a day certain, from the date on which the Secretary’s find-
ings and approval are submitted to the Congress.
(f) Title to all project works and facilities constructed
under this Act shall remain in the name of the local
project sponsor.
(g) Nothing contained in this Act shall preclude the
making of more than one loan or grant, or combined loan
and grant, to a project sponsor so long as no two such
loans or grants, or combinations thereof, are for the same
project, as herein defined. No loan shall be made for less
than 15 years nor more than 25 years unless agreed to
by both parties.
SEC. 106. CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Upon approval of any project proposal the Secretary
shall negotiate a contract which shall set out, but shall
not be limited to:
(a) The maximum amount of any loan to be
made to the project sponsor and the time and meth-
od of making the same available to the project spon-
sor.
(b) The maximum amount of any grant to be
accorded the project sponsor.
(c) A plan of repayment by the project sponsor
of: The principal of the loan together with interest
on those features required to bear interest under
Federal Reclamation Laws, at a rate determined by
the Secretary of the Treasury as of the beginning of
the fiscal year in which the contract is executed on
the basis of the average market yields on outstand-
ing marketable obligations of the United States with
remaining periods to maturity comparable to the ap-
plicable repayment period of the project, adjusted to
the nearest one-eighth of 1 percent on the
unamortized balance of any portion of the loan: Pro-
vided, That the Secretary, at his discretion, may re-
duce the interest to not less than one-half the aver-
age market rate as so determined, or to the extent
that he determines that the project sponsor is unable
to secure financing from other sources under reason-
able terms and conditions, and shall include letters
from lenders or other written evidence in support of
any finding of an applicant’s inability to secure such
financing in any project proposal transmitted to the
Congress. Loans under these terms may be made for
all costs allocated to commercial irrigation; however,
the Secretary shall reduce the interest to not less
than 1⁄3 the average based on the applicant’s average
ability to pay calculations, or further reduce the loan
rate if he finds at his discretion that there are suffi-
cient benefits to approve a reduced loan rate.
(d) Such terms and conditions as the Secretary
deems necessary or proper to provide assurance of
and security for prompt repayment and to ensure
achievement of the purposes for which the loan was
made.
SEC. 107. CONTRACT CONFORMITY.
The Secretary may waive the requirements of sub-
sections (a) and (b) of section 105, for any proposal relat-
ing to a project authorized for construction under the Fed-
eral reclamation laws prior to the date of enactment of
this Act if he finds the requirements of such subsections
to be duplicative of, or rendered unnecessary or impossible
by, actions already taken by the United States.
SEC. 108. INFORMATION AVAILABILITY.
Upon request of a project sponsor which has made
or intends to make a proposal under the Act, the head
of any Federal department or agency may make available
to the project sponsor any existing engineering, economic,
hydrologic, or other appropriate information and printed
material that it may have and that will be useful in con-
nection with the planning, design, construction, or oper-
ation and maintenance of the project concerned. The rea-
sonable cost of any plans, specifications, and other
unpublished material furnished by the Secretary pursuant
to this section and the cost of making and administering
any provision under this Act shall, to the extent that they
would not be nonreimbursable in the case of a project con-
structed under the Federal Reclamation Laws, be treated
as a loan and covered in the provisions of the contract
entered into under section 106 of this Act unless they are
otherwise paid for by the project sponsor.
SEC. 109. COMPLIANCE WITH FISH AND WILDLIFE COORDI-
NATION ACT.
For those projects where the planning and construc-
tion of projects undertaken pursuant to this Act is subject
to the provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination
Act, the cost of such provisions shall be a Federal expense
and the Secretary is authorized, as may be provided in
Appropriation Acts, to transfer to the Fish and Wildlife
Service or to the National Marine Fisheries Service, such
funds as may be necessary to conduct the investigations
required to carry out the purposes of this Act, except that
the Secretary may not use any funds appropriated for the
purposes of projects or programs under the Bureau of
Reclamation.
SEC. 110. RULES AND REGULATIONS.
The Secretary is authorized to make such rules and
regulations as may be necessary or proper in carrying out
the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 111. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Funds authorized for appropriation under the Small
Reclamation Projects Act (43 U.S.C. 504) shall be avail-
able for the purposes of this Act. To the extent that such
funds are not adequate, there are hereby authorized to be
appropriated to carry out the provisions of this title not
to exceed $300,000,000 from fiscal year 1998 to fiscal
year 2007. All such appropriations shall remain available
until expended.
