[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1761 Referred in House (RFH)]

  2d Session
                                S. 1761


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 28, 2000

                 Referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
    To direct the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of 
 Reclamation, to conserve and enhance the water supplies of the Lower 
                           Rio Grande Valley.

    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 ``Lower Rio Grande Valley Water 
Resources Conservation and Improvement Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) State.--The term ``State'' means the Texas Water 
        Development Board and any other authorized entity of the State 
        of Texas.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner.
            (3) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means the 
        Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.
            (4) Counties.--The term ``counties'' means the counties in 
        the State of Texas in the Rio Grande Regional Water Planning 
        Area known as Region ``M'' as designated by the Texas Water 
        Development Board and the counties of Hudspeth and El Paso, 
        Texas.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Drought conditions over the last decade have made 
        citizens of the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of Texas aware 
        of the significant impacts a dwindling water supply can have on 
        a region.
            (2) As a result of the impacts, that region has devised an 
        integrated water resource plan to meet the critical water needs 
        of the Lower Rio Grande Valley through the end of the year 
        2050.
            (3) Implementation of an integrated water resource plan to 
        meet the critical water needs of the Lower Rio Grande Valley is 
        in the national interest.
            (4) The Congress should authorize and provide Federal 
        technical and financial assistance to construct improved 
        irrigation canal delivery systems to help meet the critical 
        water needs of the Lower Rio Grande Valley through the end of 
        the year 2050.

SEC. 4. LOWER RIO GRANDE WATER CONSERVATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) The Secretary is authorized to undertake a program to improve 
the supply of water for the counties as provided in this Act.
    (b) In cooperation with the State, water users in the counties, and 
other non-Federal entities, the Secretary shall conduct feasibility 
studies for the purpose of conserving and transporting raw water, 
including the following--
            (1) irrigation canals;
            (2) pipelines;
            (3) flow control structures;
            (4) meters; and
            (5) all associated appurtenances.
    (c) If the Secretary determines that the following projects satisfy 
the eligibility criteria in subsection (d) (1)-(3), the Secretary, in 
cooperation with the State, water users in the counties, and other non-
Federal entities, is authorized to conduct engineering work, 
infrastructure construction and improvements for the purpose of 
conserving and transporting raw water through the following projects--
            (1) in the Hidalgo County, Texas Irrigation District #1, a 
        pipeline project identified in the Melden & Hunt, Inc. 
        engineering study dated July 6, 2000 as the Curry Main Pipeline 
        Project;
            (2) in the Cameron County, Texas La Feria Irrigation 
        District #3, a distribution system improvement project 
        identified by the 1993 engineering study by Sigler, Winston, 
        Greenwood and Associates, Inc.;
            (3) in the Cameron County, Texas Irrigation District #2 
        canal rehabilitation and pumping plant replacement as 
        identified as Job Number 48-05540-002 in a report by Turner 
        Collie & Braden, Inc. dated August 12, 1998; and
            (4) in the Harlingen Irrigation District Cameron #1 
        Irrigation District a project of meter installation and canal 
        lining as identified in a proposal submitted to the Texas Water 
        Development Board dated April 28, 2000.
    (d) Project Eligibility.--(1) Within six months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the State, 
shall develop criteria for determining eligible projects under this 
Act. Such criteria shall include, but need not be limited to the 
following requirements--
            (A) the project plan includes an engineer's estimate of the 
        amount of water to be conserved;
            (B) the design for the project includes a cost of project 
        to water saved ratio; and
            (C) there is a cost sharing agreement in place between all 
        relevant parties delineating the proportionate share of costs 
        to be paid on an annual basis.
    (2) Within one year of the date a project is submitted to the 
Secretary for approval, the Secretary shall determine whether the 
project meets the criteria established pursuant to this section.

SEC. 5. COST SHARING.

    The non-Federal share of the costs of any activity carried out 
under, or with assistance provided under, this Act shall be 50 percent. 
Not more than 40 percent of the costs of such an activity may be paid 
by the State and the remainder of the non-Federal share may include in-
kind contributions of goods and services, and funds previously spent on 
feasibility and engineering studies.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this Act such sums as may be necessary, but not to exceed 
$7,500,000 for the purposes of section 4(c).

            Passed the Senate October 27 (legislative day, September 
      22), 2000.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.