[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2755 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2755

   To further continued economic viability in the communities on the 
southern High Plains by promoting sustainable groundwater management of 
                     the southern Ogallala Aquifer.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 20, 2000

 Mr. Bingaman (for himself and Mr. Domenici) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To further continued economic viability in the communities on the 
southern High Plains by promoting sustainable groundwater management of 
                     the southern Ogallala Aquifer.

    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 ``Southern High Plains Groundwater 
Resource Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

  (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) a reliable source of groundwater is an essential 
        element of the economy of the communities on the High Plains;
            (2) the High Plains Aquifer and the Ogallala Aquifer are 
        closely related hydrogeographic structures. The High Plains 
        Aquifer consists largely of the Ogallala Aquifer with small 
        components of other geologic units;
            (3) the High Plains Aquifer experienced a dramatic decline 
        in water table levels in the latter half of the twentieth 
        century. The average weighted decline in the aquifer from 1950 
        to 1997 was 12.6 feet (USGS Fact Sheet 124-99, Dec. 1999);
            (4) the decline in water table levels is especially 
        pronounced in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer, reporting that 
        large areas in the states of Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas 
        experienced declines of over 100 feet in that period (USGS Fact 
        Sheet 124-99, Dec. 1999);
            (5) the saturated thickness of the High Plains Aquifer has 
        declined by over 50% in some areas (1186 USGS Circular 27, 
        1999). Furthermore, the Survey has reported that the percentage 
        of the High Plains Aquifer which has a saturated thickness of 
        100 feet or more declined from 54 percent to 51 percent in the 
        period from 1980 to 1997 (USGS Fact Sheet 124-99, Dec. 1999);
            (6) the decreased water levels in the High Plains Aquifer 
        coupled with higher pumping lift costs raise concerns about the 
        long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the High 
        Plains. (``External Effects of Irrigators' Pumping Decisions, 
        High Plains Aquifer'', Alley and Schefter, American Geophysical 
        Union, paper #7W0326; Water Resources Research, Vol. 23, No. 7 
        1123-1130, July 1987);
            (7) hydrological modeling at the United States Geological 
        Survey indicates that in the context of sustained high 
        groundwater use in the surrounding region, that reductions in 
        groundwater pumping at the single farm level or at a very local 
        level of up to 100 square miles, have a very time limited 
        impact on conserving the level of the local water table, thus 
        creating a disincentive for individual water users to invest in 
        water conservation measures. (``External Effects of Irrigators' 
        Pumping Decisions, High Plains Aquifer'', Alley and Schefter, 
        American Geophysical Union, paper #7W0326; Water Resources 
        Research, Vol. 23, No. 7 1123-1130, July 1987);
            (8) incentives must be created for conservation of 
        groundwater on a regional scale, in order to achieve an 
        agricultural economy on the Southern High Plains that is 
        sustainable; and
            (9) for water conservation incentives to function, Federal, 
        State, tribal, and local water policy makers, and individual 
        groundwater users must have access to reliable information 
        concerning aquifer recharge rates, extraction rates, and water 
table levels at the local and regional levels on an ongoing basis.
    (b) Purposes.--To promote groundwater conservation on the Southern 
High Plains in order to extend the useable life of the Southern 
Ogallala Aquifer.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) High plains aquifer.--The term ``High Plains Aquifer'' 
        is the groundwater reserve depicted as Figure 1 in the United 
        States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1400-B, titled 
        Geohydrology of the High Plains Aquifer in Parts of Colorado, 
        Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, 
        and Wyoming.
            (2) High plains.--The term ``High Plains'' refers to the 
        approximately 174,000 square miles of land surface overlying 
        the High Plains Aquifer in the States of New Mexico, Colorado, 
        Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
            (3) Southern ogallala aquifer.--The term ``Southern 
        Ogallala Aquifer'' refers to that part of the High Plains 
        Aquifer lying below 39 degrees north latitude which underlies 
        the States of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and 
        Kansas.
            (4) Southern high plains.--The term ``Southern High 
        Plains'' refers to the portions of the States of New Mexico, 
        Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas which overlie the 
        southern Ogallala Aquifer.
    (e) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' refers to either the 
Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture as 
appropriate.
    (f) The term ``water conservation measures'' includes measures 
which enhance the groundwater recharge rate of a given piece of land, 
or which increase water use efficiencies.

SEC. 4. HYDROLOGIC MAPPING, MODELING, AND MONITORING.

