[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 43 (Thursday, March 17, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1597-S1598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Mr. McCain):
  S. 2717. A bill to improve the safety and address the deferred 
maintenance needs of Indian dams to prevent flooding on Indian 
reservations, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Indian 
Affairs.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Dam 
Repairs and Improvements for Tribes Act of 2016 or DRIFT Act. This 
important legislation is intended to address the flood prevention and 
dam safety needs in Indian Country. It would address the deferred 
maintenance needs of Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA, dams, as well as 
reform tribal programs within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  The BIA has 137 high-hazard dams and over 700 low-hazard dams across 
the United States. Nearly all of the high-hazard dams are in Western 
United States, including two high-hazard dams on the Wind River 
Reservation in my home State of Wyoming--Washakie Dam and Ray Lake Dam. 
According to the BIA staff, on average these dams are 70 to 80 years 
old and have over $500 million in deferred maintenance needs. Funding 
is simply not keeping up with the maintenance needs of these dams and 
the threat to public safety in and around Indian Country is very real. 
The United States has a trust obligation to maintain and operate these 
dams and prevent what could be a future dam failure.
  The legislation I am introducing today would require the Assistant 
Secretary of Indian Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
Army, to address the maintenance backlog of BIA dams by establishing a 
High-Hazard Indian Dam Safety Deferred Maintenance Fund and a Low-
Hazard Indian Dam Safety Deferred Maintenance Fund. The high-hazard 
fund would receive $22,750,000 each year from fiscal years 2017 through 
2037. The low-hazard fund would receive $10,000,000 for the same time 
period. The bill funds low-hazard dams if their needs are critical as 
well and are not being addressed by available scarce resources. 
Neglecting the deferred maintenance needs of these dams may result in 
them becoming high hazard dams in the near future.
  The DRIFT Act establishes criteria for how the money would be 
prioritized, looking at criteria such as threats to public safety, 
natural or cultural resources, and economic concerns. The criteria also 
looks at the ability of increasing water storage capacity of BIA dams 
to prevent flooding to downstream communities.
  The legislation also seeks to make other important flood prevention 
and

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dam safety policy reforms for both the BIA and the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers. Specifically, the DRIFT Act establishes a 4-year pilot 
program for a BIA flood mitigation program for tribes; establishes a 
Tribal Safety of Dams Committee within the Department of the Interior 
to make recommendations to Congress for modernizing the Indian Dam 
Safety Act; and mandates that tribes regularly report their dam 
inventory to BIA.
  The bill requires the BIA to report annually on the safety status of 
their dams to Congress; makes reforms to the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers' Tribal Partnership Program to allow the Corps to pay for any 
feasibility study of a project costing not more than $10,000,000; 
allows in-kind contributions by tribes to count towards a cost-share of 
a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' feasibility study; and allows tribes to 
not have a cost share for studies and projects that cost up to 
$200,000. This is the same cost-sharing requirements the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers allows for U.S. territories.
  It is time to make sure that we make the necessary changes to ensure 
that tribes and surrounding communities are protected, and that the 
Federal Government collaborates with and empowers Indian tribes to 
secure their communities.''
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