A bill entitled: "The Lower Colorado Water Supply Bill".
PL 99-655 (H.R.5028), enacted 11/14/1986

PUBLIC LAW 99-655—NOV. 14, 1986 
100 STAT. 3665 
Public Law 99-655 
99th Congress 
An Act 
Entitled the "Lower Colorado Water Supply Act". 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION. 
(a) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct, oper-
ate, and maintain the Lower Colorado Water Supply Project, 
California, in order to supply water for domestic, municipal, indus-
trial, and recreational purposes only: Provided, That, the Secretary 
is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to contract with non-Federal 
interests for the care, operation, and maintenance of all or any part 
of the project works, subject to such rules and regulations as he may 
prescribe. Such project shall be constructed in stages as increases in 
demand warrant and substantially in accordance with the plans set 
forth in the document entitled "Lower Colorado Water Supply 
Study, California" (December 1985): Provided, That the Secretary is 
prohibited from constructing facilities with a total capacity in excess 
of ten thousand acre-feet per annum under authority of this Act. 
(b)(1) The Secretary is further authorized to enter into exchange 
contracts and take such actions £is the Secretary deems appropriate 
to facilitate a water exchange agreement between non-Federal in-
terests and those interests designated in section 2(b) of this Act in 
which such non-Federal interests agree to exchange a portion of 
their rights to divert water from the Colorado River for an equiva-
lent quantity and quality of groundwater to be withdrawn from a 
well field located in the Sand Hills area. Imperial County, 
California, 
(2) The Secretary is prohibited from executing any contracts 
under the authority of subsection (b)(1) of this section until such 
contracts have been submitted to the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and to the Commit-
tee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and ninety 
calendar days have elapsed. 
SEC. 2. REPAYMENT OF COSTS. 
(a) The Secretary is prohibited from obligating or expending any 
of the funds authorized to be appropriated by section 3 of this Act 
until— 
(1) a study has been completed, and submitted to the appro-
priate committees of the Congress, allocating among the Fed-
eral and non-Federal beneficiaries the capital costs and the 
costs of operating, maintaining, and replacing the project 
authorized by section 1 of this Act; 
(2) the Secretary has entered into a contract or contracts with 
non-Federal interests for repayment of the capital costs, plus 
interest, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, as of 
the beginning of the fiscal year in which the contract is exe-
cuted, on the bsisis of the average market yields on outstanding 
Nov. 14, 1986 
[H.R. 5028] 
Contracts. 
Regulations. 
100 STAT. 3666 
PUBLIC LAW 99-655—NOV. 14, 1986 
marketable obligations of the United States with remaining 
periods to maturity comparable to the applicable reimburse-
ment period of the project, adjusted to the nearest one-eighth of 1 
per centum, allocated to non-Federal interests for domestic, 
municipal, industrial, and recreational purposes as identified in 
the cost allocation study prepared under subsection (a)(1): Pro-
vided, That the terms and provisions of such contracts and 
repayment shall be governed by the provisions of the Water 
43 use 390b 
Supply Act of 1958 which were in effect on January 1, 1986; 
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(3) the Secretary has entered into a contract or contracts with 
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non-Federal interests for pa3mient of 100 per centum of the costs 
allocated to such non-Federal interests for the operation, 
maintenance, and replacement of the project on a current basis; 
and 
(4) the Secretary has transmitted to Congress the final plan-
ning report/environmental assessment on the Lower Colorado 
Water Supply Project. 
California. 
Ot)) Any Contracts executed by the Secretary to fulfill the require-
ments of subsections (aX2) and (aX3) of this section must be with 
persons, or Federal or non-Federal governmental entities whose 
lands or interests in lands are located adjacent to the Colorado River 
in the State of California who do not hold rights to Colorado River 
water or whose rights are insufficient to meet their present or 
anticipated future needs, as determined by the Secretary. Such 
persons, or Federal or non-Federal governmental entities shall in-
clude the city of Needles, the town of Winterhaven, and other 
domestic, municipal, industrial, and recreational water users along 
the Colorado River in the State of California. 
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SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated for the construction 
through September 30, 1993, of the Lower Colorado Water Supply 
Project the sum of $1,800,000 plus or minus such amounts, if any, as 
may be justified by reason of ordinary cost indices applicable to the 
types of construction involved therein and in addition thereto such 
sums as may be required for operation, maintenance and replace-
ment of that portion of the project used to supply domestic, munici-
pal, industrial, or recreational water supplies for lands managed by 
the Federal Government. No funds are authorized to be appro-
priated for payment of the operation, maintenance, or replacement 
costs allocated to non-Federal beneficiaries as determined by the 
study undertaken under authority of section 2(aXl). 
SEC. 4. CONTRIBUTION OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS. 
The Secretary is authorized to accept monetary contributions 
from the city of Needles and other incorporated cities for the 
construction of project features of the Lower Colorado Water Supply 
Project allocated to the provision of water supplies to the city of 
Needles and other incorporated cities: Provided, That, such con-
tributions shall be credited toward the reimbursable costs to be 
repaid by the city of Needles and other incorporated cities pursuant 
to the contracts entered into pursuant to section 2 of this Act. Such 
contributions by the city of Needles and other incorporated cities 
shall be contributed during the construction of the appropriate 
project features and shall constitute 20 percent of the costs of such 
project features allocated to the city of Needles and other incor-
porated cities for repayment. 
PUBLIC LAW 99-655—NOV. 14, 1986 
100 STAT. 3667 
SEC. 5. SAVINGS PROVISION. 
Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to alter, repeal, 
modify, interpret, or be in conflict with the provisions of the Colo-
rado River Compact (45 Stat. 1057), the Water Treaty of 1944 with 
the United Mexican States (Treaty Series 994, 59 Stat. 1219), the 
decree entered by the Supreme Court of the United States in 
Arizona against California, and others (376 U.S. 340), the Boulder 
Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057), the Boulder Canyon Project 
Adjustment Act (54 Stat. 774; 43 U.S.C. 618a), or the Colorado River 
Basin Project Act (82 Stat. 885; 43 U.S.C. 1501). Nor shall any 
provision of this Act— 
(a) affect the rights or jurisdictions of the United States, the 
States, Indian tribes, or other entities over waters of any river 
or streams or over any groundwater resources, or 
, 
(b) otherwise be construed to alter or establish the respective 
rights of States, the United States, Indian tribes, or any person 
with respect to any water or water-related right. 
Approved November 14, 1986. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 5028: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 99-650 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 99-496 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 132 (1986): 
June 24, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 9, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Oct. 15, House disagreed to Senate amendment. 
Oct. 18, Senate receded from its amendment.