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Western South Dakota Water Supply Project Feasibility Study Act
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water from the Missouri River to the Western Dakota Regional Water System, and for other purposes.
Summary
- Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study with the Western Dakota Regional Water System to determine whether a project to supply water from the Missouri River to the Western Dakota Regional Water System should be constructed.
- Requires the Secretary to develop and submit a feasibility report to Congress recommending whether the project should be authorized and determining the appropriate non-federal share of construction costs, which shall be at least 25 percent.
- Requires the Secretary to make the feasibility report and associated study documents publicly available.
- Requires the Secretary to consult and cooperate with Federal, State, Tribal, regional, and local authorities during the feasibility study.
- Limits the federal share of feasibility study costs to 50 percent and requires cost-sharing with the non-federal project entity.
- Authorizes $10,000,000 for the feasibility study and expires the authority 10 years after enactment.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] (R-SD)
1 cosponsor
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD)
Actions (4)
- Jun 10, 2026 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. · senate
- Mar 17, 2026 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. · senate
- Jan 29, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text: CR S379) · senate
- Jan 29, 2026 Introduced in Senate
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Committee action
What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.
Meetings where this bill was on the agenda
- Business meeting to consider S.140, to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, S.332, to require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, S.365 and H.R.1729, bills to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to allow for additional entities to be eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado, S.764, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, S.789, to require reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources around the world and a strategy for the development of advanced mining, refining, separation, and processing technologies, S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, S.888, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, S.945, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, S.1088 and H.R.2290, bills to provide that the memorial to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the women who worked on the home front to support the efforts of the United States military during World War II may be located on the National Mall, S.1288, to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to designate as a component of the National Heritage Area System the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area in the State of New York, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1349, to withdraw the National Forest System land in the Ruby Mountains subdistrict of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the National Wildlife Refuge System land in Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, from operation under the mineral leasing laws, S.1413, to authorize additional funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act, S.1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, S.1547, to amend title 54, United States Code, to reauthorize the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, S.1737, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.2437 and H.R.3857, bills to amend the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act, S.2753, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to authorize certain extraordinary operation and maintenance work for urban canals of concern, S.3500 and H.R.3657, bills to amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to annually submit to Congress a report on the status of ongoing hydropower relicensing applications, S.3518, to amend the Federal Power Act to address certain alterations in, and the maintenance and repair of, project works, to provide for the licensing of micro hydrokinetic energy projects, S.3526, to provide for the protection of and investment in certain Federal land in the State of California, S.3693, to extend the authorization for a large-scale water recycling and reuse grant program, S.3723, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water from the Missouri River to the Western Dakota Regional Water System, S.3732, to amend the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act to authorize assistance under the storage program, S.3736, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water to the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System service area in the States of South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota, S.3743, to direct the Secretary of
- Hearings to examine S.1034, to establish the Southwestern Power Administration Fund, S.1242, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out watershed pilots, S.2437 and H.R.3857, bills to amend the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act, S.2753, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to authorize certain extraordinary operation and maintenance work for urban canals of concern, S.3409, to reaffirm that the Bureau of Reclamation retains exclusive ownership, operational control, and financial responsibility for the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel, ensuring long-term conservation of the endangered pallid sturgeon and other native aquatic species in the Yellowstone River while protecting the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project and District from undue financial and operational burdens, S.3500, to amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to annually submit to Congress a report on the status of ongoing hydropower relicensing applications, S.3518, to amend the Federal Power Act to address certain alterations in, and the maintenance and repair of, project works, to provide for the licensing of micro hydrokinetic energy projects, S.3635, to reauthorize the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000, S.3684, to amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to reauthorize water power research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities, S.3693, to extend the authorization for a large-scale water recycling and reuse grant program, S.3723, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water from the Missouri River to the Western Dakota Regional Water System, S.3725, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water to expand the capacity and reach of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Inc. (doing business as "Lewis & Clark Regional Water System"), in the States of Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, S.3732, to amend the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act to authorize assistance under the storage program, S.3736, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water to the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System service area in the States of South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota, S.3737, to amend the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 to provide financial and technical assistance to eligible entities for the conduct of innovative approaches to voluntary water partnership agreements among multiple water users and projects conducted by individual agricultural entities, S.3738, to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reauthorize the large-scale water recycling and reuse program, to establish a Water Conveyance Improvement Program, S.3743, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a feasibility study on a selective water withdrawal system at Glen Canyon Dam, S.3792, to provide for the establishment of a Water Project Navigators Program, S.4040, to amend Public Law 89-108 to modify the authorization of appropriations for State and Tribal, municipal, rural, and industrial water supplies, and S.4041, to reauthorize the Cooperative Watershed Management Program.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 29, 2026
Mr. Thune (for himself and Mr. Rounds) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water from the Missouri River to the Western Dakota Regional Water System, and for other purposes.
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 “Western South Dakota Water Supply Project Feasibility Study Act”.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Non-federal project entity.—The term “non-Federal project entity” means the Western Dakota Regional Water System, Inc., a nonprofit corporation.
(2) Proposed rural water supply project.—The term “proposed rural water supply project” means the proposed project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water from the Missouri River to the Western Dakota Regional Water System.
(3) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 3. WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA WATER SUPPLY PROJECT FEASIBILITY STUDY.
(a) Study.—
(1) In general.—The Secretary, in coordination with the non-Federal project entity, shall carry out a study to determine the feasibility of the proposed rural water supply project.
(2) Feasibility report.—After completion of the feasibility study for the proposed rural water supply project under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
(A) develop a feasibility report that includes a recommendation of the Secretary on—
(i) whether the proposed rural water supply project should be authorized for construction; and
(ii) the appropriate non-Federal share of construction costs, which shall be—
(I) at least 25 percent of the total construction costs; and
(II) determined based on an analysis of the financial capability- to-pay the allocated construction and operations, maintenance, and replacement costs of the recommended plan;
(B) submit the report under subparagraph (A) to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and
(C) make the report under subparagraph (A) publicly available, along with associated feasibility study documents.
(3) Consultation and cooperation.—In addition to the non- Federal project entity, the Secretary shall consult and cooperate with appropriate Federal, State, Tribal, regional, and local authorities during the conduct of the feasibility study and development of the feasibility report under this subsection.
(b) Cost-Sharing Agreement for Feasibility Study Costs.—The Secretary shall enter into a cost-sharing agreement (or an appropriate financial assistance agreement, as determined by the Secretary) with the non-Federal project entity to conduct a study under subsection (a) that complies with the reclamation feasibility standards.
(c) Federal Share of Feasibility Study Costs.—The Federal share of the total costs of carrying out the feasibility study under subsection
(a) shall not exceed 50 percent.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000.
(e) Termination of Authority.—The authority provided by this section expires on the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act. <all>
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