Pactola Reservoir Reallocation Authorization Act of 2005
Key claim: Federal law lets the Interior Department reassign Pactola Dam and Reservoir construction costs in South Dakota from irrigation to municipal, industrial, and fish-and-wildlife uses.
Abstract
(S819 · 109th Congress) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Pactola Reservoir Reallocation Authorization Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to reallocate, in a manner consistent with specified federal reclamation law, the construction costs of Pactola Dam and Reservoir, Rapid Valley Unit, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, South Dakota, from irrigation purposes to municipal, industrial, and fish and wildlife purposes. Latest action (2006-11-27): Became Public Law No: 109-371.
Why this matters
Reallocating a reclamation project’s construction costs among use categories changes who ultimately repays the federal investment and can shift long-term water rates for municipal, industrial, and irrigation customers served by the reservoir. It also formalizes fish-and-wildlife uses as a cost-bearing purpose, a recurring issue in western water policy as reservoir uses evolve away from their original irrigation missions.