PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 106-406.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 27, 1999
Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal Land Conveyance Act of 1999 - Deauthorizes the Blunt Reservoir feature of the Oahe Irrigation Project authorized as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to convey all of the preferential lease parcels to the Commission of Schools and Public Lands of South Dakota, on the condition that the Commission honor the purchase option provided to preferential leaseholders under this Act. Requires a preferential leaseholder to have an option to purchase from the Commission the preferential lease parcel that is the subject of the lease. Permits a preferential leaseholder to elect to purchase a parcel on one of the following terms: (1) cash purchase for the amount that is equal to the value of the parcel minus ten percent of that value; or (2) installment purchase, with 20 percent of the value of the parcel to be paid on the purchase date and the remainder to be paid over no more than 30 years at three percent annual interest. Provides that if the value of the parcel is under $10,000, the purchase shall be made on a cash basis. Provides for such leaseholders to have until ten years after the date of the conveyance to exercise such option. Requires the Commission, if a preferential leaseholder fails to purchase a parcel within such period, to convey the parcel to the State of South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks to be used for mitigating the wildlife habitat that was lost as a result of the development of the Pick-Sloan project. Sets forth the uses of proceeds from such land sales. Directs the Secretary, through the Commissioner, to convey to the Department the nonpreferential leased parcels and unleased parcels of the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal to be used for the purpose of mitigating the wildlife habitat that was lost as a result of the development of the Pick-Sloan project. Authorizes the Commission, with the Department's concurrence, to allow a person to exchange land that the person owns elsewhere in South Dakota for a nonpreferential lease parcel or unleased parcel at Blunt Reservoir or Pierre Canal. Requires a preferential leaseholder that purchases land at Pierre Canal or exchanges land for land at the Canal to allow the State of South Dakota to retain an easement on the land for an irrigation pipe.
People & committees
Sen. Daschle, Thomas A. [D-SD] · D–SD
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 106-406.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6325-6326)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1178 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1178 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1178 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1178 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.