[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1426 Reported in House (RH)]

                                                 Union Calendar No. 331

103d CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1426

                          [Report No. 103-600]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To provide for the maintenance of dams located on Indian lands by the 
   Bureau of Indian Affairs or through contracts with Indian tribes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             July 14, 1994

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
                                                 Union Calendar No. 331
103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1426

                          [Report No. 103-600]

 To provide for the maintenance of dams located on Indian lands by the 
   Bureau of Indian Affairs or through contracts with Indian tribes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 1993

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

                             July 14, 1994

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 
                               18, 1993]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the maintenance of dams located on Indian lands by the 
   Bureau of Indian Affairs or through contracts with Indian tribes.

    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 ``Indian Dams Safety Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the Secretary of the Interior has identified 53 dams on 
        Indian lands that present a high hazard to human life in the 
        event of a failure;
            (2) because of inadequate attention in the past to problems 
        stemming from structural deficiencies and regular maintenance 
        requirements for dams operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
        unsafe Bureau dams continue to pose an imminent threat to 
        people and property;
            (3) many Bureau dams have maintenance deficiencies 
        regardless of their current safety condition classification and 
        the deficiencies must be corrected to avoid future threats to 
        human life and property;
            (4) safe working dams on Indian lands are necessary to 
        supply irrigation water, to provide flood control, to provide 
        water for municipal, industrial, domestic, livestock, and 
        recreation uses, and for fish and wildlife habitats; and
            (5) it is necessary to institute a regular dam maintenance 
        program, utilizing the expertise in the Bureau, Indian tribes, 
        and other Federal agencies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``Bureau'' means the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
            (2) The term ``dam'' has the same meaning given such term 
        by the first section of Public Law 92-367 (33 U.S.C. 467).
            (3) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior.

SEC. 4. DAM SAFETY MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a dam safety 
maintenance program within the Bureau to ensure maintenance and 
monitoring of the condition of each dam identified pursuant to 
subsection (d) necessary to maintain the dam in a satisfactory 
condition on a long-term basis.
    (b) Rehabilitation.--The Secretary shall perform such 
rehabilitation and repair work as is necessary to bring the dams 
identified pursuant to subsection (d) to a satisfactory condition. Upon 
the completion of rehabilitation work on each dam, the dam shall be 
placed under the dam safety maintenance program established pursuant to 
subsection (a) and shall be regularly maintained under the guidelines 
of such program.
    (c) Maintenance Action Plan.--The Secretary shall develop a 
maintenance action plan, which shall include a prioritization of 
actions to be taken, for those dams with a risk hazard rating of high 
or significant as identified pursuant to subsection (d).
    (d) Identification of Dams.--
            (1) Development of list.--The Secretary shall develop a 
        comprehensive list of dams located on Indian lands that 
        describes the dam safety condition classification of each dam, 
        as specified in paragraph (2), the risk hazard classification 
        of each dam, as specified in paragraph (3), and the conditions 
        resulting from maintenance deficiencies.
            (2) Dam safety condition classifications.--The dam safety 
        condition classification referred to in paragraph (1) is one of 
        the following classifications:
                    (A) Satisfactory.--No existing or potential dam 
                safety deficiencies are recognized. Safe performance is 
                expected under all anticipated conditions.
                    (B) Fair.--No existing dam safety deficiencies are 
                recognized for normal loading conditions. Infrequent 
                hydrologic or seismic events would probably result in a 
                dam safety deficiency.
                    (C) Conditionally poor.--A potential dam safety 
                deficiency is recognized for unusual loading conditions 
                that may realistically occur during the expected life 
                of the structure.
                    (D) Poor.--A potential dam safety deficiency is 
                clearly recognized for normal loading conditions. 
                Immediate actions to resolve the deficiency are 
                recommended; reservoir restrictions may be necessary 
                until resolution of the problem.
                    (E) Unsatisfactory.--A dam safety deficiency exists 
                for normal loading conditions. Immediate remedial 
                action is required for resolution of the problem.
            (3) Risk hazard classification.--The risk hazard 
        classification referred to in paragraph (1) is one of the 
        following classifications:
                    (A) High.--Six or more lives would be at risk or 
                extensive property damage could occur if the dam 
                failed.
                    (B) Significant.--Between one and six lives would 
                be at risk or significant property damage could occur 
                if the dam failed.
                    (C) Low.--No lives would be at risk and limited 
                property damage would occur if the dam failed.
    (e) Limitation on Program Authorization.--Work authorized by this 
Act shall be for the purpose of dam safety maintenance. The Secretary 
may authorize, upon request of an Indian tribe, up to 20 percent of the 
cost of repairs to be used to provide additional conservation storage 
capacity or developing benefits beyond those provided by the original 
dams and reservoirs. This Act is not intended to preclude development 
of increased storage or benefits under any other authority.
    (f) Technical Assistance.--To carry out the purposes of this Act, 
the Secretary may obtain technical assistance from other departments 
and agencies. Notwithstanding any such technical assistance, the dam 
safety program (established by the Secretary by order dated February 
28, 1980, to prevent dam failure and the resulting loss of life or 
serious property damage) and the dam safety maintenance program 
established under subsection (a) shall be under the direction and 
control of the Bureau.
    (g) Contract Authority.--In addition to any other authority 
established by law, the Secretary is authorized to contract with 
appropriate Indian tribes (as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian 
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e))) to 
carry out the dam safety maintenance program established under 
subsection (a).
    (h) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report on 
the implementation of this Act. The report shall include--
            (1) the list of dams and their status on the maintenance 
        action plan developed under this section; and
            (2) the projected total cost and a schedule of the 
        projected annual cost of rehabilitation or repair for each dam 
        under this section.
The report shall be submitted at the time the budget is required to be 
submitted under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act. Funds provided under this Act are to 
be considered nonreimbursable notwithstanding any other authority to 
the contrary, and nothing in this Act shall be construed to change or 
amend existing laws and related payment contracts with irrigation 
districts.