[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 80 (Wednesday, June 9, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6674-S6675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN:
  S. 2513. 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; to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce a bill 
that authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to help communities in 
eastern New Mexico develop the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System 
(ENMRWS). The water supply to be made available by this project is 
absolutely critical to the region's future. I look forward to working 
with my colleagues here in the Senate to help make this project a 
reality.
  The source of water for the ENMRWS is Ute Reservoir, a facility 
constructed by the State of New Mexico in the early 1960s. In 1966, 
Congress authorized Reclamation to study the feasibility of a project 
that would utilize Ute Reservoir to supply water to communities in 
eastern New Mexico (Pub. L. 89-561). Numerous studies were subsequently 
completed, but it was not until the late 1990s that several 
communities, concerned about their reliance on declining and degraded 
groundwater supplies in the area, began to plan seriously for the 
development of a regional water system that would make use of the 
renewable supply available from Ute Reservoir.
  As part of that process, the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority 
was formed to carryout the development of the ENMRWS. The Authority 
consists of nine communities and three counties in eastern New Mexicop 
and has been very effective in finalizing the studies and planning 
necessary to move forward with the project.
  This is a very important bill to the citizens of New Mexico. It has 
the broad support of the communities in the region, as well as 
financial support from the State of New Mexico. There is no question 
that completion of the ENMRWS will provide communities in Quay, 
Roosevelt, and Curry counties with a long-term renewable source of 
water that is needed to sustain current economic activity and support 
future growth and development in the region. I hope my colleagues will 
support this legislation, thereby helping to address water needs in the 
rural West.
  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. 2513

       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:
       (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).

[[Page S6675]]

       (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.
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