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 con-
struction 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 assist-
ance to the North Central Montana Regional Water Au-
thority for the planning, design, and construction of the
noncore system, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Rocky Boy’s/North
Central Montana Regional Water System Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the water systems serving residents of the
Rocky Boy’s Reservation in the State of Montana—
(A) do not meet minimum health and safe-
ty standards;
(B) pose a threat to public health and
safety; and
(C) are inadequate to supply the water
needs of the Chippewa Cree Tribe;
(2) the United States has a trust responsibility
to ensure that adequate and safe water supplies are
available to meet the economic, environmental, water
supply, and public health needs of the Reservation;
(3) the entities administering the rural and mu-
nicipal water systems in North Central Montana are
having difficulty complying with regulations promul-
gated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (42
U.S.C. 300f et seq.); and
(4) Lake Elwell, near Chester, Montana, would
provide the most available, reliable, and safe rural
and municipal water supply for serving the needs of
the Reservation and north central Montana.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to ensure a safe and adequate rural, munic-
ipal, and industrial water supply for the residents of
the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in the State of Mon-
tana;
(2) to assist the citizens residing in Chouteau,
Hill, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, and Toole Counties,
Montana, but outside the Reservation, in developing
safe and adequate rural, municipal, and industrial
water supplies;
(3) to require the Secretary of the Interior, act-
ing through the Commissioner of Reclamation—
(A) to plan, design, and construct the core
and noncore systems of the Rocky Boy’s/North
Central Montana Regional Water System in the
State of Montana; and
(B) to operate, maintain, and replace the
core system and the on-Reservation water dis-
tribution systems, including service connections
to communities and individuals; and
(4) to require the Secretary, at the request of
the Chippewa Cree Tribe, to enter into a self-govern-
ance agreement with the Tribe under title IV of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act (25 U.S.C. 458aa et seq.), under which the
Tribe will plan, design, construct, operate, maintain,
and replace (including service connections to commu-
nities and individuals)—
(A) the core system of the water supply
system; and
(B) on-Reservation water distribution sys-
tems.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means
the North Central Montana Regional Water Author-
ity established under State law to allow public agen-
cies to join together to secure and provide water for
resale.
(2) CORE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘core system’’
means a component of the water system described in
section 4(a)(5) and the study.
(3) NONCORE
SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘noncore
system’’ means the rural water system for Chouteau,
Hill, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, and Toole Counties,
Montana, described in section 5(c) and the study.
(4) RESERVATION.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Reserva-
tion’’ means the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in the
State.