Sec. 8. Storage allocation from Lake Elwell
664 words·~3 min read·
/bill/113/s/434/is/section-8A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary shall allocate to the Tribe 56,000 acre-feet per year of water stored in Lake Elwell for use by the Tribe for any beneficial purpose on or off the Reservation, under a water right held by the United States and managed by the Bureau of Reclamation, as measured at the outlet works of Tiber Dam or through direct pumping from Lake Elwell. The allocation to the Tribe under subsection
(a)shall be considered to be part of the tribal water right. The priority date of the allocation to the Tribe under subsection
(a)shall be the priority date of the Lake Elwell water right held by the Bureau of Reclamation. The Tribe shall administer the water allocated under subsection
(a)in accordance with the Compact and this Act. In accordance with subsection (d), the Tribe may temporarily transfer by service contract, lease, exchange, or other agreement the water allocated under subsection
(a)off the Reservation, subject to the approval of the Secretary and the requirements of the Compact. As a condition of receiving an allocation under this section, the Tribe shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary to establish the terms and conditions of the allocation, in accordance with the Compact and this Act. The agreement under paragraph
(1)shall include provisions that— the agreement shall be without limit as to term; the Tribe, and not the United States, shall be entitled to all consideration due to the Tribe under any lease, contract, or agreement entered into by the Tribe pursuant to subsection (d); the United States shall have no obligation to monitor, administer, or account for— any funds received by the Tribe as consideration under any lease, contract, or agreement entered into by the Tribe pursuant to subsection (d); or the expenditure of such funds; if the capacity or function of Lake Elwell facilities are significantly reduced, or are anticipated to be significantly reduced, for an extended period of time, the Tribe shall have the same storage rights as other storage contractors with respect to the allocation under this section; the costs associated with the construction of the storage facilities at Tiber Dam allocable to the Tribe shall be— nonreimbursable; and excluded from any repayment obligation of the Tribe; no water service capital charge shall be due or payable for any water allocated to the Tribe pursuant to this section or the allocation agreement, regardless of whether that water is delivered for use by the Tribe or under a lease, contract, or by agreement entered into by the Tribe pursuant to subsection (b)(3)(B); the Tribe shall not be required to make payments to the United States for any water allocated to the Tribe under this Act or the allocation agreement, except for each acre-foot of stored water leased or sold for industrial purposes as described in subparagraph (H); and for each acre-foot of stored water leased or sold by the Tribe for industrial purposes— the Tribe shall pay annually to the United States an amount necessary to cover the proportional share of the annual operation, maintenance, and replacement costs allocable to the quantity of water leased or sold by the Tribe for industrial purposes; and the annual payments of the Tribe shall be reviewed and adjusted, as appropriate, to reflect the actual operation, maintenance, and replacement costs for Tiber Dam. The Tribe may use, lease, contract, exchange, or enter into other agreements for use of the water allocated to the Tribe under subsection
(a)if— the use of water that is the subject of such an agreement occurs within the Missouri River basin; and the agreement does not permanently alienate any portion of the water allocated to the Tribe under subsection (a). The allocation under subsection
(a)takes effect on the enforceability date. The allocation under subsection
(a)shall not be increased by any year-to-year carryover storage. The United States shall not be required to pay the cost of developing or delivering to the Reservation any water allocated under this section.