IIA
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2402
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 10, 1997
Received
NOVEMBER 13, 1997
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
AN ACT
To make technical and clarifying amendments to improve
the management of water-related facilities in the Western
United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Water-Related Technical Corrections Act of 1997’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Reduction of waiting period for obligation of funds provided under Rec-
lamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978.
Sec. 3. Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Reclamation and Reuse Project.
Sec. 4. Phoenix Metropolitan Water Reclamation and Reuse Project.
Sec. 5. Refund of certain amounts received under Reclamation Reform Act of
1982.
Sec. 6. Extension of periods for repayments for Nueces River reclamation
project and Canadian River reclamation project, Texas.
Sec. 7. Solano Project Water.
Sec. 8. Use of distribution system of Canadian River reclamation project,
Texas, to transport nonproject water.
Sec. 9. Olivenhain Water Storage Project loan guarantee.
Sec. 10. Fish passage and protective facilities, Rogue River Basin, Oregon.
SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF WAITING PERIOD FOR OBLIGATION
OF FUNDS PROVIDED UNDER RECLAMATION
SAFETY OF DAMS ACT OF 1978.
Section 5 of the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of
1978 (92 Stat. 2471; 43 U.S.C. 509) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘sixty days’’ and all that follows through ‘‘day cer-
tain)’’ and inserting ‘‘30 calendar days’’.
SEC. 3. ALBUQUERQUE METROPOLITAN AREA RECLAMA-
TION AND REUSE PROJECT.
Section 1621 of the Reclamation Projects Authoriza-
tion and Adjustment Act of 1992, as added by section
2(a)(2) of the Reclamation Recycling and Water Con-
servation Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 3292; 43 U.S.C. 390h–
12g), is amended—
(1) in the heading by striking ‘‘STUDY’’ and in-
serting ‘‘PROJECT’’; and
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘the planning, design, and
construction of’’ after ‘‘participate in’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘Study’’ and inserting
‘‘Project’’; and
(C) by inserting ‘‘and nonpotable surface
water’’ after ‘‘impaired groundwater’’.
SEC. 4. PHOENIX METROPOLITAN WATER RECLAMATION
AND REUSE PROJECT.
Section 1608 of the Reclamation Projects Authoriza-
tion and Adjustment Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 4666; 43
U.S.C. 390h–6) is amended—
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(a) The Secretary, in cooperation with the city of
Phoenix, Arizona, shall participate in the planning, design,
and construction of the Phoenix Metropolitan Water Rec-
lamation and Reuse Project to utilize fully wastewater
from the regional wastewater treatment plant for direct
municipal, industrial, agricultural, and environmental pur-
poses, groundwater recharge, and indirect potable reuse
in the Phoenix metropolitan area.’’;
(2) in subsection (b) by striking the first sen-
tence; and
(3) by striking subsection (c).
SEC. 5. REFUND OF CERTAIN AMOUNTS RECEIVED UNDER
RECLAMATION REFORM ACT OF 1982.
(a) REFUND REQUIRED.—Subject to subsection (b)
and the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of the
Interior shall refund fully amounts received by the United
States as collections under section 224(i) of the Reclama-
tion Reform Act of 1982 (101 Stat. 1330–268; 43 U.S.C.
390ww(i)) for paid bills (including interest collected) is-
sued by the Secretary of the Interior before January 1,
1994, for full-cost charges that were assessed for failure
to file certain certification forms under sections 206 and
224(c) of such Act (96 Stat. 1266, 1272; 43 U.S.C. 390ff,
390ww(c)).
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.—In the case of a refund
of amounts collected in connection with sections 206 and
224(c) of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (96 Stat.
1266, 1272; 43 U.S.C. 390ff, 390ww(c)) with respect to
any water year after the 1987 water year, the amount re-
funded shall be reduced by an administrative fee of $260
for each occurrence.
(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$3,000,000.
SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF PERIODS FOR REPAYMENTS FOR
NUECES RIVER RECLAMATION PROJECT AND
CANADIAN RIVER RECLAMATION PROJECT,
TEXAS.
Section 2 of the Emergency Drought Relief Act of
1996 (Public Law 104–318; 110 Stat. 3862) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(c) EXTENSION OF PERIODS FOR REPAYMENT.—
Notwithstanding any provision of the Reclamation Project
Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485 et seq.), the Secretary of the
Interior—
‘‘(1) shall extend the period for repayment by
the City of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Nueces
River Authority under contract No. 6–07–01–
X0675, relating to the Nueces River reclamation
project, Texas, until—
‘‘(A) August 1, 2029, for repayment pur-
suant to the municipal and industrial water
supply benefits portion of the contract; and
‘‘(B) until August 1, 2044, for repayment
pursuant to the fish and wildlife and recreation
benefits portion of the contract; and
‘‘(2) shall extend the period for repayment by
the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority
under contract No. 14–06–500–485, relating to the
Canadian River reclamation project, Texas, until Oc-
tober 1, 2021.’’.
SEC. 7. SOLANO PROJECT WATER.
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of the Interior
is authorized to enter into contracts with the Solano Coun-
ty Water Agency, or any of its member unit contractors
for water from the Solano Project, California, pursuant
to the Act of February 21, 1911 (43 U.S.C. 523), for—
(1) the impounding, storage, and carriage of
nonproject water for domestic, municipal, industrial,
and other beneficial purposes, using any facilities as-
sociated with the Solano Project, California, and
(2) the exchange of water among Solano
Project contractors, for the purposes set forth in
paragraph (1), using facilities associated with the
Solano Project, California.
