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Fort Peck water project reauthorization urged as BLM permit delay risks completion
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Summary
Witnesses and the bill sponsor asked the subcommittee to extend the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System authorization to allow completion after COVID-era cost increases and a recent Bureau of Land Management permit delay related to greater sage‑grouse habitat. Witnesses said no new federal appropriations are required if authorization is extended.
Representative Troy Downing and local water officials told the subcommittee HR 7250 is needed to extend the authorization for the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System so ongoing construction can finish.
Downing said the Dry Prairie–Fort Peck partnership has built more than 3,000 miles of pipeline and serves about 18,000 residents; he described the project as nearly complete but subject to an authorization that otherwise would expire, which could leave work unfinished.
Rick Nick, chairman of the Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority, testified the project has progressed but suffered a roughly $60 million cost increase tied to the COVID‑19 pandemic and supply chain problems. He said two of Dry Prairie’s 23 pipeline phases remain; one phase is ready to bid and the other awaits a Bureau of Land Management permit because construction crosses greater sage‑grouse habitat and cannot proceed until the permit and nesting‑season timing are resolved.
Mr. Nick told the committee the project does not require additional federal appropriations to complete, only an extension of the authorization to 2028 so allocated funds can be used to finish outstanding work. Committee members asked for details on which contracts are done and which steps remain; Mr. Nick said engineering documents and bid packages are ready for the one segment pending the BLM permit and that construction would take roughly one year once permitted (subject to nesting‑season constraints).
Members praised interagency and tribal partnerships supporting the project and pressed Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation coordination as a remaining implementation risk. No final action was taken; the record was left open for written follow‑up.
