HR 131 · 119th CongressTo President

Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act

Latest updateJan 8, 2026

The Chair announced the unfinished business to be the consideration of the veto. (consideration: CR H212)

Water Resources Development

Sponsor

Lauren Boebert

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

January 8, 2026

Legislative Progress

How far this bill has traveled through Congress

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

The Chair directed the Clerk to notify the Senate of the action of the House.

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The Arkansas Valley Conduit is a water infrastructure project in Colorado authorized under the Reclamation Act of 1939 and subsequent legislation. Currently, the project's repayment terms allow for payment of 35 percent of construction costs through a combination of user payments and revenue from excess capacity contracts on the Fryingpan-Arkansas project. However, the existing repayment structure does not clearly specify how financial hardship should be assessed or how the repayment period should be structured, creating uncertainty for water districts and communities seeking to finance the conduit's completion.

This bill amends Public Law 87-590 to establish clearer repayment terms for the Arkansas Valley Conduit. The Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, is directed to structure the repayment contract to require payment of 35 percent of construction costs, with the remaining balance repayable over up to 75 years at a reduced interest rate—50 percent of the Treasury rate—based on a demonstration of financial hardship by the contracting parties. The bill also requires that contracting parties assume full responsibility for the care, operation, maintenance, and replacement of the conduit once constructed.

Implementation begins upon enactment, with the Bureau of Reclamation establishing financial hardship criteria and finalizing repayment contracts with water districts and municipalities. Funding for the initial 35 percent of costs must come from non-federal sources or entities other than the Secretary of the Interior. The reduced interest rate and extended repayment period lower annual debt service obligations for participating water districts, making the project more financially feasible for rural and underserved communities. The shift of operations and maintenance responsibility to local contracting parties reduces long-term federal obligations while ensuring sustainable local management of the infrastructure.

Key Provisions

1Requires the Department of the Interior to establish repayment contracts for the Arkansas Valley Conduit requiring payment of 35 percent of construction costs with the balance repayable over up to 75 years at 50 percent of the Treasury interest rate, based on demonstrated financial hardship.
2Directs that the initial 35 percent of project costs be funded from non-federal sources or entities other than the Secretary of the Interior, with the remaining balance eligible for extended repayment terms.
3Authorizes the use of revenue from excess capacity contracts and exchange contracts using Fryingpan-Arkansas project facilities to support repayment obligations for the Arkansas Valley Conduit.
4Requires contracting parties to assume full responsibility for the care, operation, maintenance, and replacement of the Arkansas Valley Conduit once constructed, shifting long-term management obligations from the federal government to local entities.

★ Why this matters

The bill reduces the financial burden on water districts and rural communities by extending the repayment period to 75 years and cutting the interest rate in half compared to standard Treasury rates. This makes the Arkansas Valley Conduit project more affordable and feasible for completion, enabling reliable domestic water supplies to reach underserved areas. By clarifying repayment terms and establishing a financial hardship assessment process, the bill removes uncertainty that has delayed project financing and construction.

● Who this affects

Water districts and municipalities in the Arkansas Valley region of Colorado seeking reliable domestic water supplies are most directly impacted. Rural and low-income households in Colorado communities without dependable water access benefit from the project's completion. The Bureau of Reclamation must establish and administer the financial hardship criteria and repayment contracts. Non-federal funding entities and private water providers may participate in financing the initial 35 percent of costs. State and local governments in Colorado play a role in coordinating project implementation and operations.

Bill Text

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H.R.131

                     One Hundred Nineteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
         the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-five

                                 An Act

 
 To make certain modifications to the repayment for the Arkansas Valley 
                    Conduit in the State of Colorado.

    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 ``Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit 
Act''.
SEC. 2. ARKANSAS VALLEY CONDUIT, COLORADO.
    Public Law 87-590 (76 Stat. 389; 123 Stat. 1320) is amended--
        (1) in the first section--
            (A) in subsection (c), in the second sentence, by striking 
        ``or in the case of the Arkansas Valley Conduit, payment in an 
        amount equal to 35 percent of the cost of the conduit that is 
        comprised of revenue generated by payments pursuant to a 
        repayment contract and revenue that may be derived from 
        contracts for the use of Fryingpan-Arkansas project excess 
        capacity or exchange contracts using Fryingpan-Arkansas project 
        facilities,''; and
            (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Arkansas Valley Conduit.--
        ``(1) Repayment contract.--To provide domestic water supplies 
    to communities and households that do not have reliable access to 
    domestic water supplies, the contract for the Arkansas Valley 
    Conduit shall provide for payment in an amount equal to 35 percent 
    of the cost of the conduit, notwithstanding the reclamation laws or 
    any other provision of this Act. The contract payments shall 
    consist of--
            ``(A) funding provided during construction from any entity 
        other than the Secretary; and
            ``(B) based on a demonstration of financial hardship, as 
        determined by the Secretary, repayment of the balance not 
        covered under subparagraph (A) for a period of not more than 75 
        years with simple interest at a rate that is equal to 50 
        percent of the interest rate determined by the Secretary of the 
        Treasury under section 2(c), including revenue derived from 
        contracts for the use of excess capacity or exchange contracts 
        using Fryingpan-Arkansas project facilities.
        ``(2) Operations and maintenance.--The contract for the 
    Arkansas Valley Conduit shall provide for the assumption by the 
    contracting parties of the care, operation, maintenance, and 
    replacement of the conduit.''; and
        (2) in section 2(b)(3)(A), by striking ``this section'' and 
    inserting ``subsection (d) of the first section''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

      …

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Alma Adams

D-North Carolina · District 12

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Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act

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Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act

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