[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3981 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3981

  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to allow for prepayment of 
   repayment contracts between the United States and water users, to 
   provide surface water storage enhancement, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2014

  Mr. Hastings of Washington introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to allow for prepayment of 
   repayment contracts between the United States and water users, to 
   provide surface water storage enhancement, 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 ``Accelerated Revenue, Repayment, and 
Surface Water Storage Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. PREPAYMENT OF CERTAIN REPAYMENT CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE UNITED 
              STATES AND CONTRACTORS OF FEDERALLY DEVELOPED WATER 
              SUPPLIES.

    (a) Conversion and Prepayment of Contracts.--
            (1) Conversion.--Upon request of the contractor, the 
        Secretary of the Interior shall convert any water service 
        contract in effect on the date of enactment of this Act and 
        between the United States and a water users' association to 
        allow for prepayment of the repayment contract pursuant to 
        paragraph (2) under mutually agreeable terms and conditions. 
        The manner of conversion under this paragraph shall be as 
        follows:
                    (A) Water service contracts that were entered into 
                under section 9(e) of the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 
                Stat. 1196), to be converted under this section shall 
                be converted to repayment contracts under section 9(d) 
                of that Act (53 Stat. 1195).
                    (B) Water service contracts that were entered under 
                subsection (c)(2) of section 9 of the Act of August 4, 
                1939 (53 Stat. 1194), to be converted under this 
                section shall be converted to a contract under 
                subsection (c)(1) of section 9 of that Act (53 Stat. 
                1195).
            (2) Prepayment.--All contracts converted pursuant to 
        paragraph (1)(A) shall--
                    (A) upon request of the contractor, provide for the 
                repayment, either in lump sum or by accelerated 
                prepayment, of the remaining net present value of the 
                construction costs identified in water project specific 
                irrigation rate repayment schedules, as adjusted to 
                reflect payment not reflected in such schedule, and 
                properly assignable for ultimate return by the 
                contractor, or if made in approximately equal 
                installments, no later than 3 years after the effective 
                date of the repayment contract; such amount to be 
                discounted by \1/2\ the Treasury rate. An estimate of 
                the remaining net present value of construction costs, 
                as adjusted, shall be provided by the Secretary to the 
                contractor no later than 30 days following receipt of 
                request of the contractor;
                    (B) require that construction costs or other 
                capitalized costs incurred after the effective date of 
                the contract or not reflected in the rate schedule 
                referenced in subparagraph (A), and properly assignable 
                to such contractor shall be repaid in not more than 5 
                years after notification of the allocation if such 
                amount is a result of a collective annual allocation of 
                capital costs to the contractors exercising contract 
                conversation under this subsection of less than 
                $5,000,000. If such amount is $5,000,000 or greater, 
                such cost shall be repaid as provided by applicable 
                reclamation law;
                    (C) provide that power revenues will not be 
                available to aid in repayment of construction costs 
                allocated to irrigation under the contract; and
                    (D) continue so long as the contractor pays 
                applicable charges, consistent with section 9(c)(1) of 
                the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1195), and 
                applicable law.
            (3) Contract requirements.--The following shall apply with 
        regard to all contracts converted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B):
                    (A) Upon request of the contractor, provide for the 
                repayment in lump sum of the remaining net present 
                value of construction costs identified in water project 
                specific municipal and industrial rate repayment 
                schedules, as adjusted to reflect payments not 
                reflected in such schedule, and properly assignable for 
                ultimate return by the contractor. An estimate of the 
                remaining net present value of construction costs, as 
                adjusted, shall be provided by the Secretary to the 
                contractor no later than 30 days after receipt of 
                request of contractor.
                    (B) The contract shall require that construction 
                costs or other capitalized costs incurred after the 
                effective date of the contract or not reflected in the 
                rate schedule referenced in subparagraph (A), and 
                properly assignable to such contractor, shall be repaid 
                in not more than 5 years after notification of the 
                allocation if such amount is a result of a collective 
                annual allocation of capital costs to the contractors 
                exercising contract conversation under this subsection 
                of less than $5,000,000. If such amount is $5,000,000 
                or greater, such cost shall be repaid as provided by 
                applicable reclamation law; and
                    (C) Continue so long as the contractor pays 
                applicable charges, consistent with section 9(c)(1) of 
                the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1195), and 
                applicable law.
            (4) Conditions.--All contracts entered into pursuant to 
        paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) shall--
                    (A) not be adjusted on the basis of the type of 
                prepayment financing used by the water users' 
                association;
                    (B) conform to any other agreements, such as 
                applicable settlement agreements and new constructed 
                appurtenant facilities; and
                    (C) not modify other water service, repayment, 
                exchange and transfer contractual rights between the 
                water users' association, and the Bureau of 
                Reclamation, or any rights, obligations, or 
                relationships of the water users' association and their 
                landowners as provided under State law.
    (b) Accounting.--The amounts paid pursuant to subsection (a) shall 
be subject to adjustment following a final cost allocation by the 
