[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1723 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1723

 To establish a program to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
 plan, design, and construct facilities to mitigate impacts associated 
with irrigation system water diversions by local governmental entities 
  in the Pacific Ocean drainage of the States of Oregon, Washington, 
                          Montana, and Idaho.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 13, 1999

    Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Smith of Oregon) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a program to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
 plan, design, and construct facilities to mitigate impacts associated 
with irrigation system water diversions by local governmental entities 
  in the Pacific Ocean drainage of the States of Oregon, Washington, 
                          Montana, and Idaho.

    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 ``Bureau of Reclamation Irrigation 
System Partnership Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Pacific ocean drainage area.--The term ``Pacific Ocean 
        drainage area'' means the area comprised of portions of the 
        States of Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho from which 
        water drains into the Pacific Ocean.
            (2) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Irrigation 
        System Partnership Program established by section 3(a).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of 
        Reclamation.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Irrigation System 
Partnership Program within the Bureau of Reclamation.
    (b) Goals.--The goals of the Program are--
            (1) to decrease fish mortality associated with the 
        withdrawal of water for irrigation and other purposes without 
        impairing the continued withdrawal of water for those purposes; 
        and
            (2) to decrease the incidence of juvenile and adult fish 
        entering water supply systems.
    (c) Impacts on Fisheries.--
            (1) In general.--Under the Program, the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the heads of other agencies within the 
        Department of the Interior, shall develop and implement 
        projects to mitigate impacts to fisheries resulting from the 
        construction and operation of water diversions by local 
        governmental entities in the Pacific Ocean drainage area.
            (2) Types of projects.--Projects referred to under 
        subparagraph (A) may include the development or installation 
        of--
                    (A) fish screens;
                    (B) fish passage devices; and
                    (C) other facilities agreed to by non-Federal 
                interests, relevant Federal agencies, and affected 
                States.
            (3) Priority.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall give priority 
                to any project that has a total cost of less than 
                $5,000,000.
                    (B) Related projects.--To the maximum extent 
                practicable, the Secretary shall give priority to 
                projects that--
                            (i) are related to authorized Bureau of 
                        Reclamation projects; and
                            (ii) would benefit from work carried out 
                        under this Act.

SEC. 4. PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM.

    (a) Non-Federal.--
            (1) In general.--Non-Federal participation in the Program 
        shall be voluntary.
            (2) Federal action.--The Secretary shall take no action 
        that would result in any non-Federal entity being held 
        financially responsible for any action unless the entity 
        applies to participate in the Program.
    (b) Federal.--Development and implementation of projects under the 
Program on land or facilities owned by the United States shall be 
nonreimbursable Federal expenditures.

SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS.

    Evaluation and prioritization of projects for development under the 
Program shall be conducted on the basis of--
            (1) cost effectiveness of the proposed project;
            (2) the quantity of water involved in any water diversion;
            (3) the availability of other funding sources; and
            (4) any opportunity for a biological benefit to be achieved 
        with improved conditions.

SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--A project carried out under the Program shall not 
be eligible for funding unless--
            (1) the project meets the requirements of the Secretary, as 
        applicable, and any State requirements; and
            (2) the project is agreed to by all Federal and non-Federal 
        entities with authority and responsibility for the project.
    (b) Determination of Eligibility.--In determining the eligibility 
of a project under this Act, the Secretary shall--
            (1) consult with other Federal, State, and local agencies; 
        and
            (2) make maximum use of all available data.

SEC. 7. COST SHARING.

    (a) Non-Federal Share.--The non-Federal share of the cost of 
development and implementation of any project under the Program on land 
or at a facility that is not owned by the United States shall be 35 
percent.
    (b) Non-Federal Contributions.--The non-Federal participants in any 
project under the Program on land or at a facility that is not owned by 
the United States shall provide all land, easements, rights-of-way, 
dredged material disposal areas, and relocations necessary for the 
project.
    (c) Credit For Contributions.--The value of land, easements, 
rights-of-way, dredged material disposal areas, and relocations 
provided under subsection (b) for a project shall be credited toward 
the non-Federal share of the costs of the project.
    (d) Additional Costs.--
            (1) Non-federal responsibilities.--The non-Federal 
        participants in any project under the Program on land or at a 
        facility that is not owned by the United States shall be 
        responsible for all costs associated with operating, 
        maintaining, repairing, rehabilitating, and replacing the 
        project.
            (2) Federal responsibility.--The Federal Government shall 
        be responsible for costs referred to in paragraph (1) for 
        projects carried out on Federal land or at a Federal facility.

SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING.

    A project that receives funds under this Act shall be ineligible to 
receive Federal funds from any other source for the same purpose.

SEC. 9. REPORT.

    On the expiration of the third fiscal year for which amounts are 
made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report describing--
            (1) the projects that have been completed under this Act; 
        and
            (2) the projects that will be completed with amounts made 
        available under this Act during the remaining fiscal years for 
        which amounts are authorized to be appropriated under section 
        10.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.
    (b) Limitations.--
            (1) Single state.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), not more than 25 percent of the total amount of 
                funds authorized under this section may be used for 1 
                or more projects in any single State.
                    (B) Waiver.--On notification to Congress, the 
                Secretary may waive the limitation under subparagraph 
                (A) if a State is unable to use the entire amount of 
                funding made available to the State under this Act.
            (2) Administrative expenses.--Not more than 6 percent of 
        the funds authorized under this section for any fiscal year may 
        be used for administrative expenses of carrying out this Act.
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