[House Report 109-419]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 109-419
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TO ALLOW THE ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX TRIBES OF THE FORT PECK INDIAN
RESERVATION TO ENTER INTO A LEASE OR OTHER TEMPORARY CONVEYANCE OF
WATER RIGHTS RECOGNIZED UNDER THE FORT PECK-MONTANA COMPACT FOR THE
PURPOSE OF MEETING THE WATER NEEDS OF THE DRY PRAIRIE RURAL WATER
ASSOCIATION, INCORPORATED, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
April 25, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2978]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2978) to allow the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the
Fort Peck Indian Reservation to enter into a lease or other
temporary conveyance of water rights recognized under the Fort
Peck-Montana Compact for the purpose of meeting the water needs
of the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Incorporated, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2978 is to allow the Assiniboine and
Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation to enter into
a lease or other temporary conveyance of water rights
recognized under the Fort Peck-Montana Compact for the purpose
of meeting the water needs of the Dry Prairie Rural Water
Association, Incorporated, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000
(Public Law 106-382) authorized the construction of a rural
water project in the northeastern corner of Montana. The
project will serve the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and the
non-Indian Dry Prairie Rural Water System, which would deliver
water to parts of Valley, Daniels, Sheridan and Roosevelt
Counties outside the Fort Peck Reservation. The project will be
able to serve a population of 31,000 and is currently scheduled
to be completed by 2011.
The Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority was formed to manage
the Dry Prairie rural water system. While the Assiniboine and
Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation have
sufficient water rights as determined under the Fort Peck-
Montana Compact, the Authority does not. H.R. 2978 allows the
Tribes and the Authority to enter into an agreement to allow
for the conveyance of tribal water rights to the Authority for
up to 100 years, thereby giving the Authority sufficient water
to provide service through its new system.
The Montana State Water Compact Commission has already
approved the conveyance of the water rights from the Tribes to
the Authority. The proposed agreement would allocate
approximately 2,800 acre-feet (one acre-foot is approximately
326,000 gallons) per year of water to the Authority. The
Authority will not be required to compensate the Tribes for use
of this water because the Tribes are not fully using their
water rights and are not demanding payment.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2978 was introduced on June 17, 2005, by Congressman
Dennis Rehberg (R-MT). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Water and Power. On December 7, 2005, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill. On March 29, 2006, the Full Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Water
and Power was discharged from further consideration of the bill
by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill
was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives
by unanimous consent.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Montana Indian Tribes; agreement with Dry Prairie Rural
Water Association, Incorporated
This section allows the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the
Fort Peck Indian Reservation, with the approval of the
Secretary of the Interior, to enter into a water rights lease
with the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Incorporated, in
northeastern Montana. The lease may be approved by the
Secretary without requiring monetary compensation to the
Tribes. However, if compensation is involved, the section
stipulates that the Secretary shall not be held liable for any
claim or any cause of action relating to compensation for the
lease. The lease shall not exceed 100 years.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 2978--A bill to allow the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort
Peck Indian Reservation to enter into a lease or other
temporary conveyance of water rights recognized under the Fort
Peck-Montana Compact for the purpose of meeting the water needs
of the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Incorporated, and
for other purposes
H.R. 2978 would allow the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of
the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana to enter into a
lease or other temporary conveyance of water rights with the
Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Inc. Because the
association's water system is interconnected with that of the
tribes, such an agreement would be necessary for the
association to meet its water needs in accordance with the Fort
Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000. Based on
information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that
enacting H.R. 2978 would have no significant effect on the
federal budget.
H.R. 2978 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The bill would allow the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, with
approval from the Bureau of Reclamation, to temporarily convey
water rights to the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association. Any
costs the tribes or association might incur to comply with the
conditions of the conveyance would be incurred voluntarily.
On January 31, 2006, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
1219, a bill to authorize certain tribes in the state of
Montana to enter into a lease or other temporary conveyance of
water rights to meet the water needs of the Dry Prairie Rural
Water Association, Inc., as reported by the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs on January 18, 2006. The two pieces of
legislation are similar, and the estimated costs are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mike Waters.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.