To convey the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, and the Intake Irrigation Project to the appurtenant Irrigation Districts.

May 22, 2003

Mr. REHBERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

To convey the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, and the Intake Irrigation Project to the appurtenant Irrigation Districts.

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 `Lower Yellowstone Reclamation Projects Conveyance Act'.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) DIVERSION WORKS- The term `diversion works' means the land in the N 1/2 NW 1/4 Sec. 36, T.18N., R.56E. P. M., Montana, and the diversion dam structure, canal headworks structure, and first section of the main canal, all contained therein.

(2) INTAKE IRRIGATION DISTRICT- The term `Intake Irrigation District' means the Irrigation District by that name that is organized under the laws of the State of Montana and operates the Intake Project.

(3) INTAKE PROJECT- The term `Intake Project' means the Federal irrigation development operated by the Intake Irrigation District and authorized under the Act of August 11, 1939 (chapter 717; 53 Stat. 1418).

(4) IRRIGATION DISTRICTS- The term `irrigation districts' means--

(A) the Intake Irrigation District;

(B) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 1;

(C) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2; and

(D) the Savage Irrigation District.

(5) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DISTRICT NO. 1- The term `Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 1' means the irrigation district by that name that is organized under the laws of the State of Montana and operates the part of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project located in the State of Montana.

(6) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION DISTRICT NO. 2- The term `Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2' means the irrigation district by that name that is organized under the laws of the State of North Dakota and operates the part of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project located in the State of North Dakota.

(7) LOWER YELLOWSTONE IRRIGATION PROJECT- The term `Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project' means the Federal irrigation development operated by Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2 and authorized by the Act of June 17, 1902 (chapter 1093; 32 Stat. 388).

(8) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING- The term `Memorandum of Understanding' means the memorandum of understanding dated November 16, 1999, and any subsequent replacements or amendments between the Districts and the Montana Area Office, Great Plains Region, Bureau of Reclamation, for the purpose of defining certain principles by which the title to the projects will be transferred from the United States to the districts.

(9) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM- The term `Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program' means the comprehensive Federal program for multipurpose benefits within the Missouri River Basin including irrigation authorized by section 9 of the Act of December 22, 1944, commonly known as the `Flood Control Act of 1944' (chapter 665; 58 Stat. 891).

(10) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM PROJECT USE POWER- The term `Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program Project Use Power' means power available for establishing and maintaining the irrigation developments of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program.

(11) PROJECTS- The term `projects' means--

(A) the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project;

(B) the Intake Project; and

(C) the Savage Unit.

(12) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT- The term `Savage Irrigation District' means the irrigation district by that name that is organized under the laws of the State of Montana and operates the Savage Unit.

(13) SAVAGE UNIT- The term `Savage Unit' means the Savage Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program.

(14) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF PROJECTS.

(a) CONVEYANCES-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall, as soon as practicable, convey the projects, including all works, facilities, and lands of the projects, to the irrigation districts in accordance with all applicable laws and pursuant to the terms of the memorandum of understanding.

(2) TWO STAGES- The conveyance shall take place in two stages. The first stage shall include all conveyances under this Act except diversion works. The second stage shall consist of all conveyances under this Act of the diversion works.

(3) LANDS-

(A) IN GENERAL- All lands, easements, and rights-of-way the United States possess that are conveyed by the Secretary to the respective irrigation districts under this Act shall be conveyed by quitclaim deed. All such conveyances are subject to permits, licenses, leases, rights-of-use, or right-of-way of record outstanding held by third parties on, over, or across such lands, easements, and rights-of-way.

(B) MINERAL RIGHTS- All conveyances of lands under this Act shall be subject to--

(i) a reservation by the United States of all minerals of any nature whatsoever, excluding sand and gravel; and

(ii) oil, gas, and other mineral rights reserved of record before the date of conveyance by or in favor of third parties.

(4) WATER RIGHTS- The Secretary shall convey to the respective irrigation districts in accordance with and subject to the law of the State of Montana, all natural flow, wastewater, seepage, return flow, domestic water, stock water, and groundwater rights held in part or wholly in the name of the United States that are used to serve the lands within the irrigation districts.

(5) COSTS-

(A) RECLAMATION WITHDRAWN LANDS- The irrigation districts shall purchase Reclamation Withdrawn lands that are identified in the Memorandum of Understanding, for their value in providing operation and maintenance benefits to the irrigation districts.

(B) SAVAGE UNIT REPAYMENT OBLIGATIONS-

(i) SAVAGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT- As a condition of any conveyance of Reclamation Withdrawn lands under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall require the Savage Irrigation District to pay to the Secretary an amount equal to the present value of the remaining water supply repayment obligation of such district. Payment of such amount by the district shall be treated as full payment under Contract Number I1r-1525, as amended and as extended by Contract No. 9-07-60-W0770.

(ii) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI BASIN PROGRAM CONSTRUCTION OBLIGATION- As a condition of any conveyance of Reclamation Withdrawn lands under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall require payment from the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program (Eastern Division) power customers $94,727. This payment shall be out of the receipts from the sale of power from the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program (Eastern Division) collected by the Western Area Power Administration and deposited into the Reclamation fund of the Treasury in fiscal year 2003. This payment shall be treated as full and complete repayment by the power customers of the construction aid-to-irrigation associated with the facilities of the Savage Unit.

