Lower Colorado Water Supply Act (P.L. 99-655)

PUBLIC LAW 99-655-NOV. 14, 1986 Public Law 99-655 99th Congress An Act 100 STAT. 3665 Entitled the "Lower Colorado Water Supply Act". Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States ofAmerica in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION. (a) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct, oper ate, and maintain the Lower Colorado Water Supply Project, California, in order to supply water for domestic, municipal, indus trial, and recreational purposes only: Provided, That, the Secretary is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to contract with non-Federal interests for the care, operation, and maintenance of all or any part of the project works, subject to such rules and regulations as he may prescribe. Such project shall be constructed in stages as increases in demand warrant and substantially in accordance with the plans set forth in the document entitled "Lower Colorado Water Supply Study, California" (December 1985): Provided, That the Secretary is prohibited from constructing facilities with a total capacity in excess of ten thousand acre-feet per annum under authority of this Act. (bXl) The Secretary is further authorized to enter into exchange contracts and take such actions as the Secretary deems appropriate to facilitate a water exchange agreement between non-Federal in terests and those interests designated in section 2(b) of this Act in which such non-Federal interests agree to exchange a portion of their rights to divert water from the Colorado River for an equiva lent quantity and quality of groundwater to be withdrawn from a well field located in the Sand Hills area, Imperial County, California. (2) The Secretary is prohibited from executing any contracts under the authority of subsection (bXl) of this section until such contracts have been submitted to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and to the Commit tee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and ninety calendar days have elapsed. SEC. 2. REPAYMENT OF COSTS. (a) The Secretary is prohibited from obligating or expending any of the funds authorized to be appropriated by section 3 of this Act until (1) a study has been completed, and submitted to the appro priate committees of the Congress, allocating among the Fed eral and non-Federal beneficiaries the capital costs and the costs of operating, maintaining, and replacing the project authorized by section 1 of this Act; (2)the Secretary has entered into a contract or contracts with non-Federal interests for repayment of the capital costs, plus interest, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, as of the beginning of the fiscal year in which the contract is exe cuted, on the basis of the average market yields on outstanding 91-139 0 - 87 (679) .0\1 14, 1986 [H.R.5028] Contracts. Regulations. 100 STAT. 3666 PUBLIC LAW 99-655-NOV. 14, 1986 43 USC 390b note. California. marketable obligations of the United States with remammg periods to maturity comparable to the applicable reimburse ment period of the project, adjusted to the nearest one-eighth of 1 per centum, allocated to non-Federal interests for domestic, municipal, industrial, and recreational purposes as identified in the cost allocation study prepared under subsection (aX1): Pro vided, That the terms and provisions of such contracts and repayment shall be governed by the provisions of the Water Supply Act of 1958 which were in effect on January 1, 1986; (3) the Secretary has entered into a contract or contracts with non-Federal interests for payment of 100 per centum of the costs allocated to such non-Federal interests for the operation, maintenance, and replacement of the project on a current basis; and (4) the Secretary has transmitted to Congress the final plan ning report/environmental assessment on the Lower Colorado Water Supply Project. (b) Any contracts executed by the Secretary to fulfill the require ments of subsections (aX2) and (aX3) of this section must be with persons, or Federal or non-Federal governmental entities whose lands or interests in lands are located adjacent to the Colorado River in the State of California who do not hold rights to Colorado River water or whose rights are insufficient to meet their present or anticipated future needs, as determined by the Secretary. Such persons, or Federal or non-Federal governmental entities shall in clude the city of Needles, the town of Winterhaven, and other domestic, municipal, industrial, and recreational water users along the Colorado River in the State ofCalifornia. SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. There are authorized to be appropriated for the construction through September 30, 1993, of the Lower Colorado Water Supply Project the sum of $1,800,000 plus or minus such amounts, if any, as may be justified by reason of ordinary cost indices applicable to the types of construction involved therein and in addition thereto such sums as may be required for operation, maintenance and replace ment of that portion of the project used to supply domestic, munici pal, industrial, or recreational water supplies for lands managed by the Federal Government. No funds are authorized to be appro priated for payment of the operation, maintenance, or replacement costs allocated to non-Federal beneficiaries as determined by the study undertaken under authority of section 2(aX1). SEC. 4. CONTRIBUTION OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS. The Secretary is authorized to accept monetary contributions from the city of Needles and other incorporated cities for the construction of project features of the Lower Colorado Water Supply Project allocated to the provision of water supplies to the city of Needles and other incorporated cities: Provided, That, such con tributions shall be credited toward the reimbursable costs to be repaid by the city of Needles and other incorporated cities pursuant to the contracts entered into pursuant to section 2 of this Act. Such contributions by the city of Needles and other incorporated cities shall be contributed during the construction of the appropriate project features and shall constitute 20 percent of the costs of such project features allocated to the city of Needles and other incor porated cities for repayment. PUBLIC LAW 99-655-NOV. 14, 1986 100 STAT. 3667 SEC. 5. SAVINGS PROVISION. Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to alter, repeal, modify, interpret, or be in conflict with the provisions of the Colo rado River Compact (45 Stat. 1057), the Water Treaty of 1944 with the United Mexican States (Treaty Series 994, 59 Stat. 1219), the tiecree entered by the Supreme Court of the United States in Arizona against California, and others (376 U.S. 340), the Boulder Canyon Project Act (45 Stat. 1057), the Boulder Canyon. Project Adjustment Act (54 Stat. 774; 43 U.S.C. 618a), or the Colorado River Basin Project Act (82 Stat. 885; 43 U.S.C. 1501). Nor shall any provision of this Act (a) affect the rights or jurisdictions of the United States, the States, Indian tribes, or other entities over waters of any river or streams or over any groundwater resources, or (b) otherwise be construed to alter or establish the respective rights of States, the United States, Indian tribes, or any person with respect to any water or water-related right. Approved November 14, 1986. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY-H.R. 5028: HOUSE REPORTS: No. 99-650 (Comm, on Interior and Insular Affairs). SENATE REPORTS: No. 99-496 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 132 (1986): June 24, considered and passed House. Oct. 9, considered and passed Senate, amended. Oct. 15, House disagreed to Senate amendment. Oct. 18, Senate receded from its amendment.