[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 970 Introduced in House (IH)]
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 970
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to the
Perkins County Rural Water System, Inc., for the construction of water
supply facilities in Perkins County, South Dakota.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 3, 1999
Mr. Thune introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to the
Perkins County Rural Water System, Inc., for the construction of water
supply facilities in Perkins County, South Dakota.
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 ``Perkins County Rural Water System
Act of 1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) in 1977, the North Dakota State Legislature authorized
and directed the State Water Commission to conduct the
Southwest Area Water Supply Study, which included water service
to a portion of Perkins County, South Dakota;
(2) amendments made by the Garrison Diversion Unit
Reformulation Act of 1986 (Public Law 101-294) authorized the
Southwest Pipeline project as an eligible project for Federal
cost share participation; and
(3) the Perkins County Rural Water System has continued to
be recognized by the State of North Dakota, the Southwest Water
Authority, the North Dakota Water Commission, the Department of
the Interior, and Congress as a component of the Southwest
Pipeline Project.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Corporation.--The term ``Corporation'' means the
Perkins County Rural Water System, Inc., a nonprofit
corporation established and operated under the laws of the
State of South Dakota substantially in accordance with the
feasibility study.
(2) Feasibility study.--The term ``feasibility study''
means the study entitled ``Feasibility Study for Rural Water
System for Perkins County Rural Water System, Inc.'', as
amended in March 1995.
(3) Project construction budget.--The term ``project
construction budget'' means the description of the total amount
of funds that are needed for the construction of the water
supply system, as described in the feasibility study.
(4) Pumping and incidental operational requirements.--The
term ``pumping and incidental operational requirements'' means
all power requirements that are incidental to the operation of
the water supply system by the Corporation.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau
of Reclamation.
(6) Water supply system.--The term ``water supply system''
means intake facilities, pumping stations, water treatment
facilities, cooling facilities, reservoirs, and pipelines
operated by the Perkins County Rural Water System, Inc., to the
point of delivery of water to each entity that distributes
water at retail to individual users.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall make grants to the Corporation
for the Federal share of the costs of--
(1) the planning and construction of the water supply
system; and
(2) repairs to existing public water distribution systems
to ensure conservation of the resources and to make the systems
functional under the new water supply system.
(b) 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 with respect to
the water supply system; and
(2) a final engineering report and a plan for a water
conservation program have been prepared and submitted to
Congress for a period of not less than 90 days before the
commencement of construction of the system.
SEC. 5. MITIGATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE LOSSES.
Mitigation of 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. 6. USE OF PICK-SLOAN POWER.
(a) In General.--From power designated for future irrigation and
drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Missouri River 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 May
1 and ending 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 Corporation shall be operated on a not-for-profit
basis.
(2) The Corporation may contract to purchase its entire
electric service requirements for the water supply 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 shall be agreed by contract among--
(A) the Western Area Power Administration;
(B) the power supplier with which the Corporation
contracts under paragraph (2);
(C) the power supplier of the entity described in
subparagraph (B); and
(D) the Corporation;
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
Corporation, except that the power supplier of the Corporation
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. 7. FEDERAL SHARE.
The Federal share under section 4 shall be 75 percent of--
(1) the amount allocated in the total project construction
budget for the planning and construction of the water supply
system under section 4; and
(2) such sums as are necessary to defray increases in
development costs reflected in appropriate engineering cost
indices after March 1, 1995.
SEC. 8. NON-FEDERAL SHARE.
The non-Federal share under section 4 shall be 25 percent of--
(1) the amount allocated in the total project construction
budget for the planning and construction of the water supply
system under section 4; and
(2) such sums as are necessary to defray increases in
development costs reflected in appropriate engineering cost
indices after March 1, 1995.
SEC. 9. CONSTRUCTION OVERSIGHT.
(a) Authorization.--At the request of the Corporation, the
Secretary may provide to the Corporation assistance in overseeing
matters relating to construction of the water supply system.
(b) Project Oversight Administration.--The amount of funds used by
the Secretary for planning and construction of the water supply system
may not exceed an amount equal to 3 percent of the amount provided in
the total project construction budget for the portion of the project to
be constructed in Perkins County, South Dakota.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary--
(1) $15,000,000 for the planning and construction of the
water supply system under section 4; and
(2) such sums as are necessary to defray increases in
development costs reflected in appropriate engineering cost
indices after March 1, 1995.
<all>