[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4623 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4623

    To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial 
  assistance to the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority for the 
  planning, design, and construction of the Eastern New Mexico Rural 
                 Water System, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 18, 2004

   Mr. Udall of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial 
  assistance to the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority for the 
  planning, design, and construction of the Eastern New Mexico Rural 
                 Water 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 ``Eastern New Mexico Rural Water 
System Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the Entrada Aquifer and the Southern High Plains 
        (Ogallala) Aquifer--
                    (A) provide 100 percent of the municipal and 
                industrial water supplies for communities in East 
                Central New Mexico; and
                    (B) serve a large majority of the agricultural 
                water users in East Central New Mexico;
            (2) the Entrada and Southern High Plains Aquifers are 
        declining in quantity and deteriorating in quality;
            (3) despite voluntary conservation efforts and improvements 
        in agricultural water use efficiencies, current estimates 
        indicate that present levels of groundwater use in some areas 
        of eastern New Mexico are not sustainable beyond 12 to 25 years 
        after the date of enactment of this Act;
            (4) in 1959, the State of New Mexico began construction of 
        the Ute Dam and Reservoir on the Canadian River to develop a 
        long-term sustainable water supply for eastern New Mexico;
            (5) section 2 of Public Law 89-561 (80 Stat. 711) 
        authorized the development of a feasibility study for a water 
        supply project in eastern New Mexico;
            (6) since the feasibility study was authorized, a number of 
        studies have been completed as part of the feasibility study 
        process, including a 1994 study by the New Mexico Interstate 
        Stream Commission estimating the firm annual yield of water 
        from Ute Reservoir at 24,000 acre-feet per year;
            (7) in March 1997, the New Mexico Interstate Stream 
        Commission and the Ute Water Commission entered into an 
        agreement for the purchase of 24,000 acre-feet of water per 
        year for beneficial consumptive use in eastern New Mexico;
            (8) the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority was 
        established to plan, finance, develop, and operate the Eastern 
        New Mexico Rural Water System;
            (9) the conceptual design report for the Eastern New Mexico 
        Rural Water System--
                    (A) was finalized in August 2003;
                    (B) incorporates a Bureau of Reclamation 
                willingness and ability to pay report prepared in 
                August 2002; and
                    (C) was subject to a peer review process that 
                resulted in a supplement to the conceptual design 
                report, the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System 
                Conceptual Design Peer Review Final Report (December 
                2003);
            (10) the State of New Mexico--
                    (A) strongly supports the development of the 
                Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System; and
                    (B) has appropriated amounts to the New Mexico 
                Water Trust Fund to assist communities in eastern New 
                Mexico in securing the financial resources necessary to 
                provide an acceptable cost share for development of the 
                system; and
            (11) completion of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water 
        System would provide Quay, Roosevelt, and Curry Counties in the 
        State of New Mexico with a long-term reliable and renewable 
        source of water that would--
                    (A) sustain current economic activity; and
                    (B) support future economic development and growth 
                in the region.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to authorize the Secretary 
of the Interior to provide financial and technical assistance to the 
Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority to plan, design, and construct 
the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System to provide a long-term 
reliable and renewable source of water to communities in eastern New 
Mexico.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Authority.--The term ``Authority'' means the Eastern 
        New Mexico Rural Water Authority, an entity formed under State 
        law for the purposes of planning, financing, developing, and 
        operating the System.
            (2) Conceptual design report.--The term ``Conceptual Design 
        Report'' means the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System final 
        report dated August, 2003, as supplemented by the Eastern New 
        Mexico Rural Water System Conceptual Design Peer Review Final 
        Report (December 2003).
            (3) Logan sewer project.--The term ``Logan sewer project'' 
        means the project to improve the water quality in Ute 
        Reservoir, as described in the Village of Logan Wastewater 
        System Preliminary Engineering Report (November 2003).
            (4) Plan.--The term ``plan'' means the operation, 
        maintenance, and replacement plan required by section 5(b)(1).
            (5) Portales energy recovery system.--The term ``Portales 
        energy recovery system'' means the infrastructure to reduce 
        pressure in the water system and generate useable power, as 
        described in the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System 
        Conceptual Design Peer Review Final Report (December 2003).
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of New 
        Mexico.
            (8) System.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``System'' means the 
                Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System, a water delivery 
                project designed to deliver approximately 24,000 acre-
                feet of water per year from the Ute Reservoir to 
                communities located in Quay, Roosevelt, and Curry 
                Counties in eastern New Mexico, as described in the 
                Conceptual Design Report.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``System'' includes--
                            (i) the Logan sewer project;
                            (ii) the Tucumcari advanced wastewater 
                        treatment facility; and
                            (iii) the Portales energy recovery system.
            (9) Tucumcari advanced wastewater treatment facility.--The 
        term ``Tucumcari advanced wastewater treatment facility'' means 
        the project to improve the water quality in the Ute Reservoir, 
        as described in the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System 
        Conceptual Design Peer Review Final Report (December 2003).
            (10) Ute reservoir.--The term ``Ute Reservoir'' means the 
        impoundment of water created in 1962 by the construction of the 
        Ute Dam on the Canadian River, located approximately 32 miles 
        upstream of the border between New Mexico and Texas.

