LegiStorm

Summary:

Congress has authorized projects and programs through various federal agencies to address water supply needs. Since 1980, Congress has authorized the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), among other agencies, to develop municipal and industrial (M&I) water supply projects in rural areas and on tribal lands. Congress has authorized these projects, known as rural water supply projects, for several locations throughout the West. From 1980 through 2009, Congress authorized Reclamation to undertake the design and construction, and sometimes the operations and maintenance (O&M), of specific rural water supply projects intended to deliver potable water supplies to rural communities in western states. These projects are largely located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and New Mexico. The rural communities served by these projects included tribal reservations and nontribal rural communities with nonexistent, substandard, or declining water supply or water quality. Many rural water projects are large in scope—taking water from one location and moving it across long distances to tie to existing systems. Although M&I portions of most Reclamation water supply facilities require 100% repayment with interest, Congress has authorized rural water projects that receive some or all costs from the federal government on a nonreimbursable basis (i.e., a de facto grant). For example, the federal government pays up to 100% of costs for tribal rural water supply projects, including O&M. For nontribal rural water supply projects, the federal cost share for current projects ranges from 75% to 80%. The Rural Water Supply Act of 2006 (Title I of P.L. 109-451) created the Rural Water Supply Program, a structured program for developing and recommending future rural water supply projects. This program was to replace the previous process of authorizing projects individually—often without the level of analysis and review (e.g., feasibility studies) required for Reclamation's other projects. Under the Rural Water Supply Program, Congress authorized Reclamation to work with rural communities and tribes to identify M&I water needs and options to address such needs through appraisal investigations and feasibility studies. Congress would then consider feasibility studies recommended by the Administration before authorizing specific project construction in legislation. Ultimately, Reclamation did not recommend and Congress did not authorize any projects through this process, and the authority for the program expired in 2016. Members have introduced legislation in the 116th Congress to reauthorize the Rural Water Supply Program through FY2026: the Water Justice Act (H.R. 4033) and the Securing Access for the Central Valley and Enhancing (SAVE) Water Resources Act (H.R. 2473). Other bills would authorize individual activities (i.e., a feasibility study and a project) previously considered by the Rural Water Supply Program or would address rural water needs by creating authorities for rural water grants or water technology programs. Reclamation continues to construct rural water projects (and to provide O&M assistance for some tribal components) authorized and initiated outside of the Rural Water Supply Program. Enacted funding for rural water supply projects in FY2020 provided $145.1 million for construction and O&M at seven authorized rural water projects, which was $117.4 million above the Administration's FY2020 budget request. Five projects received construction funding in FY2020: Garrison Diversion Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Fort Peck Reservation/Dry Prairie Rural Water System, Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Rocky Boy's/North Central Montana Rural Water System, and Eastern New Mexico Water Supply. For FY2021, the Administration requested $30.3 million for rural water projects. As of early 2020, Reclamation reported that $1.2 billion was needed to construct authorized, ongoing rural water projects.