    (a) The Secretary of the Interior, working through the United 
States Geological Survey, shall develop a comprehensive hydrogeologic 
mapping, modeling, and monitoring program for the Southern Ogallala 
Aquifer. The program shall include on a county-by-county basis--
            (1) a map of the hydrological configuration of the Aquifer; 
        and
            (2) an analysis of:
                    (A) the current and past rate at which groundwater 
                is being withdrawn and recharged, and the net rate of 
                decrease or increase in aquifer storage;
                    (B) the factors controlling the rate of horizontal 
                migration of water within the Aquifer;
                    (C) the degree to which aquifer compaction caused 
                by pumping and recharge methods is impacting the 
                storage and recharge capacity of the groundwater body; 
                and
                    (D) the current and past rate of loss of saturated 
                thickness within the Aquifer.
    (b) Annual Report.--One year after the enactment of this Act, and 
once per year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report on the 
status of the Southern Ogallala Aquifer to the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources, to the House Committee on Resources, and 
to the Governors of the States of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, 
Colorado, and Kansas.

SEC. 5. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Federal Assistance.--The Secretary of Agriculture, working 
through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is hereby 
authorized and directed to establish a groundwater conservation 
assistance program for Southern Ogallala Aquifer.
    (b) Design and Planning.--The Secretary shall provide financial and 
technical assistance, including modeling and engineering design to 
States, tribes, and counties, conservation districts, or other 
political subdivisions recognized under State law, for the development 
of comprehensive groundwater conservation plans within the Southern 
High Plains. This assistance shall be provided on a cost share basis 
ensuring that:
            (1) the Federal funding for the development of any given 
        plan shall not exceed fifty percent of the cost; and
            (2) the Federal funding for groundwater water conservation 
        planning for any one county, conservation district, or similar 
political subdivision recognized under State law shall not exceed 
$50,000.
    (c) Certification.--The Secretary shall create a certification 
process for comprehensive groundwater conservation plans developed 
under this program, or developed independently by States, tribes, 
counties, or other political subdivisions recognized under State law. 
To be certified, a plan must:
            (1) cover a sufficient geographic area to provide a benefit 
        to the groundwater resource over at least a 20 year time scale;
            (2) include a set of goals for water conservation; and
            (3) include a process for an annual evaluation of the 
        plan's implementation to allow for modifications if goals are 
        not being met.

SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE.

    Farming operations within jurisdictions which have a certified 
conservation plan in accordance with subsection (5)(c) of this title 
shall be eligible for:
            (1) Water conservation cost-share assistance.--The 
        Secretary, working through the Natural Resources Conservation 
        Service, may provide grants to individual farming operations of 
        up to $50,000 for implementing on farm water conservation 
        measures including the improvement of irrigation systems and 
        the purchase of new equipment: Provided, That the Federal share 
        of the water conservation investment in any one operation be no 
        greater than 50%: Provided further, That each water 
        conservation measure be in accordance with a conservation plan 
        certified under section 5(c) of this title.
            (2) Irrigated land reserve.--Through the 2020 calendar 
        year, the Secretary shall formulate and carry out the 
        enrollment of lands in a groundwater conservation reserve 
        program through the use of multiple year contracts for 
        irrigated lands which would result in significant per acre 
        savings of groundwater resources if converted to dryland 
        agriculture.
            (3) Conservation reserve program enhancement.--Lands 
        eligible for the Conservation Reserve Program established under 
        16 U.S.C. 3831 which would result in significant per acre 
        savings of groundwater resources if removed from agricultural 
        production shall be awarded 20 Conservation Reserve Program bid 
        points, to be designated as groundwater conservation points, in 
        addition to any other ratings the lands may receive.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
$70,000,000 annually through the fiscal year 2020 to carry out this 
Act. Of that total amount:
            (1) there are authorized to be appropriated $5 million 
        annually through the fiscal year 2020 for hydrogeologic 
        mapping, modeling, and monitoring under this Act;
            (2) there are authorized to be appropriated $5 million 
        annually through fiscal year 2020 for groundwater conservation 
        planning, design, and plan certification under this Act;
            (3) there are authorized to be appropriated $30 million 
        annually through fiscal year 2020 for cost-share assistance for 
        on farm water conservation measures; and
            (4) there are authorized to be appropriated $30 million 
        annually through fiscal year 2020 for enrollment of lands in an 
        Irrigated Lands Reserve.
                                 <all>