Garrison Diversion Unit Project Oakes Test Area Conveyance Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 325 To require the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Garrison Diversion Unit Project Oakes Test Area in Dickey County, North Dakota, to the Dickey-Sargent Irrigation District, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 4, 2019 Mr. HOEVEN (for himself and Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To require the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Garri- son Diversion Unit Project Oakes Test Area in Dickey County, North Dakota, to the Dickey-Sargent Irrigation District, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Garrison Diversion 4 Unit Project Oakes Test Area Conveyance Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S325.IS S325 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 325 IS SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF THE OAKES TEST AREA OF THE 1 GARRISON DIVERSION UNIT PROJECT, 2 NORTH DAKOTA. 3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 5 means a title transfer agreement between the United 6 States and the District— 7 (A) to determine the legal, operational, in- 8 stitutional, and financial terms related to the 9 conveyance of the Oakes Test Area as required 10 under subsection (b); and 11 (B) to be entered into pursuant to the 12 memorandum of agreement entitled ‘‘Memo- 13 randum of Agreement Between United States 14 of America Department of the Interior Bureau 15 of Reclamation and Dickey-Sargent Irrigation 16 District for the Purpose of Defining Roles and 17 Responsibilities for Actions Required to Prepare 18 for Title Transfer of Certain Facilities, Land, 19 and Appurtenances at the Garrison Diversion 20 Unit Project Oakes Test Area’’, dated Decem- 21 ber 18, 2018, and numbered 19AG620033. 22 (2) DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘District’’ means the 23 Dickey-Sargent Irrigation District. 24 (3) OAKES TEST AREA.—The term ‘‘Oakes Test 25 Area’’ means the facilities, land, and appurtenances 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S325.IS S325 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 325 IS of the approximately 5,000-acre prototype irrigation 1 test area authorized as part of the Garrison Diver- 2 sion Unit Project in the James River Basin, as de- 3 scribed in the Agreement. 4 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 5 the Secretary of the Interior. 6 (b) CONVEYANCE TO DISTRICT.—As soon as prac- 7 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 8 retary shall convey to the District all right, title, and inter- 9 est of the United States in and to the Oakes Test Area, 10 consistent with the terms and conditions of the Agree- 11 ment. 12 (c) LIABILITY.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date of con- 14 veyance to the District of the Oakes Test Area 15 under this section, the United States shall not be 16 held liable by any court for damages of any kind 17 arising out of any act, omission, or occurrence relat- 18 ing to the Oakes Test Area, except for damages 19 caused by acts of negligence committed by the 20 United States or by an employee or agent of the 21 United States prior to the date of conveyance. 22 (2) APPLICABLE LAW.—Nothing in this section 23 increases the liability of the United States beyond 24 the liability provided in chapter 171 of title 28, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S325.IS S325 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 325 IS United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Fed- 1 eral Tort Claims Act’’), on the date of enactment of 2 this Act. 3 (d) BENEFITS.—After the conveyance of the Oakes 4 Test Area to the District under this section— 5 (1) the Oakes Test Area shall not be considered 6 to be a part of a Federal reclamation project; and 7 (2) the District shall not be eligible to receive 8 any benefits with respect to any facility comprising 9 that Oakes Test Area, other than benefits that 10 would be available to a similarly situated person 11 with respect to a facility that is not part of a Fed- 12 eral reclamation project. 13 (e) COMMUNICATION.—If the Secretary has not com- 14 pleted the conveyance required under subsection (b) by the 15 date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this 16 Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a letter with 17 sufficient detail that— 18 (1) explains the reasons the conveyance has not 19 been completed; and 20 (2) specifies the date by which the conveyance 21 will be completed. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S325.IS S325 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS