[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 20, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6709-S6711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Daschle, and Mr. 
        Dorgan):
  S. 1085. A bill to provide for a Bureau of Reclamation program to 
assist states and local communities in evaluating and developing rural 
and small community water supply systems, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce the 
Reclamation Rural and Small Community Water Enhancement Act, which is 
being co-sponsored by my colleagues, Senator Daschle, Senator Dorgan, 
and Senator Baucus.
  In introducing this bill, let me note that the Economic Research 
Service at the Agriculture Department estimates that 56 million 
Americans--around 20 percent of the population--live in nonmetropolitan 
areas. In the arid west, this percentage is likely much higher. In my 
home State of New Mexico, for example, over 50 percent of the 
population resides outside the four major metropolitan areas--clearly a 
significant number of people.
  This bill is intended to address a critical issue facing many small 
towns and rural areas--access to adequate water supplies to provide for 
present and future needs. A stable and reliable water supply is the 
foundation for the economic activity that sustains our communities. 
Addressing this most basic need, however, poses a challenge that many 
of these localities simply cannot meet on their own. The challenge is 
magnified by the prolonged drought that many are predicting for the 
arid West.
  For a number of reasons, including limited access to water supplies 
and the requirements of the Federal Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water 
Acts, many small communities in the western United States are taking a 
regional approach to water that involves the cooperative development of 
water

[[Page S6710]]

projects serving several communities over a large area. In New Mexico, 
the State Water Trust Board prioritizes funding assistance to those 
projects that represent a partnership of communities on a regional 
basis. Currently, there are three such projects rapidly taking shape in 
1. Eastern New Mexico; 2. the Santa Fe Area; and 3. the Espanola 
Valley.
  In other areas of the country, this regional approach has already 
taken root. Currently, the Bureau of Reclamation is authorized to 
construct seven rural water supply projects--most of these in the Great 
Plains region. The authorized cost of these projects is approximately 
$1.8 billion. In just two years, however, the administration has cut 
back the appropriations requests for authorized rural water projects by 
80 percent, or almost $60 million. This includes zeroing out the 
funding for most of these projects--a policy choice severely impacting 
those communities relying on this infrastructure.
  The bill being introduced today is intended to ensure there exists an 
active Federal program to address water needs in the rural West. It 
does so in a manner that respects the role of the States in water 
resources management and is fiscally responsible by requiring a 
financial partnership between Federal, State, and local entities. The 
bill utilizes the experience and expertise of the Bureau of Reclamation 
to implementation a rural water program that complements, not 
duplicates, existing Federal programs at the Environmental Protection 
Agency and the Department of Agriculture; ensures that existing 
projects move towards full and timely implementation; and ensures that 
Reclamation is fully authorized to provide assistance in evaluating all 
water supply options if requested by rural communities.
  I believe that this is a bill for which there should be strong 
bipartisan support. Having helped to reclaim the West during the 20th 
century, the Bureau of Reclamation should help sustain it in the 21st 
century. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation 
and, by that, support rural and small communities within our States.
  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. 1085

       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 ``Reclamation Rural and Small 
     Community Water Enhancement Act.''

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       For purposes of this Act:
       (1) Federal reclamation laws.--The term ``Federal 
     reclamation laws'' means the Reclamation Act and Acts 
     amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto;
       (2) Regional rural water supply system.--The term 
     ``regional rural water supply system'' means a water supply 
     system that serves multiple towns or communities in a rural 
     area (including Indian reservations) where such towns or 
     communities have a population for exceeding 40,000 persons.
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

       (A) In General.--The Secretary, acting pursuant to the 
     Federal reclamation laws, is directed to undertake a program 
     to investigate and identify opportunities to ensure safe and 
     adequate regional rural water supply systems for municipal 
     and industrial use in small communities and rural areas 
     through the construction of new regional rural water supply 
     systems and the enhancement of existing rural water supply 
     systems.
       (b) Exception.--
       (1) In conducting the investigations and studies authorized 
     by this Act, the Secretary may include a town or community 
     with a population in excess of 40,000 persons if, in the 
     Secretary's discretion, such town or community is considered 
     to be a critical partner in the proposed regional rural water 
     supply system.
       (2) In conducting a feasibility study of a regional rural 
     water supply system that includes a community with a 
     population in excess of 40,000 persons, the Secretary may 
     consider a non-federal cost share in excess of the percentage 
     set forth in sections 6(a) and 6(b)(5).
       (c) Limitation.--Such program shall be limited to the 
     States and areas referred to in section 1 of the Reclamation 
     Act of 1902 (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388), as amended, 
     and Indian reservation lands within the external boundaries 
     of such States and areas.
       (d) Agreements.--The Secretary is authorized to enter into 
     such agreements and promulgate such regulations as may be 
     necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this 
     Act.

     SEC. 4. COORDINATION AND PLANNING.

       (a) Coordination.--
       (1) Consultation.--In undertaking this program, the 
     Secretary shall consult and coordinate with the Secretary of 
     Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, and the Director of the Indian Health 
     Service, in order to develop criteria to ensure that the 
     program does not duplicate, but instead complements, 
     activities undertaken pursuant to the authorities 
     administered by such agency heads.
       (2) Report on authorities.--Within one year after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 
     the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives, a 
     report setting forth the results of the consultation required 
     in paragraph (1) and criteria developed pursuant to such 
     consultation.
       (b) Report and Action on Authorized Projects.--
       (1) Within one year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 
     and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Resources of the House of Representatives a report setting 
     forth--
       (A) the status of all rural water projects within the 
     jurisdiction of the Secretary authorized prior to the date of 
     enactment of this Act; and
       (B) the Secretary's plan, including projected financial and 
     workforce requirements, for the completion of the rural water 
     projects within the time frames set forth in the public laws 
     authorizing the projects of the final engineering reports 
     submitted pursuant thereto.
       (2) The Secretary shall take all necessary steps to 
     complete the projects within the time frames identified in 
     subsection (1)(B).

     SEC. 5. APPRAISAL INVESTIGATIONS.

       (a) Appraisal Investigations.--Based on evidence of local 
     interest and upon the request of a local sponsor, the 
     Secretary may undertake appraisal investigations to identify 
     opportunities for the construction of regional rural water 
     supply systems and the enhancement of existing rural water 
     supply systems for small communities and rural areas. Each 
     such investigation shall include recommendations as to the 
     preparation of a feasibility study of the potential system or 
     system enhancement.
       (b) Considerations.--Appraisal investigations undertaken 
     pursuant to this Act shall consider, among other things--
       (1) whether an established water supply exists for the 
     proposed regional water supply system;
       (2) the need for the regional rural water supply system or 
     for enhancements to an existing rural water system, including 
     but not limited to, alternative water supply opportunities 
     and projected demand for water supply;
       (3) environmental considerations relating to the regional 
     rural water supply system or rural water system enhancement;
       (4) public health and safety considerations relating to the 
     regional rural water supply system or rural water system 
     enhancement;
       (5) Indian trust responsibility considerations relating to 
     the regional rural water supply system or rural water system 
     enhancement; and
       (6) the availability of other Federal authorities or 
     programs to address the water supply needs identified.
       (c) Consultation and Cooperation.--The Secretary shall 
     consult and cooperate with appropriate Federal, state, 
     tribal, regional, and local authorities during the conduct of 
     each appraisal investigation conducted pursuant to this Act.
       (d) Costs Nonreimbursable.--The costs of such appraisal 
     investigations shall be nonreimbursable.
       (e) Public Availability.--The Secretary shall make 
     available to the public, upon request, the results of each 
     appraisal investigation undertaken pursuant to this Act, and 
     shall promptly publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
     the availability of those results.

     SEC. 6. FEASIBILITY STUDIES.

       (a) Feasibility Studies.--The Secretary is authorized to 
     participate with appropriate Federal, state, tribal, 
     regional, and local authorities in studies to determine the 
     feasibility of regional rural water supply systems and rural 
     water supply system enhancements where an appraisal 
     investigation so warrants. The Federal share of the costs of 
     such feasibility studies shall not exceed 50 percent of the 
     total, except that the Secretary may increase the Federal 
     share of the costs of such feasibility study if the Secretary 
     determines, based upon a demonstration of financial hardship, 
     that the non-Federal participant is unable to contribute at 
     least 50 percent of the costs of such study. The Secretary 
     may accept as part of the non-Federal cost share the 
     contribution of such in-kind services by the non-Federal 
     participant that the Secretary determines will contribute 
     substantially toward the conduct and completion of the study.
       (b) Considerations.--In addition to the requirements of 
     other Federal laws, feasibility studies authorized under this 
     Act shall consider, among other things--
       (1) whether an established water supply exists for the 
     proposed regional rural water supply system;

[[Page S6711]]

