S.Amdt. 4183

SA 4183. Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 6938, making
consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2026, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place in title IV of division C, insert
the following:

arkansas valley conduit, colorado

Sec. 4___. Public Law 87-590 (76 Stat. 389; 123 Stat. 1320)
is amended--
(1) in the first section--
(A) in subsection (c), in the second sentence, by striking
``or in the case of the Arkansas Valley Conduit, payment in
an amount equal to 35 percent of the cost of the conduit that
is comprised of revenue generated by payments pursuant to a
repayment contract and revenue that may be derived from
contracts for the use of Fryingpan-Arkansas project excess
capacity or exchange contracts using Fryingpan-Arkansas
project facilities,''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Arkansas Valley Conduit.--
``(1) Repayment contract.--To provide domestic water
supplies to communities and households that do not have
reliable access to domestic water supplies, the contract for
the Arkansas Valley Conduit shall provide for payment in an
amount equal to 35 percent of the cost of the conduit,
notwithstanding the reclamation laws or any other provision
of this Act. The contract payments shall consist of--
``(A) funding provided during construction from any entity
other than the Secretary; and
``(B) based on a demonstration of financial hardship, as
determined by the Secretary, repayment of the balance not
covered under subparagraph (A) for a period of not more than
75 years with simple interest at a rate that is equal to 50
percent of the interest rate determined by the Secretary of
the Treasury under section 2(c), including revenue derived
from contracts for the use of excess capacity or exchange
contracts using Fryingpan-Arkansas project facilities.
``(2) Operations and maintenance.--The contract for the
Arkansas Valley Conduit shall provide for the assumption by
the contracting parties of the care, operation, maintenance,
and replacement of the conduit.''; and
(2) in section 2(b)(3)(A), by striking ``this section'' and
inserting ``subsection (d) of the first section''.
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