St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works and Milk River Project Act of 2006

Bill: 109-s-3563
Sponsor: Sen. Burns, Conrad R. [R-MT]
Introduced: 2006-06-23 in the Senate
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
Animals
Canals
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Dams
Dikes (Engineering)
Disasters
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Emergency communication systems
Energy
Environmental Protection
Environmental assessment
Federal aid to water resources development
Federal-Indian relations
Federal-state relations
Flood control
Government Operations and Politics
Government contractors
Governmental investigations
Housing and Community Development
Hydroelectric power
Indian claims
Indian economic development
Indian lands
Indian water rights
Infrastructure
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Irrigation
Labor and Employment
Lakes
Minorities
Minority employment
Montana
Native Americans
Outdoor recreation
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Reservoirs
Revolving funds
Science, Technology, Communications
Sports and Recreation
Subcontractors
Water conservation
Water supply
Wildlife conservation

Summary:
action_date: 2006-06-23
text: 
St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works and Milk River Project Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct studies to determine: (1) the feasibility of rehabilitating and improving the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works (a portion of the Milk River Project, a Bureau of Reclamation project in Montana, that is located within the Blackfeet Reservation) to provide for sustained environmental and economic benefit within the St. Mary and Milk River basins; and (2) the environmental impact of such rehabilitation project.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) initiate the planning, design, and construction of the project alternative that is selected; and (2) develop and implement an emergency response plan to be followed in the event of a catastrophic infrastructure failure. Establishes in the Treasury an emergency response plan fund.
 
 Requires: (1) the Milk River Project to be operated primarily for irrigation purposes; and (2) the Secretary to prioritize Project structures in need of rehabilitation and improvement.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that land and water rights held in trust for the benefit of the Blackfeet Tribe are protected; (2) resolve tribal claims against the United States; (3) identify appropriate Blackfeet projects to improve economic conditions on the Reservation; (4) complete studies to determine the feasibility of carrying out such projects; and (5) conduct studies to determine the feasibility of rehabilitating and improving Blackfeet irrigation project structures determined to be in need based on the appraisal investigation and of developing a safe and adequate rural, municipal, and industrial water supply project for the residents of the Fort Belknap Reservation and surrounding communities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-09-01
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held in Havre, MT. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 109-764.
action_date: 2006-06-23
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2006-06-23
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6458-6459)
action_date: 2006-06-23
text: Introduced in Senate