Secretary of the Interior. In the event that the final cost allocation 
indicates that the costs properly assignable to the contractor are 
greater than what has been paid by the contractor, the contractor shall 
be obligated to pay the remaining allocated costs. The term of such 
additional repayment contract shall be not less than one year and not 
more than 10 years, however, mutually agreeable provisions regarding 
the rate of repayment of such amount may be developed by the parties. 
In the event that the final cost allocation indicates that the costs 
properly assignable to the contractor are less than what the contractor 
has paid, the Secretary shall credit such overpayment as an offset 
against any outstanding or future obligation of the contractor.
    (c) Applicability of Certain Provisions.--
            (1) Effect of existing law.--Upon a contractor's compliance 
        with and discharge of the obligation of repayment of the 
        construction costs pursuant to a contract entered into pursuant 
        to subsection (a)(2)(A), sections 213 (a) and (b) of the 
        Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 1269) shall apply to 
        affected lands.
            (2) Effect of other obligations.--The obligation of a 
        contractor to repay construction costs or other capitalized 
        costs described in subsections (a)(2)(B), (a)(3)(B) or (b) 
        shall not affect a contractor's status as having repaid all of 
        the construction costs assignable to the contractor or the 
        applicability of sections 213 (a) and (b) of the Reclamation 
        Reform Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 1269) once the amount required to 
        be paid by the contractor under the repayment contract entered 
        into pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(A) have been paid.
    (d) Effect on Existing Law Not Altered.--Implementation of the 
provisions of this Act shall not alter the repayment obligation of any 
water service or repayment contractor receiving water from the same 
water project, or shift any costs that would otherwise have been 
properly assignable to the water users' association identified in 
subsections (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(3) absent this section, including 
operation and maintenance costs, construction costs, or other 
capitalized costs incurred after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
or to other contractors.
    (e) Surface Water Storage Enhancement Program.--
            (1) In general.--Three years following the date of 
        enactment of this Act, all receipts generated from prepayment 
        of contracts under this section beyond amounts necessary to 
        cover the amount of receipts forgone from scheduled payments 
        under current law for the 10-year period following the date of 
        enactment of this Act shall be directed to the Reclamation 
        Surface Water Storage Account under paragraph (2).
            (2) Surface storage account.--The Secretary shall allocate 
        amounts collected under paragraph (1) into the ``Reclamation 
        Surface Storage Account'' to fund or provide loans for the 
        construction of surface water storage. The Secretary may also 
        enter into cooperative agreements with water users' 
        associations for the construction of surface water storage and 
        amounts within the Surface Storage Account may be used to fund 
        such construction. Surface water storage projects that are 
        otherwise not federally authorized shall not be considered 
        Federal facilities as a result of any amounts allocated from 
        the Surface Storage Account for part or all of such facilities.
            (3) Repayment.--Amounts used for surface water storage 
        construction from the Account shall be fully reimbursed to the 
        Account consistent with the requirements under Federal 
        reclamation law (the law (the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 
        388, chapter 1093))), and Acts supplemental to and amendatory 
        of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.) except that all funds 
        reimbursed shall be deposited in the Account established under 
        paragraph (1).
            (4) Availability of amounts.--Amounts deposited in the 
        Account under this subsection shall--
                    (A) be made available in accordance with this 
                section, without further appropriation; and
                    (B) be in addition to amounts appropriated for such 
                purposes under any other provision of law.
            (5) Purposes of surface water storage.--Construction of 
        surface water storage under this section shall be made for the 
        following purposes:
                    (A) Increased municipal and industrial water 
                supply.
                    (B) Agricultural floodwater, erosion, and 
                sedimentation reduction.
                    (C) Agricultural drainage improvements.
                    (D) Agricultural irrigation.
                    (E) Increased recreation opportunities.
                    (F) Reduced adverse impacts to fish and wildlife 
                from water storage or diversion projects within 
                watersheds associated with water storage projects 
                funded under this section.
                    (G) Any other purposes consistent with reclamation 
                laws or other Federal law.
    (f) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act, the following 
definitions apply:
            (1) Account.--The term ``Account'' means the Reclamation 
        Surface Water Storage Account established under subsection 
        (e)(2).
            (2) Construction.--The term ``construction'' means the 
        designing, materials engineering and testing, surveying, and 
        building of surface water storage including additions to 
        existing surface water storage and construction of new surface 
        water storage facilities, exclusive of any Federal statutory or 
        regulatory obligations relating to any permit, review, 
        approval, or other such requirement.
            (3) Surface water storage.--The term ``surface water 
        storage'' means any federally owned facility under the 
        jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation or any non-Federal 
        facility used for the surface storage and supply of water 
        resources.
            (4) Treasury rate.--The term ``Treasury rate'' means the 
        20-year Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT) rate published by the 
        United States Department of the Treasury existing on the 
        effective date of the contract.
            (5) Water users' association.--The term ``water users' 
        association'' means--
                    (A) an entity organized and recognized under State 
                laws that is eligible to enter into contracts with 
                reclamation to receive contract water for delivery to 
                and users of the water and to pay applicable charges; 
                and
                    (B) includes a variety of entities with different 
                names and differing functions, such as associations, 
                conservatory district, irrigation district, 
                municipality, and water project contract unit.
                                 <all>