Water development-amendments.

ORIGINAL
Senate
File No
.
SF0051

ENROLLED ACT NO. 67,

SENATE

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2015 General Session

AN ACT relating to water development; providing amendments to the water development program; providing for contingencies; clarifying authority of the Wyoming water development commission regarding specified interstate projects and programs; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 41
‑
2
‑
118
(a)(xiii),
(xiv) and by creating a new paragraph (xv)
, 99
‑
3
‑
1106(a)
(intro),
(iii),
(vii),
(b)
(intro),
(iii)
, (iv)
and (vii)
and 99
‑
3
‑
1304
(j)
(intro),
(iii) and (vii)
are amended to read:

41
‑
2
‑
118
.

Powers, duties, salaries and expenses of commission.

(a)

The commission shall:

(xiii)

Represent or advocate the state's interests in negotiations and construction of water projects assigned by the legislature or the governor;
and

(xiv)

Have authority to temporarily defer the principal amount due on debt service payments for money loaned to an irrigation district, watershed improvement district, conservation district or a conservancy district for construction of water development projects whenever the governor has declared that a drought emergency exists within the affected district's service area. The district shall be eligible for the temporary deferral of the principal amount due, provided the interest payments on the remaining principal amount are paid and current. The commission shall amend the amortization schedule to reflect the length of time from the date the affected district seeks the temporary deferral to the date the governor
declares the emergency drought condition no longer exists
;
.

and

(xv)

With the approval of the governor, have the authority to
en
ter into contracts and agreements with the United States of America or its duly authorized representative agency
to accept federal funds through grants or matching funds or from other sources for
project
cost
s pertaining to the utilization of Wyoming’s water resources.

99
‑
3
‑
1106
.

Sponsor's
contingency
funds.

There are created the following sponsor's
inflations

contingency
funds:

(a)

Project – Sponsor's
Inflation

Contingency
Fund – New Development:

(iii)

Project description: The establishment of a fund to provide supplemental funding for sponsors' existing Level III new development construction projects where construction budgets have been rendered insufficient due to inflation
,

and the rapid

or

an
unexpected
increase in material cost
, change in materials or increase in the quantities of materials necessary to complete the final project design
;

(vii)

Appropriation: There is appropriated from water development account I to the commission two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) or as much thereof as is necessary to carry out the purpose of this subsection. Unexpended funds appropriated under this subsection shall revert to water development account I on July 1,
2015

2017
; and

(b)

Project – Sponsor's
Inflation

Contingency
Fund
‑
Rehabilitation:

(iii)

Project description: The establishment of a fund to provide supplemental funding for sponsors' existing Level III rehabilitation construction projects where construction budgets have been rendered insufficient due to inflation
,

and the rapid

or an
unexpected
increase in material cost
, change in materials or increase in the quantities of materials necessary to complete the final project design
;

(iv)

Total
project budget:
Eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000.00)

One million three hundred thousand dollars ($1,300,000.00)
;

(vii)

Appropriation: There is appropriated from water development account II to the commission
eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000.00)

one million three hundred thousand dollars ($1,300,000.00)
or as much thereof as is necessary to carry out the purpose of this subsection. Unexpended funds appropriated under this subsection shall revert to water development account II on July 1,
2015

2017
; and

99
‑
3
‑
1304
.

Level III construction projects – rehabilitation.

(j)

Project Sponsor's
Inflation

Contingency
Fund
‑
Rehabilitation:

(iii)

Project description: The establishment of a fund to provide supplemental funding for sponsors' existing Level III rehabilitation construction projects where construction budgets have been rendered insufficient
due to inflation
,

and the rapid

or an unexpected
increase in material cost
, change in materials
or increase in the quantities of materials necessary to complete the final project design
;

(vii)

Appropriation: There is appropriated from water development account II to the commission five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) or as much thereof as is necessary to carry out the purpose of this subsection. Unexpended funds appropriated under this subsection shall revert to water development account
I

II
on July 1,
2013

2017
;

Section 2
.

Upper Colorado River Basin Fund Memorandum of Agreement
.

(a)

Pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) entered into on Janu
ary 24, 2011, by and among the s
tates of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming; the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, Inc.
(CREDA); the Department of the I
nterior, Bureau of Reclamation; and the Department of Energy, Western
Area Power Administration, the s
tate of Wyoming has certain specified rights to apply for and recommend the expenditure of a percentage of co
llected revenues defined under s
ection 5(e) of the Colorado River Storage Project Act
, codified beginning at 43 U.S.
C. § 620, as amended and supplemented, identified in the MOA as CRSPA. The MOA will expire on September 30, 2025, unless modified or extended.