TITLE II
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Small Reclamation
Water Resources Partnership Program’’.
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this title:
(1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(2) The term ‘‘Federal Reclamation Laws’’
means the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and
Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.
(3) The term ‘‘project sponsor’’ means a State
or a department, agency, or political subdivision
thereof; or a conservancy district, irrigation district,
water users’ association, tribal authority, or agency
created by interstate compact or similar organization
which has the capacity to contract with the United
States under the Federal Reclamation Laws.
(4) The term ‘‘project purposes’’ means certain
Bureau of Reclamation programs of water conserva-
tion, fish and wildlife enhancement, public safety,
public outdoor recreation, environmental education,
archaeological surveys, integrated resource planning,
watershed management, technology transfer, ground-
water management, and research and nonstructural
flood control activities.
(5) The term ‘‘regional loan officer’’ means the
Bureau of Reclamation employee assigned respon-
sibility for processing the loan or grant applications
under this program.
SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF A SMALL GRANT AND LOAN
PROGRAM.
There is hereby established within the Department
of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation the Small Rec-
lamation Water Resources Management Partnership Pro-
gram for a small grant and loan program. Grants shall
not exceed $5,000,000 for any one project and shall be
matched on a 50–50 basis. There are authorized to be ap-
propriated not to exceed $10,000,000 per year for the pur-
poses of this title for fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year
2002. Loans shall not exceed $1,500,000 per project.
(C) stabilization of instream flows; and
(D) Federal or State endangered species
habitat protection and enhancement where im-
provement or enhancement activities are within
normal operating criteria.
(3) PUBLIC SAFETY.—
(A) downstream warning system projects;
(B) canal fencing for public safety; and
(C) public access facilities.
(4) PUBLIC OUTDOOR RECREATION.—
(A) replacement, repair, or improvement of
boat ramps, hiking and biking trails, benches,
picnic areas, parking facilities associated with
Federal reclamation projects; and
(B) addition of public access facilities.
(5) ARCHAEOLOGICAL
SURVEYS.—Site clear-
ances.
(b) The Secretary may add to this list of activities
as he deems appropriate, except that any such addition
shall not take effect until 60 days after the Secretary pub-
lishes a notice of the proposed addition in the Federal
Register and has notified the Committee on Resources of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate
in writing of the proposed addition and the reasons there-
for.
SEC. 205. APPLICATION PROCESS.
(a) Each applicant shall submit a Notice of Intent
to the appropriate Regional Director of the United States
Bureau of Reclamation outlining the proposed project and
the public benefits thereof. The Regional Director shall
provide a written response to the applicant within 90 days
of receiving the application either affirming or rejecting
Federal interest in participating in the project.
(b) Upon notification of a Federal interest, the appli-
cant shall have the option of proceeding with an appro-
priate loan application giving details of the project and
the associated public benefits.
(c) The contents of any project proposal shall include,
but need not be limited to, the following:
(1) A resolution by the board of directors of the
qualifying organization stating the total estimated
cost, the amount of the grant or loan requested, the
amount of the local contribution for the grant, and
the project objectives.
(2) A summary of the proposal.
(3) A brief description of the anticipated effects
of the project on the natural, as well as manmade
environment.
(4) Evidence that the applicant has all lands
and water rights needed for the project, or can ob-
tain them.
(5) A description of the project plan, including
a general map showing the location of proposed
physical features, sufficient engineering drawings of
major and typical structures, and general standards
for design.
(6) A construction schedule, if applicable, with
dates and schedule of Federal funding requirements,
in sufficient detail to permit analysis of the proposed
construction program.
(7) A determination of those portions of the
project costs which constitute the Federal grant/loan
amounts and the applicant’s local contribution.
(d) The cost of any investigations and preparation
of any environmental documentation shall be borne by the
project applicant and any such costs shall be credited as
part of the local cost share for grant funding.
(e) The Secretary shall publish on a quarterly basis
in the Federal Register a listing of the activities and total
funding required for work committed under this program.
SEC. 206. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PROJECT WORK.
The applicant is solely responsible for planning, con-
structing, operating, and maintaining the project. The of-
fice of the Regional Director will examine the plans to de-
termine if the project can reasonably be expected to ac-
complish its purpose. Once approved by the Regional Di-
rector, funding, subject to the availability of appropria-
tions or funds from repayments, shall be provided within
sixty days for the schedule of work within that fiscal year.
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HR 3041 IH——2