Water Resources Development Desk
Water Resources Development Bills
2 bills in the Water Resources Development desk, ordered for current relevance and readability.
Water Resources DevelopmentHR-131-119Latest action: Jan 8, 20264 readersTo President
Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act
Sponsored by Lauren Boebert
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.
Water Resources Development
Latest updateJan 8, 2026
The Chair announced the unfinished business to be the consideration of the veto. (consideration: CR H212)
Water Resources Development
Water Resources DevelopmentHR-132-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20252 readersIn Committee
Western Water Accelerated Revenue Repayment Act
Sponsored by Lauren Boebert
The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, enacted in 2016, established a framework allowing water districts and irrigation authorities in the West to prepay their obligations to the federal government ahead of schedule. This prepayment authority was designed to give water users flexibility in managing their finances and potentially reduce long-term interest costs. However, the existing law contained limitations on which revenue streams could be used for prepayment and which accounts could receive the prepaid funds, creating constraints for some water projects seeking to accelerate their repayment schedules. The Western Water Accelerated Revenue Repayment Act amends the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act by extending prepayment authority to additional revenue sources and accounts. Specifically, the bill directs the Bureau of Reclamation to allow prepayment revenues that are designated by project-specific statutes to flow into accounts other than the General Reclamation Fund. Additionally, the bill expands section 4013 of the existing law to include section 4011, broadening the scope of which water projects and revenue mechanisms qualify for accelerated prepayment options. These changes take effect upon enactment and require no new federal appropriations, as they operate within existing Bureau of Reclamation authority and funding mechanisms. Water districts and irrigation authorities will gain expanded flexibility to direct prepaid revenues according to their project-specific statutory authorizations, potentially accelerating debt repayment timelines for certain western water infrastructure projects. The modifications do not alter the underlying repayment obligations themselves but rather expand the pathways through which those obligations can be satisfied, allowing project revenues to flow more efficiently to designated accounts and reducing administrative constraints on prepayment arrangements.
Water Resources Development
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Water Resources Development