[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 20, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5461-S5463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. Domenici):
  S. 2755. 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; to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.


     the southern high plains groundwater resource conservation act

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
which will bring focus to an issue that concerns the long-term economic 
viability of communities in much of America's heartland: the southern 
High Plains stretching from the middle of Kansas through Oklahoma and 
the Texas Panhandle and including eastern portions of the State of 
Colorado, and the eastern counties of my home state of New Mexico. This 
is farm country, and the cornerstone of its economy is its groundwater 
supply, the Ogallala aquifer, which allows for irrigated agriculture.
  The Natural Resource & Conservation Service estimates that there are 
over six million acres of irrigated farmland overlying the southern 
Ogallala. These farms use between six and nine million acre-feet of 
water each year. The problem is that current use of the aquifer is not 
sustainable, and it is being depleted rapidly.
  As shown on this U.S. Geological Survey Map, the High Plains Aquifer, 
which is mostly the Ogallala Aquifer, starts in South Dakota, 
encompasses most of Nebraska and parts of Wyoming, and then continues 
down into the southern High Plains.
  This next chart shows the change in water levels in the aquifer over 
a seventeen year period from 1980 to 1997. As shown by the gray and 
blue markings on this map, the northern portion of this aquifer is in 
pretty good shape. The rate of water recharge from rainfall and 
irrigation water from the Platte River, for the most part matches or is 
greater than the rate of water depletions.
  However, the story is quite different in the southern High Plains. In 
just the 17 years characterized on this map, we have seen large areas 
of the southern aquifer experience a 10 to 20 foot drop in their water 
table. That is shown in the dark orange areas on the map. More alarming 
is that for an almost equal area, as depicted in red on the map, the 
drop in the water table has been 40 feet or greater.
  These changes in the level of the water table mean that it takes more 
wells at a greater pumping cost to produce the same amount of water, 
and that's if the wells don't go completely dry. This raises the 
serious question about the viability of continued farming on the 
southern High Plains. However, while irrigated agriculture uses the 
lion's share of the water, farm viability is only part of the economic 
story. This aquifer is also the primary source for municipal water on 
the southern High Plains. Diminishing productivity from municipal wells 
and the increased cost of pumping can place huge strains on local and 
county resources.
  The insecurity of groundwater resources on the southern High Plains 
is a multi-state issue with significant economic and social 
consequences for America as a nation. We must act now to help steer the 
communities on the southern High Plains toward a sustainable use of the 
Ogallala aquifer. Ignoring the problem and allowing continuing uses to 
go unabated invites tremendous economic dislocation for a large section 
of our country.
  To address this issue I am introducing the Southern High Plains 
Groundwater Resource Conservation Act. This bill creates three levels 
of approach to the problem.
  First, it recognizes that to guide government decision makers and 
private investors, accurate, up-to-date, scientific information about 
the groundwater resources in their area is necessary. Therefore it 
calls upon the United States Geological Survey to initiate a 
comprehensive hydrogeologic mapping, modeling, and monitoring program 
for the Southern Ogallala, to provide a report to Congress and to the 
relevant states with maps and information on a county by county basis, 
and to renew and update that report every year.

[[Page S5462]]

  Second, it acknowledges that an effective water conservation plan can 
only be measured against a multi-year goal. Also, modeling by the 
U.S.G.S. indicates that groundwater conservation is not economically 
effective if implemented on a small scale basis. Measures must be 
implemented over a sufficiently large area in order to see a long-term 
groundwater savings, and return on the investment in conservation. To 
ensure groundwater savings over an appropriate area, this bill would 
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide planning assistance, 
on a cost-share basis, to states, tribes, counties, conservation 
districts, or other local government units to create water conservation 
plans designed to benefit their groundwater resource over at least 20 
years.
  Finally, if the Secretary certifies that such a plan is in place, 
this bill would provide two primary forms of assistance for groundwater 
conservation on individual farms. They are a cost-share assistance 
program to upgrade the water use efficiency of farming equipment, and 
the creation of an ``Irrigated Land Reserve.''
  The cost-share program is based on the knowledge that, while 
significant water savings could be made from moving farms from 
historical row or center-pivot irrigation to more modern techniques, 
the upfront cost is often prohibitive to family farmers. However, 
estimates by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the High 
Plains Underground Water Conservation District in Lubbock, Texas, are 
that an initial $20,000 in Federal investment in equipment on a cost-
share basis would save between 325 to nearly 490 acre-feet of water 
over a ten year period. A bargain price, considering water prices on 
the West.
  The Irrigated Land Reserve in this bill, is designed to convert 10 
percent, or approximately 600,000 acres, of the irrigated farmland on 
the southern High Plains to dryland agriculture. Dryland agriculture, 
obviously, is less productive than irrigation. So this bill would 
provide for a rental rate to farmers to ease the economic impact of 
changing over. It is estimated that when fully implemented this program 
would save between 600,000 and 900,000 acre-feet of water per year at a 
cost of $33 to $50 per acre-foot.
  These two programs, the cost-share program for water conservation, 
and enrollment in an Irrigated Land Reserve are completely voluntary. 
However, from the interest I have received in discussions with farmers 
on the southern High Plains, I expect that there will be no shortage of 
participants.
  The program outlined in this bill would cost $70 million per year if 
fully implemented. Given the opportunity to move the southern High 
Plains communities to a sustainable use of their groundwater without 
massive dislocations in their economy, I think it will be an investment 
worth making.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2755

       Be it enacted by the Senate and the 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 by the United States Geological 
     Survey indicates that in the context of sustained high 
     groundwater use in the surrounding region, 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.
       (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 usable life of 
     the Southern Ogallala Aquifer.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       For purposes of this Act:
       (a) High Plains Aqifer:--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.
       (b) 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.
       (c) 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, and Oklahoma, Colorado, and 
     Kansas.
       (d) Southern High Plans--The term ``Southern High Plains'' 
     refers to the portions of the states of New Mexico, Texas, 
     and 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 though 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 in 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:

[[Page S5463]]

       (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; and
       (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:
       (a) 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.
       (b) 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.
       (c) 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.
                                 ______