[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 25USC1632]
TITLE 25--INDIANS
CHAPTER 18--INDIAN HEALTH CARE
SUBCHAPTER III--HEALTH FACILITIES
Sec. 1632. Safe water and sanitary waste disposal facilities
(a) Congressional findings
The Congress hereby finds and declares that--
(1) the provision of safe water supply systems and sanitary
sewage and solid waste disposal systems is primarily a health
consideration and function;
(2) Indian people suffer an inordinately high incidence of
disease, injury, and illness directly attributable to the absence or
inadequacy of such systems;
(3) the long-term cost to the United States of treating and
curing such disease, injury, and illness is substantially greater
than the short-term cost of providing such systems and other
preventive health measures;
(4) many Indian homes and communities still lack safe water
supply systems and sanitary sewage and solid waste disposal systems;
and
(5) it is in the interest of the United States, and it is the
policy of the United States, that all Indian communities and Indian
homes, new and existing, be provided with safe and adequate water
supply systems and sanitary sewage waste disposal systems as soon as
possible.
(b) Authority; assistance; transfer of funds
(1) In furtherance of the findings and declarations made in
subsection (a) of this section, Congress reaffirms the primary
responsibility and authority of the Service to provide the necessary
sanitation facilities and services as provided in section 2004a of title
42.
(2) The Secretary, acting through the Service, is authorized to
provide under section 2004a of title 42--
(A) financial and technical assistance to Indian tribes and
communities in the establishment, training, and equipping of utility
organizations to operate and maintain Indian sanitation facilities;
(B) ongoing technical assistance and training in the management
of utility organizations which operate and maintain sanitation
facilities; and
(C) operation and maintenance assistance for, and emergency
repairs to, tribal sanitation facilities when necessary to avoid a
health hazard or to protect the Federal investment in sanitation
facilities.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
(A) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs is authorized to
transfer funds appropriated under the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301, et seq.) to the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, and
(B) the Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to
accept and use such funds for the purpose of providing sanitation
facilities and services for Indians under section 2004a of title 42.
(c) 10-year plan
Beginning in fiscal year 1990, the Secretary, acting through the
Service, shall develop and begin implementation of a 10-year plan to
provide safe water supply and sanitation sewage and solid waste disposal
facilities to existing Indian homes and communities and to new and
renovated Indian homes.
(d) Tribal capability
The financial and technical capability of an Indian tribe or
community to safely operate and maintain a sanitation facility shall not
be a prerequisite to the provision or construction of sanitation
facilities by the Secretary.
(e) Amount of assistance
(1) The Secretary is authorized to provide financial assistance to
Indian tribes and communities in an amount equal to the Federal share of
the costs of operating, managing, and maintaining the facilities
provided under the plan described in subsection (c) of this section.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the term ``Federal share''
means 80 percent of the costs described in paragraph (1).
(3) With respect to Indian tribes with fewer than 1,000 enrolled
members, the non-Federal portion of the costs of operating, managing,
and maintaining such facilities may be provided, in part, through cash
donations or in kind property, fairly evaluated.
(f) Eligibility of programs administered by Indian tribes
Programs administered by Indian tribes or tribal organizations under
the authority of the Indian Self-Determination Act [25 U.S.C. 450f et
seq.] shall be eligible for--
(1) any funds appropriated pursuant to this section, and
(2) any funds appropriated for the purpose of providing water
supply or sewage disposal services,
on an equal basis with programs that are administered directly by the
Service.
(g) Annual report; sanitation deficiency levels
(1) The Secretary shall submit to the President, for inclusion in
each report required to be transmitted to the Congress under section
1671
