[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2513 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2513
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 9, 2004
Mr. Bingaman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
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).
(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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