[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 297 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 297

To authorize the construction of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System 
and to authorize assistance to the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, 
Inc., a nonprofit corporation, for the planning and construction of the 
              water supply system, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 1999

   Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Minge, and Mr. Latham) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the construction of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System 
and to authorize assistance to the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, 
Inc., a nonprofit corporation, for the planning and construction of the 
              water supply system, 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 ``Lewis and Clark Rural Water System 
Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Environmental enhancement.--The term ``environmental 
        enhancement'' means the wetland and wildlife enhancement 
        activities that are carried out substantially in accordance 
        with the environmental enhancement component of the feasibility 
        study.
            (2) Environmental enhancement component.--The term 
        ``environmental enhancement component'' means the component 
        described in the report entitled ``Wetlands and Wildlife 
        Enhancement for the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System'', dated 
        April 1991, that is included in the feasibility study.
            (3) Feasibility study.--The term ``feasibility study'' 
        means the study entitled ``Feasibility Level Evaluation of a 
        Missouri River Regional Water Supply for South Dakota, Iowa and 
        Minnesota'', dated September 1993, that includes a water 
        conservation plan, environmental report, and environmental 
        enhancement component.
            (4) Member entity.--The term ``member entity'' means a 
        rural water system or municipality that signed a Letter of 
        Commitment to participate in the water supply system.
            (5) Project construction budget.--The term ``project 
        construction budget'' means the description of the total amount 
        of funds needed for the construction of the water supply 
        system, as contained in the feasibility study.
            (6) Pumping and incidental operational requirements.--The 
        term ``pumping and incidental operational requirements'' means 
        all power requirements that are incidental to the operation of 
        intake facilities, pumping stations, water treatment 
        facilities, reservoirs, and pipelines up to the point of 
        delivery of water by the water supply system to each member 
        entity that distributes water at retail to individual users.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (8) Water supply system.--The term ``water supply system'' 
        means the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Inc., a nonprofit 
        corporation established and operated substantially in 
        accordance with the feasibility study.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall make grants to the water 
supply system for the planning and construction of the water supply 
system.
    (b) Service Area.--The water supply system shall provide for safe 
and adequate municipal, rural, and industrial water supplies, 
environmental enhancement, mitigation of wetland areas, and water 
conservation in--
            (1) Lake County, McCook County, Minnehaha County, Turner 
        County, Lincoln County, Clay County, and Union County, in 
        southeastern South Dakota;
            (2) Rock County and Nobles County, in southwestern 
        Minnesota; and
            (3) Lyon County, Sioux County, Osceola County, O'Brien 
        County, Dickinson County, and Clay County, in northwestern 
        Iowa.
    (c) Amount of Grants.--Grants made available under subsection (a) 
to the water supply system shall not exceed the amount of funds 
authorized under section 10.
    (d) Limitation on Availability of Construction Funds.--The 
Secretary shall not obligate funds for the construction of the water 
supply system until--
            (1) the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
        Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) are met;
            (2) a final engineering report is prepared and submitted to 
        Congress not less than 90 days before the commencement of 
        construction of the water supply system; and
            (3) a water conservation program is developed and 
        implemented.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT COMPONENT.

    (a) Initial Development.--The Secretary shall make grants and other 
funds available to the water supply system and other private, State, 
and Federal entities, for the initial development of the environmental 
enhancement component.
    (b) Nonreimbursement.--Funds provided under subsection (a) shall be 
nonreimbursable and nonreturnable.

SEC. 5. WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The water supply system shall establish a water 
conservation program that ensures that users of water from the water 
supply system use the best practicable technology and management 
techniques to conserve water use.
    (b) Requirements.--The water conservation programs shall include--
            (1) low consumption performance standards for all newly 
        installed plumbing fixtures;
            (2) leak detection and repair programs;
            (3) rate schedules that do not include declining block rate 
        schedules for municipal households and special water users (as 
        defined in the feasibility study);
            (4) public education programs and technical assistance to 
        member entities; and
            (5) coordinated operation among each rural water system, 
        and each water supply facility in existence on the date of 
        enactment of this Act, in the service area of the system.
    (c) Review and Revision.--The programs described in subsection (b) 
shall contain provisions for periodic review and revision, in 
cooperation with the Secretary.