(b) LIMITATION.—The authorization under sub-
section (a) shall be limited to the use of that portion of
the Solano Project facilities downstream of Mile 26 of the
Putah South Canal (as that canal is depicted on the offi-
cial maps of the Bureau of Reclamation), which is below
the diversion points on the Putah South Canal utilized by
the city of Fairfield for delivery of Solano Project water.
SEC. 8. USE OF DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OF CANADIAN
RIVER RECLAMATION PROJECT, TEXAS, TO
TRANSPORT NONPROJECT WATER.
The Act of December 29, 1950 (chapter 1183; 43
U.S.C. 600b, 600c), authorizing construction, operation,
and maintenance of the Canadian River reclamation
project, Texas, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary of the Interior shall allow
use of the project distribution system (including all pipe-
lines, aqueducts, pumping plants, and related facilities)
for transport of water from the Canadian River Conjunc-
tive Use Groundwater Project to municipalities that are
receiving water from the project. Such use shall be subject
only to such environmental review as is required under the
Memorandum of Understanding, No. 97–AG–60–09340,
between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Canadian
River Municipal Water Authority, and a review and ap-
proval of the engineering design of the interconnection fa-
cilities to assure the continued integrity of the project.
Such environmental review shall be completed within 90
days after the date of enactment of this section.
‘‘(b) The Canadian River Municipal Water Authority
shall bear the responsibility for all costs of construction,
operation, and maintenance of the Canadian River Con-
junctive Groundwater Project, and for costs incurred by
the Secretary in conducting the environmental review of
the project. The Secretary shall not assess any additional
charges in connection with the Canadian River Conjunc-
tive Use Groundwater Project.’’.
SEC. 9. OLIVENHAIN WATER STORAGE PROJECT LOAN
GUARANTEE.
(a) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The Secretary of the Inte-
rior may guarantee a loan made to either the Olivenhain
Municipal Water District (in this section referred to as
the ‘‘District’’) or to a nongovernmental developer selected
by the District, for building and financing the Olivenhain
Water Storage Project in northern San Diego County,
California. The amount of a loan guaranteed under this
subsection may not exceed $70,000,000. Before making
any such loan guarantee, the Secretary shall evaluate the
design and justification for the proposed project. The Sec-
retary may make such a loan guarantee only after the Sec-
retary determines that the proposed project is economi-
cally feasible and the design for the proposed project is
technically and environmentally adequate.
(b) INTEREST RATE.—Any loan guaranteed under
subsection (a) shall bear interest at a rate agreed upon
by the borrower and lender.
(c) OBLIGATION
OF UNITED STATES.—Any loan
guarantee under this section shall constitute an obligation,
in accordance with the terms and conditions of such guar-
antee, of the United States Government, and the full faith
and credit of the United States is hereby pledged to full
performance of the obligation.
(d) SECURITY.—
(1) RESERVE FUND AND COMMITMENT OF DIS-
TRICT REVENUES.—To ensure the repayment of any
loan guaranteed under this section and as a condi-
tion of providing the guarantee, the Secretary of the
Interior shall require that—
(A) the borrower establish and maintain,
with a trustee designated by the Secretary, a
reserve fund in the amount of 115 percent of
the next year’s principal and interest payments
on the loan;
(B) the District agree to use its revenues
to make all payments required under the terms
of the loan prior to any payment by the United
States under the guarantee, and to make those
payments through the trustee designated under
subparagraph (A); and
(C) the trustee designated under subpara-
graph (A) agree to use all amounts received for
repayment of the loan to repay the loan.
(2) RESERVE FUND REQUIREMENTS.—The re-
serve fund under this subsection shall be established
under terms that provide that—
(A) all moneys in the reserve fund shall
constitute a trust fund for the repayment of the
loan guaranteed under subsection (a); and
(B) the reserve fund shall be administered
in accordance with and pursuant to provisions
agreed upon by the borrower and lender for the
loan guaranteed under subsection (a).
(3) PAYMENT
OF
LOAN
AMOUNTS.—Proceeds
from the loan guaranteed under subsection (a)
shall—
(A) be deposited directly with the trustee
designated by the Secretary of the Interior
under paragraph (1)(A); and
(B) be disbursed by the trustee consistent
with the terms of the loan.
(4) QUALIFICATIONS OF TRUSTEE.—Any trust-
ee designated by the Secretary of the Interior under
paragraph (1) must, at a minimum—
(A) be a trust company or a bank having
the powers of a trust company;
(B) have a combined capital and surplus of
at least $100,000,000; and
(C) be otherwise subject to supervision or
examination by a Federal agency.
SEC. 10. FISH PASSAGE AND PROTECTIVE FACILITIES,
ROGUE RIVER BASIN, OREGON.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to use oth-
erwise available amounts to provide up to $2,000,000 in
financial assistance to the Medford Irrigation District and
the Rogue River Valley Irrigation District for the design
and construction of fish passage and protective facilities
at North Fork Little Butte Creek Diversion Dam and
South Fork Little Butte Creek Diversion Dam in the
Rogue River basin, Oregon, if the Secretary determines
in writing that these facilities will enhance the fish recov-
ery efforts currently underway at the Rogue River Basin
Project, Oregon.
Passed the House of Representatives November 9,
1997.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.