ne-
braska and Milford Lake in Kansas.
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 Republican 
River Basin Study Act’’.
SEC. 2. REPUBLICAN RIVER BASIN FEASIBILITY STUDY. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF STUDY.—Pursuant to rec-
lamation laws, the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation and in consultation 
and cooperation with the States of Nebraska, Kansas, and 
Colorado, may conduct a study to—
(1) determine the feasibility of implementing a 
water supply and conservation project that will—
(A) improve water supply reliability in the 
Republican River Basin between Harlan County 
Lake in Nebraska and Milford Lake in Kansas, 
including areas in the counties of Harlan, 
Franklin, Webster, and Nuckolls in Nebraska 
and Jewel, Republic, Cloud, Washington, and 
Clay in Kansas (in this section referred to as 
the ‘‘Republican River Basin’’); 
(B) increase the capacity of water storage 
through modifications of existing projects or 
through new projects that serve areas in the 
Republican River Basin; 
(C) improve water management efficiency 
in the Republican River Basin through con-
servation and other available means and, where 
appropriate, evaluate integrated water resource 
management and supply needs in the Repub-
lican River Basin; and
(2) consider appropriate cost-sharing options 
for implementation of the project. 
(b) COST SHARING.—The Federal share of the cost 
of the study shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 
of the study, and shall be nonreimbursable. 
(c) COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall undertake the study through cooperative agreements 
with the State of Kansas or Nebraska and other appro-
priate entities determined by the Secretary. 
(d) COMPLETION AND REPORT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), not later than 3 years after the date of 
the enactment of this section the Secretary of the 
Interior shall complete the study and transmit to the 
Congress a report containing the results of the 
study. 
(2) EXTENSION.—If the Secretary determines 
that the study cannot be completed within the 3-year 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary—
(A) shall, at the time of that determina-
tion, report to the Congress on the status of the 
study, including an estimate of the date of com-
pletion; and