Detailed Instructions: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Problem:SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Southern High Plains Groundwater
Resource Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) A reliable source of groundwater is an essential
element of the economy of the communities on the High Plains.
(2) The High Plains Aquifer and the Ogallala Aquifer are
closely related hydrogeographic structures. The High Plains
Aquifer consists largely of the Ogallala Aquifer with small
components of other geologic units.
(3) The High Plains Aquifer experienced a dramatic decline
in water table levels in the latter half of the twentieth
century. The average weighted decline in the aquifer from 1950
to 1997 was 12.6 feet (USGS Fact Sheet 124-99, Dec. 1999).
(4) The decline in water table levels is especially
pronounced in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer, reporting that
large areas in the States of Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas
experienced declines of over 100 feet in that period (USGS Fact
Sheet 124-99, Dec. 1999).
(5) The saturated thickness of the High Plains Aquifer has
declined by over 50 percent in some areas (1186 USGS Circular
27, 1999). Furthermore, the survey has reported that the
percentage of the High Plains Aquifer which has a saturated
thickness of 100 feet or more declined from 54 percent to 51
percent in the period from 1980 to 1997 (USGS Fact Sheet 124-
99, Dec. 1999).
(6) The decreased water levels in the High Plains Aquifer
coupled with higher pumping lift costs raise concerns about the
long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the High
Plains. (''External Effects of Irrigators' Pumping Decisions,
High Plains Aquifer'' Alley and Schefter, American Geophysical
Union paper #7W0326; Water Resources Research, Vol. 23, No. 7
1123-1130, July 1987).
(7) Hydrological modeling by the United States Geological
Survey indicates that in the context of sustained high
groundwater use in the surrounding region, reductions in
groundwater pumping at the single farm level or at a very local
level of up to 100 square miles, have a very time limited
impact on conserving the level of the local water table, thus
creating a disincentive for individual water users to invest in
water conservation measures. (''External Effects of Irrigators'
Pumping Decisions, High Plains Aquifer'', Alley and Schefter,
American Geophysical Union, paper #7W0326; Water Resources
Research, Vol. 23, No. 7 1123-1130, July 1987).
(8) Incentives must be created for conservation of
groundwater on a regional scale, in order to achieve an
agricultural economy on the Southern High Plains that is
sustainable.
(9) For water conservation incentives to function, Federal,
State, tribal, and local water policymakers, and individual
groundwater users must have access to reliable information
concerning aquifer recharge rates, extraction rates, and water
table levels at the local and regional levels on an ongoing
basis.
(b) Purposes.--To promote groundwater conservation on the Southern
High Plains in order to extend the usable life of the Southern Ogallala
Aquifer.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of this Act:
(1) High plains aquifer.--The term ''High Plains Aquifer''
means the groundwater reserve depicted as Figure 1 in the
United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1400-B,
titled ''Geohydrology of the High Plains Aquifer in Parts of
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota,
Texas, and Wyoming''.
(2) High plains.--The term ''High Plains'' means the
approximately 174,000 square miles of land surface overlying
the High Plains Aquifer in the States of New Mexico, Colorado,
Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
(3) Southern ogallala aquifer.--The term ''Southern
Ogallala Aquifer'' means that part of the High Plains Aquifer
lying below 39 degrees north latitude which underlies the
States of New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, Colorado, and
Kansas.
(4) Southern high plains.--The term ''Southern High
Plains'' means the portions of the States of New Mexico, Texas,
and Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas which overlie the Southern
Ogallala Aquifer.
(5) Secretary.--The term ''Secretary'' means either the
Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as
appropriate.
(6) Water conservation measure.--The term ''water
conservation measures'' means measures which enhance the
groundwater recharge rate of a given piece of land, or which
increase water use efficiencies.