(b) REVOCATION OF RECLAMATION WITHDRAWALS AND ORDERS-

(1) The Reclamation withdrawal established by Public Land Order 4711 dated October 6, 1969, for the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project in lots 1 and 2, Section 3, T.23N., R. 59 E., is hereby revoked in its entirety.

(2) The Secretarial Order of March 22, 1906, which was issued for irrigation works on/in lots 3 and 4, Section 2, T. 23N., R. 59E., and the Secretarial Order of August 8, 1905, which was issued for irrigation works in Section 2, T. 17 N., R. 56 E. and Section 6, T. 17 N., R. 57 E., are hereby revoked in their entirety.

(3) The Secretarial Orders of August 24, 1903, and July 27, 1908, which were issued in connection with the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project are revoked insofar as they affect the following lands:

(A) Lot 9 of Sec. 2 and lot 2 of Sec. 30, T.18N., R.57E.; lot 3 of Sec. 4, T.19N., R.58E.; lots 2 and 3 and 6 and 7 of Sec. 12, T.21N., R.58E.; SW 1/4 NW 1/4 of Sec. 26, T.22N., R.58E; lots 1 and 4 and 7 and NW 1/4 SW 1/4 of Sec. 20, T.22N., R.59E.; SE 1/4 NE 1/4 of Sec. 13, T.23N., R.59E.; and lot 2 of Sec. 18, T.24N., R.60E.; all in the Principal Meridian, Montana.

(B) Lot 8 of Sec. 2 and lot 1 and lot 2 and lot 3 and NE 1/4 NE 1/4 of Sec. 10 and lot 2 of Sec. 11 and lot 6 of Sec. 18 and lot 3 of Sec. 35, T.151N., R.104W.; and lot 7 of Sec. 28, T.152N., R.104W.; all in the Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

If any conveyance under this Act has not occurred within the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act in the case of a conveyance required to be in the first stage under section 3(a)(2), or within the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act in the case of a conveyance required to be in the second stage under section 3(a)(2), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Resources of the Senate, by not later than 60 days after the end of that period, a status report on the status of the conveyance and the anticipated completion date of the conveyance.

SEC. 5. RECREATION MANAGEMENT.

As a condition of any conveyance of lands under section 3, the Secretary shall require that Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 1 and Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District No. 2 convey a perpetual conservation easement to the State of Montana, at no cost to the State, for the purposes of protecting, preserving, and enhancing the conservation values and permitting recreation on Federal lands to be conveyed under this Act.

SEC. 6. PROJECT PUMPING POWER.

The Secretary--

(1) shall sustain the irrigation developments established by the Lower Yellowstone irrigation project, the Intake Project, and the Savage Unit as components of the irrigation plan under the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program; and

(2) shall continue to provide the irrigation districts with Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Project Use Power at the irrigation districts' pumping plants, except that--

(A) the rate shall be at the preference power rate; and

(B) there shall be no ability-to-pay adjustment with respect to such power.

SEC. 7. YELLOWSTONE RIVER FISHERIES PROTECTION.

(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, prior to the conveyance of title to the diversion works under this Act and in cooperation with the irrigation districts, shall provide fish protection devices--

(1) to prevent juvenile and adult fish from entering the main canal of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project; and

(2) to allow bottom dwelling fish species to migrate above the Project's intake diversion dam.

(b) PARTICIPATION- The Secretary and the Irrigation Districts shall work cooperatively in planning, engineering, and constructing the fish protection devices.

(c) CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE- Construction of the fish protection devices shall be completed within 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

(d) MONITORING- The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and prior to the conveyance of title to the diversion works under this Act, shall establish and implement a monitoring plan to measure the effectiveness of the fish protection devices for a minimum period of 2 years after construction of the devices is completed.

(e) MODIFICATIONS- The Secretary of the Interior, prior to the conveyance of title to the diversion works under this Act, shall be responsible for modifying the devices as necessary to ensure proper functioning of the devices. All modifications shall be completed within 3 years after the devices were initially constructed.

(f) YELLOWSTONE RIVER FISHERIES PROTECTION DEVICES COSTS- The cost incurred in planning, engineering, constructing, monitoring, and modifying the fish protection devices is deemed to be nonreimbursable.

(g) OPERATION, MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENTS RESPONSIBILITY- Following completion of the construction period and the 2-year monitoring and modifications required under this section, the irrigation districts shall operate, maintain, and replace the fisheries protection devices in a manner to ensure proper functioning.

SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAWS AND FUTURE BENEFITS.

Upon conveyance of the projects under this Act, the irrigation districts shall not be subject to the reclamation laws or entitled to receive any reclamation benefits under those laws except as provided in section 6.

SEC. 9. LIABILITY.

Effective on the date of conveyance of any of the projects under this Act, the United States shall not be liable under any State or Federal law for damages of any kind arising out of any act, omission, or occurrence relating to the project, except for damages caused by acts of negligence committed by the United States or by its employees, agents, or contractors prior to the date of this conveyance. Nothing in this section shall be considered to increase the liability of the United States beyond that currently provided in chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, popularly known as the Federal Tort Act.

SEC. 10. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS.

As a condition of any conveyance under section 3, the Secretary shall, by no later than the date on which the conveyance occurs, complete appropriate analyses of the conveyance in compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and other applicable laws.

END