# Plain Language Summary: Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program Pumping Power Bill

This bill expands which irrigation districts can get cheap hydroelectric power from a major federal water project in the Missouri River Basin. The Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program is a massive system of dams and reservoirs built decades ago across multiple states. These dams generate electricity, and currently only certain irrigation districts—organizations that manage water for farming—can buy this power at discounted rates. This bill would allow additional irrigation districts to qualify for the same deal.

The practical effect is that more farming operations in the Missouri Basin region could access cheaper electricity for pumping water to their fields. Since irrigation pumping is expensive, lower electricity costs could reduce farming expenses and potentially lower food prices for consumers. However, this also means the federal government would be providing a subsidy to these additional districts, since they'd be getting power below market rates. The bill essentially expands an existing benefit program to reach more agricultural areas, though the specific districts affected would depend on the details of how the program defines eligibility.

This is a fairly narrow bill focused on a specific region and industry. It primarily affects irrigation farmers in states along the Missouri River—including Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming—who would gain access to cheaper federal hydropower. Taxpayers fund the difference between what these districts pay and what the power is actually worth on the open market.

A bill to make certain irrigation districts eligible for Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program pumping power, and for other purposes.

Cramer, Kevin

 <p>This bill makes certain irrigation districts in North Dakota eligible to receive pumping power (i.e., hydropower) from the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, subject to the terms and rates established by the Bureau of Reclamation. Under this bill, an irrigation district must enter into a contract with Reclamation to receive such pumping power.</p>