Federal water system for rural Montana and North Dakota gets $602M authorization
S. 4489 — Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authorization Act · Filed by Steve Daines (R-MT) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced May 12, 2026 · Hearing held
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What it does
This bill authorizes the federal government to help build a water system serving rural counties in Montana and North Dakota. The Secretary of the Interior will work with the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority (a nonprofit public agency) to design and construct water infrastructure—pipelines, pumping stations, treatment facilities, and storage—serving about 5 counties in Montana and 1 in North Dakota. The federal government will pay up to 75% of the $602 million cost (2027–2037); the Authority pays the rest and operates the system. The bill also guarantees the water system access to hydroelectric power from federal dams at a set rate, with the Authority responsible for transmission costs.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to authorize federal funding and cooperative planning for a rural water system serving specific counties. It is a straightforward infrastructure authorization with cost-sharing and power-access provisions, not a deregulation, tax measure, or commemorative act.
What the text implies
- The bill guarantees the Authority access to hydroelectric power at 'firm power rate' (a fixed rate), insulating it from market price volatility—a subsidy-like benefit embedded in the power-access clause that reduces long-term operating costs below market.
- Section 4(a) permits 'livestock watering' without limitation to 'incidental noncommercial' use, potentially allowing commercial agricultural operations to draw from the system at the same rate as municipal users, shifting cost burden to residential ratepayers.
- The Authority is responsible for funding all transmission upgrades to the Integrated System (owned by federal and private entities), creating an open-ended obligation that could exceed the $602M authorization if grid upgrades prove expensive.
- Cost-indexing and 'unforeseen market volatility' adjustment clauses (§7(b)–(c)) allow the Secretary to increase the $602M authorization without returning to Congress, creating a blank check for inflation and construction surprises.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Rural citizens in underserved counties gain access to safe, adequate water supply for municipal, rural, and industrial use—a foundational public good. The federal cost-share (up to 75%) reduces the burden on local ratepayers, and the guaranteed power rate protects the Authority from market volatility in electricity costs.
Who stands to gain
- Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority (public nonprofit)
- Rural residents and municipalities in Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Prairie, Richland Counties (MT) and
- Agricultural operations using livestock watering (potential commercial benefit)
Named in the bill
Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority, Secretary of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Western Area Power Administration, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Heartland Energy, Dawson County, Montana, Garfield County, Montana, McCone County, Montana, Prairie County, Montana, Richland County, Montana, McKenzie County, North Dakota — and 2 more
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- May 12, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- May 12, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
- Sep 16, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $20,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 2 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Steve Daines, the sponsor, reported $916,144 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Dry-redwater Regional Water Authority — $20,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (8,265 characters) on Sep 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,342 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-18.
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