SEC. 6. MITIGATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE LOSSES.

    Mitigation for fish and wildlife losses incurred as a result of the 
construction and operation of the water supply system shall be on an 
acre-for-acre basis, based on ecological equivalency, concurrent with 
project construction, as provided in the feasibility study.

SEC. 7. USE OF PICK-SLOAN POWER.

    (a) In General.--From power designated for future irrigation and 
drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin program, the Western 
Area Power Administration shall make available the capacity and energy 
required to meet the pumping and incidental operational requirements of 
the water supply system during the period beginning on May 1 and ending 
on October 31 of each year.
    (b) Conditions.--The capacity and energy described in subsection 
(a) shall be made available on the following conditions:
            (1) The water supply system shall be operated on a not-for-
        profit basis.
            (2) The water supply system shall contract to purchase the 
        entire electric service requirements of the system, including 
        the capacity and energy made available under subsection (a), 
        from a qualified preference power supplier that itself 
        purchases power from the Western Area Power Administration.
            (3) The rate schedule applicable to the capacity and energy 
        made available under subsection (a) shall be the firm power 
        rate schedule of the Pick-Sloan Eastern Division of the Western 
        Area Power Administration in effect when the power is delivered 
        by the Administration.
            (4) It is agreed by contract among--
                    (A) the Western Area Power Administration;
                    (B) the power supplier with which the water supply 
                system contracts under paragraph (2);
                    (C) the power supplier of the entity described in 
                subparagraph (B); and
                    (D) the water supply system;
        that in the case of the capacity and energy made available 
        under subsection (a), the benefit of the rate schedule 
        described in paragraph (3) shall be passed through to the water 
        supply system, except that the power supplier of the water 
        supply system shall not be precluded from including, in the 
        charges of the supplier to the water system for the electric 
        service, the other usual and customary charges of the supplier.

SEC. 8. NO LIMITATION ON WATER PROJECTS IN STATES.

    This Act does not limit the authorization for water projects in the 
States of South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota under law in effect on or 
after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 9. WATER RIGHTS.

    Nothing in this Act--
            (1) invalidates or preempts State water law or an 
        interstate compact governing water;
            (2) alters the rights of any State to any appropriated 
        share of the waters of any body of surface or ground water, 
        whether determined by past or future interstate compacts or by 
        past or future legislative or final judicial allocations;
            (3) preempts or modifies any Federal or State law, or 
        interstate compact, governing water quality or disposal; or
            (4) confers on any non-Federal entity the ability to 
        exercise any Federal right to the waters of any stream or to 
        any ground water resource.

SEC. 10. COST SHARING.

    (a) Federal Cost Share.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary shall provide funds equal to 80 percent of--
                    (A) the amount allocated in the total project 
                construction budget for planning and construction of 
                the water supply system under section 3;
                    (B) such amounts as are necessary to defray 
                increases in the budget for planning and construction 
                of the water supply system under section 3; and
                    (C) such amounts as are necessary to defray 
                increases in development costs reflected in appropriate 
                engineering cost indices after September 1, 1993.
            (2) Sioux falls.--The Secretary shall provide funds for the 
        city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in an amount equal to 50 
        percent of the incremental cost to the city of participation in 
        the project.
    (b) Non-Federal Cost Share.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        non-Federal share of the costs allocated to the water supply 
        system shall be 20 percent of the amounts described in 
        subsection (a)(1).
            (2) Sioux falls.--The non-Federal cost-share for the city 
        of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, shall be 50 percent of the 
        incremental cost to the city of participation in the project.

SEC. 11. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary may allow the Commissioner of 
Reclamation to provide project construction oversight to the water 
supply system and environmental enhancement component for the service 
area of the water supply system described in section 3(b).
    (b) Project Oversight Administration.--The amount of funds used by 
the Commissioner of Reclamation for planning and construction of the 
water supply system shall not exceed the amount that is equal to 1 
percent of the amount provided in the total project construction budget 
for the entire project construction period.

SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$226,320,000, of which not less than $8,487,000 shall be used for the 
initial development of the environmental enhancement component under 
section 4, to remain available until expended.
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