SEC. 4. HYDROLOGIC MAPPING, MODELING, AND MONITORING PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, working though the
United States Geological Survey, shall develop a comprehensive
hydrologic mapping, modeling, and monitoring program for the Southern
Ogallala Aquifer. The program shall include on a county-by-county
basis--
(1) a map of the hydrological configuration of the Aquifer;
and
(2) an analysis of--
(A) the current and past rate at which groundwater
is being withdrawn and recharged, and the net rate of
decrease or increase in aquifer storage;
(B) the factors controlling the rate of horizontal
migration of water within the Aquifer;
(C) the degree to which aquifer compaction caused
by pumping and recharge methods in impacting the
storage and recharge capacity of the groundwater body;
and
(D) the current and past rate of loss of saturated
thickness within the Aquifer.
(b) Annual Report.--Not later than one year after the enactment of
this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report
on the status of the Southern Ogallala Aquifer to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, the Committee on Resources
of the House of Representatives, and the Governors of the States of New
Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and Kansas.

SEC. 5. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

(a) Federal Assistance.--The Secretary of Agriculture, working
through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall establish a
groundwater conservation assistance program for Southern Ogallala
Aquifer.
(b) Design and Planning.--The Secretary shall provide financial and
technical assistance, including modeling and engineering design to
States, tribes, and counties, conservation districts, or other
political subdivisions recognized under State law, for the development
of comprehensive groundwater conservation plans within the Southern
High Plains. This assistance shall be provided on a cost-share basis
ensuring that--
(1) the Federal funding for the development of any given
plan shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost; and
(2) the Federal funding for groundwater water conservation
planning for any one county, conservation district, or similar
political subdivision recognized under State law shall not
exceed $50,000.
(c) Certification.--The Secretary shall create a certification
process for comprehensive groundwater conservation plans developed
under this program, or developed independently by States, tribes,
counties, or other political subdivisions recognized under State law.
To be certified, a plan must--
(1) cover a sufficient geographic area to provide a benefit
to the groundwater resource over at least a 20 year period;
(2) include a set of goals for water conservation; and
(3) include a process for an annual evaluation of the
plan's implementation to allow for modifications if goals are
not being met.

SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE.

(a) In General.--Farming operations within jurisdictions which have
a certified conservation plan in accordance with section 5(c) shall be
eligible assistance for projects described in subsection (b).
(b) Eligible Projects.--Projects eligible for assistance under
subsection (a) are as follows:
(1) Water conservation cost-share assistance.--The
Secretary, working through the Natural Resources Conservation
Service, may provide grants to individual farming operations of
up to $50,000 for implementing on farm water conservation
measures including the improvement of irrigation systems and
the purchase of new equipment. The Federal share of the water
conservation investment in any one operation be no greater than
50 percent.
(2) Irrigated land reserve.--Through the 2020 calendar
year, the Secretary shall formulate and carry out the
enrollment of lands in a groundwater conservation reserve
program through the use of multiple year contracts for
irrigated lands which would result in significant per acre
savings of groundwater resources if converted to dryland
agriculture.
(3) Conservation reserve program enhancement.--Lands
eligible for the Conservation Reserve Program established under
section 1231 of the Food Security Act of 1985 which would
result in significant per acre savings of groundwater resources
if removed from agricultural production shall be awarded 20
Conservation Reserve Program bid points, to be designated as
groundwater conservation points, in addition to any other
ratings the lands may receive.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated--
(1) $5,000,000 annually through fiscal year 2020 for
hydrologic mapping, modeling, and monitoring under this Act;
(2) $5,000,000 annually through fiscal year 2020 for
groundwater conservation planning, design, and plan
certification under this Act;
(3) $30,000,000 annually through fiscal year 2020 for cost-
share assistance for on farm water conservation measures; and
(4) $30,000,000 annually through fiscal year 2020 for
enrollment of lands in an Irrigated Lands Reserve.
Solution:
Authorizes and directs the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, to establish a groundwater conservation assistance program for such Aquifer. Directs the Secretary to create a groundwater conservation plan certification process. States that farms in jurisdictions with a certified plan shall be eligible for specified implementation assistance.
Authorizes appropriations.