SEC. 4. EASTERN NEW MEXICO RURAL WATER SYSTEM.

    (a) Financial Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may provide financial 
        assistance to the Authority to assist in planning, designing, 
        conducting related preconstruction activities for, and 
        constructing the System.
            (2) Use.--
                    (A) In general.--Any financial assistance provided 
                under paragraph (1) shall be obligated and expended 
                only in accordance with a cooperative agreement entered 
                into under section 6(a)(2).
                    (B) Limitations.--Financial assistance provided 
                under paragraph (1) shall not be used--
                            (i) for any activity that is inconsistent 
                        with developing the facilities described in the 
                        Conceptual Design Report, including development 
                        of the Logan sewer project; and
                            (ii) to plan or construct facilities used 
                        to supply water to supply irrigation for 
                        agricultural purposes.
    (b) Cost-Sharing Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal share of the total cost of any 
        activity or construction carried out using amounts made 
        available under this Act shall be 80 percent of the total cost 
        of the System.
            (2) System development costs.--For purposes of paragraph 
        (1), the total cost of the System shall include any costs 
        incurred by the Authority on or after October 1, 2003, for the 
        development of the System.
    (c) Limitation.--No amounts made available under this Act may be 
used for the construction of the System until--
            (1) a plan is developed under section 5(b); and
            (2) the Secretary and the Authority have complied with any 
        requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
        (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) applicable to the System.
    (d) Title to Project Works.--Title to the infrastructure of the 
System shall be held by the Authority, the Town of Logan, New Mexico, 
the City of Tucumcari, New Mexico, or as may otherwise be specified 
under State law.

SEC. 5. OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPLACEMENT COSTS.

    (a) In General.--The Authority shall be responsible for the annual 
operation, maintenance, and replacement costs associated with the 
System.
    (b) Operation, Maintenance, and Replacement Plan.--
            (1) In general.--The Authority, in consultation with the 
        Secretary, shall develop an operation, maintenance, and 
        replacement plan that establishes the rates and fees for 
        beneficiaries of the System in the amount necessary to ensure 
        that the System is properly maintained and capable of 
        delivering the quantities of water described in the Conceptual 
        Design Report.
            (2) Modifications.--The allocation of water to the 
        communities specified in the Conceptual Design Report may be 
        modified to adjust the rates and fees in a manner that ensures 
        that the purposes of the plan are addressed.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Cooperative Agreements.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may enter into any contract, 
        grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement that is 
        necessary to carry out this Act.
            (2) Cooperative agreement for provision of financial 
        assistance.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into a 
                cooperative agreement with the Authority to provide 
                financial assistance or any other assistance requested 
                by the Authority for planning, design, related 
                preconstruction activities, and construction of the 
                System.
                    (B) Requirements.--The cooperative agreement 
                entered into under subparagraph (A) shall, at a 
                minimum, specify the responsibilities of the Secretary 
                and the Authority with respect to--
                            (i) ensuring that the cost-share 
                        requirements established by section 4(b) are 
                        met;
                            (ii) completing the planning and final 
                        design of the System;
                            (iii) any environmental and cultural 
                        resource compliance activities required for the 
                        System; and
                            (iv) the construction of the System.
    (b) Technical Assistance.--At the request of the Authority, the 
Secretary may provide to the Authority any technical assistance that is 
necessary to assist the Authority in planning, designing, constructing, 
and operating the System.
    (c) Effect.--Nothing in this Act--
            (1) affects or preempts--
                    (A) State water law; or
                    (B) an interstate compact relating to the 
                allocation of water; or
            (2) confers on any non-Federal entity the ability to 
        exercise any Federal rights to--
                    (A) the water of a stream; or
                    (B) any groundwater resource.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary to carry out this Act $250,000,000 for the period of fiscal 
years 2005 through 2016.
    (b) Adjustments.--
            (1) In general.--The amount authorized under subsection (a) 
        shall be adjusted as necessary to account for increases in 
        development costs after the date of enactment of this Act, as 
        determined using appropriate engineering cost indices (as 
        determined by the Secretary).
            (2) Allocation.--The Federal share and non-Federal share of 
        the cost increases determined under paragraph (1) shall be 
        allocated in accordance with the cost-sharing requirements 
        established by section 4(b).
    (c) Nonreimbursable Amounts.--Amounts made available to the 
Authority in accordance with the cost-sharing requirement under section 
4(b) shall be nonreimbursable and nonreturnable to the United States.
    (d) Availability of Funds.--At the end of each fiscal year, any 
unexpended funds appropriated pursuant to this Act shall be retained 
for use in future fiscal years consistent with the purposes of this 
Act.
                                 <all>