Title: Clean Water for Rural Communities Act
Policy area: Water Resources Development

Summary:
Clean Water for Rural Communities Act
This bill authorizes rural water supply projects in Montana and North Dakota.
Specifically, the bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to (1) plan and construct the Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System for certain communities in Montana, and (2) study the feasibility of constructing the Dry-Redwater Regional Water System for certain communities in Montana and North Dakota.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 967 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 967

  To authorize the construction of the Musselshell-Judith Rural Water 
System and study of the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority System in 
    the States of Montana and North Dakota, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2019

Mr. Gianforte introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the construction of the Musselshell-Judith Rural Water 
System and study of the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority System in 
    the States of Montana and North Dakota, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Water for Rural Communities 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to ensure a safe and adequate municipal, 
rural, and industrial water supply for the citizens of--
            (1) Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Prairie, Richland, Judith 
        Basin, Wheatland, Golden Valley, Fergus, Yellowstone, and 
        Musselshell Counties in the State of Montana; and
            (2) McKenzie County, North Dakota.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Authority.--The term ``Authority'' means--
                    (A) the Central Montana Regional Water Authority, a 
                publicly owned nonprofit water authority formed in 
                accordance with Mont. Code Ann. Sec.  75-6-302 (2007); 
                and
                    (B) any nonprofit successor entity to the Authority 
                described in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Musselshell-judith rural water system.--The term 
        ``Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System'' means the 
        Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System authorized under section 
        4(a), with a project service area that includes--
                    (A) Judith Basin, Wheatland, Golden Valley, and 
                Musselshell Counties in the State;
                    (B) the portion of Yellowstone County in the State 
                within 2 miles of State Highway 3 and within 4 miles of 
                the county line between Golden Valley and Yellowstone 
                Counties in the State, inclusive of the Town of 
                Broadview, Montana; and
                    (C) the portion of Fergus County in the State 
                within 2 miles of U.S. Highway 87 and within 4 miles of 
                the county line between Fergus and Judith Basin 
                Counties in the State, inclusive of the Town of Moore, 
                Montana.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Montana.

SEC. 4. MUSSELSHELL-JUDITH RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary may carry out the planning, 
design, and construction of the Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System 
in a manner that is substantially in accordance with the feasibility 
report entitled ``Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System Feasibility 
Report'' (including any and all revisions of the report).
    (b) Cooperative Agreement.--The Secretary shall enter into a 
cooperative agreement with the Authority to provide Federal assistance 
for the planning, design, and construction of the Musselshell-Judith 
Rural Water System.
    (c) Cost-Sharing Requirement.--
            (1) Federal share.--
                    (A) In general.--The Federal share of the costs 
                relating to the planning, design, and construction of 
                the Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System shall not 
                exceed 65 percent of the total cost of the Musselshell-
                Judith Rural Water System.
                    (B) Limitation.--Amounts made available under 
                subparagraph (A) shall not be returnable or 
                reimbursable under the reclamation laws.
            (2) Use of federal funds.--
                    (A) General uses.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System may use Federal 
                funds made available to carry out this section for--
                            (i) facilities relating to--
                                    (I) water pumping;
                                    (II) water treatment;
                                    (III) water storage;
                                    (IV) water supply wells;
                                    (V) distribution pipelines; and
                                    (VI) control systems;
                            (ii) transmission pipelines;
                            (iii) pumping stations;
                            (iv) appurtenant buildings, maintenance 
                        equipment, and access roads;
                            (v) any interconnection facility that 
                        connects a pipeline of the Musselshell-Judith 
                        Rural Water System to a pipeline of a public 
                        water system;
                            (vi) electrical power transmission and 
                        distribution facilities required for the 
                        operation and maintenance of the Musselshell-
                        Judith Rural Water System;
                            (vii) any other facility or service 
                        required for the development of a rural water 
                        distribution system, as determined by the 
                        Secretary; and
                            (viii) any property or property right 
                        required for the construction or operation of a 
                        facility described in this subsection.
                    (B) Limitation.--Federal funds made available to 
                carry out this section shall not be used for the 
                operation, maintenance, or replacement of the 
                Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System.
                    (C) Title.--Title to the Musselshell-Judith Rural 
                Water System shall be held by the Authority.

SEC. 5. DRY-REDWATER FEASIBILITY STUDY.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Dry-redwater regional water authority.--The term ``Dry-
        Redwater Regional Water Authority'' means--
                    (A) the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority, a 
                publicly owned nonprofit water authority formed in 
                accordance with Mont. Code Ann. Sec. 75-6-302 (2007); 
                and
                    (B) any nonprofit successor entity to the Authority 
                described in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Dry-redwater regional water authority system.--The term 
        ``Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority System'' means the 
        project entitled the ``Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority 
        System'', with a project service area that includes--
                    (A) Garfield and McCone Counties in the State;
                    (B) the area west of the Yellowstone River in 
                Dawson and Richland Counties in the State;
                    (C) T. 15 N. (including the area north of the 
                Township) in Prairie County in the State; and
                    (D) the portion of McKenzie County, North Dakota, 
                that includes all land that is located west of the 
                Yellowstone River in the State of North Dakota.
            (3) Reclamation feasibility standards.--The term 
        ``reclamation feasibility standards'' means the eligibility 
        criteria and feasibility study requirements described in 
        section 106 of the Reclamation Rural Water Supply Act of 2006 
        (43 U.S.C. 2405) (as in effect on September 29, 2016).
            (4) Submitted feasibility study.--The term ``submitted 
        feasibility study'' means the feasibility study entitled ``Dry-
        Redwater Regional Water System Feasibility Study'' (including 
        revisions of the study), which received funding from the Bureau 
        of Reclamation on September 1, 2010.
    (b) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority, may undertake a study, 
        including a review of the submitted feasibility study, to 
        determine the feasibility of constructing the Dry-Redwater 
        Regional Water System.
            (2) Requirement.--The study under paragraph (1) shall 
        comply with the reclamation feasibility standards.
    (c) Cooperative Agreement.--If the Secretary determines that the 
study under subsection (b) does not comply with the reclamation 
feasibility standards, the Secretary may enter into a cooperative 
agreement with the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority to complete 
additional work to ensure that the study complies with the reclamation 
feasibility standards.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 to carry out this section.
    (e) Termination.--The authority provided by this section shall 
expire on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 6. WATER RIGHTS.

    Nothing in this Act--
            (1) preempts or affects any State water law; or
            (2) affects any authority of a State, as in effect on the 
        date of enactment of this Act, to manage water resources within 
        that State.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out the planning, design, and construction of the Musselshell-Judith 
Rural Water System, substantially in accordance with the cost estimate 
set forth in the feasibility report described in section 4(a), 
$56,650,000.
    (b) Cost Indexing.--The amount authorized to be appropriated under 
subsection (a) may be increased or decreased in accordance with 
ordinary fluctuations in development costs incurred after November 1, 
2014, as indicated by any available engineering cost indices applicable 
to construction activities that are similar to the construction of the 
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System.
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