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Lewis & Clark Regional Water System Expansion 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 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.
Summary
- Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether to expand the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota.
- Requires the Secretary to develop a feasibility report with a recommendation on whether the project should be authorized and to determine the non-federal share of construction costs, which must be at least 25 percent.
- Requires the Secretary to submit the feasibility report to Congress and make it publicly available along with associated feasibility study documents.
- Requires the Secretary to consult with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local authorities during the feasibility study.
- Establishes that the federal share of feasibility study costs shall not exceed 50 percent and authorizes $10 million for the study, with the authority expiring 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)
5 cosponsors
- Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN)
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD)
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN)
Actions (4)
- Jul 16, 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 S379-380) · 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.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.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, 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.1175, to amend section 6903 of title 31, United States Code, to provide for additional population tiers, 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.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.2554, to provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native communities and the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, S.2754 and H.R.5911, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the City of Ouray, Colorado, certain land managed by the Forest Service, together with a reservoir, S.3526, to provide for the protection of and investment in certain Federal land in the State of California, 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, H.R.249, to redesignate certain facilities at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in honor of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr, and the nominations of William Hague, of Washington, to be an Assistant Secretary, Kevin Lilly, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife, both of the Department of the Interior, and Kaveh Farzad, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (International Affairs).
- 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, Mr. Rounds, and Ms. Klobuchar) 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 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.
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 “Lewis & Clark Regional Water System Expansion Feasibility Study Act”.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Non-federal project entity.—The term “non-Federal project entity” means—
(A) the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Inc. (doing business as “Lewis & Clark Regional Water System”); and
(B) any nonprofit successor entity to the corporation described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Proposed rural water supply project.—The term “proposed rural water supply project” means the proposed project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water to expand the capacity and reach of the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System in the States of Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota.
(3) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 3. LEWIS & CLARK REGIONAL WATER SYSTEM EXPANSION 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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