       (2) near- and long-term water demand and supplies in the 
     study area including any opportunities to treat and utilize 
     impaired water supplies through innovative and economically 
     viable treatment technologies;
       (3) public health and safety and environmental quality 
     issues related to the regional rural water supply system or 
     rural water system enhancement;
       (4) opportunities for water conservation in the study area 
     to reduce water use and water system costs;
       (5) the construction costs and projected operation and 
     maintenance costs of the proposed regional rural water supply 
     system and an assessment of participating communities' 
     ability to pay 20 percent to 50 percent of the construction 
     costs and the full share of the system operation and 
     maintenance costs;
       (6) opportunities for mitigation of fish and wildlife 
     losses incurred as a result of the construction of the 
     regional rural water supply system or rural water system 
     enhancement on an acre-for-acre basis, based on ecological 
     equivalency, concurrent with system construction; and
       (7) the extent to which assistance for rural water supply 
     is available pursuant to other Federal authorities and the 
     likely effectiveness of efforts to coordinate assistance 
     provided by the Secretary with other available Federal 
     programs and assistance.
       (c) Use of Other Reports.--In conducting a feasibility 
     study pursuant to this section, or an appraisal investigation 
     under section 5, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, utilize, in whole or in part, any engineering or 
     other relevant report submitted by a state, tribal, regional, 
     or local authority associated with the proposed regional 
     rural water supply system.
       (d) Public Availability.--The Secretary shall make 
     available to the public, upon request, the results of each 
     feasibility study undertaken pursuant to this Act, and shall 
     promptly publish in the Federal Register a notice of the 
     availability of those results.
       (e) Disclaimer.--Nothing contained in this section shall be 
     interpreted as requiring a feasibility study or imposing any 
     other new requirement for rural water projects or programs 
     that are already authorized.

     SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION.

       There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as 
     may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague, 
Senator Bingaman, in introducing the Reclamation Rural and Small 
Community Water Enhancement Act, S. 1085.
  The Bureau of Reclamation has accomplished a great deal over the last 
century, starting with the early irrigation and water development 
programs that opened the West to settlement and economic growth. Clean, 
abundant water supplies were integral to our Nation's westward 
expansion. Without the vision and effort of the Bureau over the last 
century, the West would be a vastly different, and less hospitable, 
place.
  Though the role of the Bureau has changed over the years, it is still 
the premier Federal water development agency. Today, one of its primary 
duties is the building of rural water projects in South Dakota and 
other Western States. Rural areas often lack the resources and 
infrastructure necessary to provide stable water supplies to their 
residents. Most families, farmers, and ranchers rely on inadequate 
wells, or live in areas where the water quality is so poor they are 
required to truck or haul water over long distances. Rural water 
projects conducted by the Bureau have helped overcome these obstacles, 
tackling the problem on a regional level and vastly improving the 
quality of water and the quality of life in much of my State. Rural 
water systems have become an indispensable lifeline to help deal with 
the severe drought that has affected much my State.
  The bill we are introducing today takes the next, logical step to 
bring the Bureau's rural water projects into the 21st century. The 
Reclamation Rural and Small Community Water Enhancement Act will create 
a new program within the Bureau of Reclamation to help rural and tribal 
communities develop water supply solutions, like rural water systems, 
to address regional water needs. The Bureau's experience in 
administering other rural water systems will ensure this program 
compliments existing Federal drinking water programs, like those 
operated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of 
Agriculture, and provide rural communities with the tools they need to 
plan for the future.
  As we look forward, however, it is equally important that we not 
ignore those projects that have already received approval by Congress. 
In South Dakota, the Mni Wiconi, Mid-Dakota, Perkins County, and Lewis 
and Clark rural water systems will serve thousands of families, farms, 
and businesses. Their timely completion is integral to the health, 
welfare, and economic security of my State. Unfortunately, the 
administration's fiscal year 2004 budget request drastically cuts 
funding for these and other rural water projects throughout the country 
by more than 80 percent. This will lead to unnecessary delays in the 
provision of drinking water to homes and families and will only serve 
to increase the cost of the projects.
  That is why this legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
take all necessary steps to complete these and all other rural water 
projects that have already received congressional authorization. The 
bill recognizes the hard work that has already gone into the 
development of these projects, and will help ensure that they are 
completed on schedule. At the same time, this new program will aid in 
the development of future projects so that other communities can 
finally realize the benefits that a well-run rural water system can 
provide.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
                                 ______