Senate bill would order a feasibility study of expanding the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System

The Secretary of the Interior, working with the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System and its nonprofit successors, would study whether the proposed expansion project is feasible and then write a feasibility report. The report would say whether the project is technically and financially feasible, whether it should be authorized for construction, and what the non-Federal share of construction costs should be, not less than 25 percent. The Secretary must send the report to the Senate and House natural resources committees and make it and the study documents public. The Secretary must consult federal, state, Tribal, regional, and local authorities. The Secretary's authority to do the study ends 5 years after enactment.

The Secretary would sign a cost-sharing or financial assistance agreement with the water system for the study. The federal share of study costs could not exceed 50 percent, and no more than $10,000,000 in federal funds could be spent on the study. The federal share would be paid from appropriated funds, and the Secretary must identify available funding sources within 90 days of enactment.