(b
)

The MOA provides that each signatory state, including the
s
tate of Wyoming, may apply for a percentage of collected revenues, accounted for under the terms of the MOA, as funding assistance for qualifying projects or activities within the Upper Colorado River Basin.
Qualifying projects or activities are those which further the purposes of CRSPA, as amended and supplemented, are within the Bureau of Reclamation’s
authorities
and are recommended by the signatory states and CREDA. It is the responsibility of each signatory state to prioritize and recommend proposed projects or activities within the state for participation under the MOA.

(
c
)

The
Wyoming water d
eve
lopment c
ommission shall evaluate,
prioritize
and recommend to the Bureau of Reclamation proposed
qualifying projects within the s
tate of Wyoming for participation under the MOA.

(d
)

The commission shall establish criteria and administrative procedures for
the evaluation, prioritization
and recommendation of proposed
qualifying projects within the s
tate of Wyoming for participation under the MOA.

(e
)

The establishment of criteria and administrative procedures for
the evaluation, prioritization
and recommendation of qualifying projects under this section, and the decisions of the commission relating to
the evaluation, prioritization
and recommendation to the Bureau of Reclamation of qualifying projects for participation under the MOA
,
are specifically exempt from the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act including judicial review under W.S. 16
‑
3
‑
114 and 16
‑
3
‑
115.

(f
)

The authority granted to the commission under
this section
and any criteria or administrative procedures established
pursuant to this section
shall be effective only
so long as the MOA is in effect
or collected revenues remain available to fund qualifying projects, whichever is later.

Section 3
.

BSP
‑
Colorado River Basin States Salinity Control Program
.

(a
)

Congress created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program (Program) in 1974 with the enactment of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Public Law 93
‑
320. The Program is a cooperative effort among water users in the Colorado River Basin, the seven Colorado River Basin states, the USDA
‑
Natural Resources Conservation Service (N
RCS), the Bureau of Reclamation
and the Bureau of Land Management to reduce the amount of salt in the Colorado River and its impacts on water users.

(b
)

Section 205 of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act directs the Bureau of Reclamation to expend funds from the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund and the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund. The Basin States Program (BSP) was created with the amendment of the original 1974 Act and provides
that
cost share obligations be met through an up
‑
front cost share. Expenditures from the BSP may be used to cost share in the implementation of salinity control measures and the Bureau of Reclamation has determined Wyoming, through the Wyoming Water Development Commission, to be an appropriate partner in the BSP.

(c
)

Program project sponsors: Eligible public entities in the Green River and Little Snake River drainages in Wyoming;
e
ligible private entities located in the Green River or Little Snake River drainages in Wyoming that qualify for on
‑
farm federal assistance.

(d
)

Program p
urpose: Reduce salinity in the surface waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries in Wyoming.

(
e
)

Project description: Cost effectively reduce salinity
and conduct
planning studies for salinity control activities.

(f
)

Program budget:
T
wo million eight hundred thousand dollars ($2,800,000.00)
total grant budget authorizing the Bureau of Reclamation to prov
ide incremental grants for the P
rogram.

(
g
)

State a
ppropriation: none
.

(
h
)

Special conditions:

(
i
)

The
Wyoming water development
commission shall accept, evaluate and rank proposed
qualifying projects within the s
tate of Wyoming f
or participation in the P
rogram;

(
ii
)

The commission
sha
ll recommend its ranking of proposed qualifying projects to the Bureau of Reclamation. The Bureau of Reclamation retains final aut
hority on all funding decisions;

(iii
)

With the concurrence of the Bureau of Reclamation, the commission may award grants to eligible project sponsors
;

(iv
)

Project
sponsors shall substantiate the public benefit that will accrue due
to participation in the Program;

(v
)

The commission shall establish criteria and administrative procedures
for the acceptance, evaluation

and ranking of
qualifying projects within the s
tate of Wyoming f
or participation in the Program;

(vi
)

The establishment of criteria and administrative procedures
for the acceptance, evaluation
and ranking of qualifying projects under this section, and the decisions of the commission relatin
g to the acceptance, evaluation
and ranking of qualifying projects for participation
under the Colorado River Basin
States Program
,
are specifically exempt from the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act including judicial review un
der W.
S. 16
‑
3
‑
114 and 16
‑
3
‑
115;

(vii
)

The authority granted to the commission under th
is section, and any criteria or
administrative

procedures established pursuant to this section, shall be effective only so long as the Colorado River Basin
States Program is in operation
or there are still Program grant dollars to be spent
, whichever is later
.

Section
4
.

This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the
Senate
.

Chief Clerk

1