II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5215 

To amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to authorize 

the modification of transferred works to increase public benefits and 

other project benefits as part of extraordinary operation and maintenance 

work, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 8, 2022 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 

2009 to authorize the modification of transferred works 

to increase public benefits and other project benefits 

as part of extraordinary operation and maintenance 

work, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Collaborative Modifica5 tions to Aging Infrastructure Projects Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXTRAORDINARY OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 

2 WORK; PROJECT MODIFICATION. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 9601 of the Omnibus 

4 Public Land Management Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 510) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

7 (4), (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (4), (7), (9), 

8 (10), (11), (12), and (3), respectively, and moving 

9 the paragraphs so as to appear in numerical order; 

10 (2) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as so re11 designated) the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) ADVERSE IMPACT.—The term ‘adverse im13 pact’ means, with respect to a project modification, 

14 a reduction in water quantity or quality or a change 

15 in the timing of water deliveries available to a 

16 project beneficiary from the modified project as com17 pared to the water quantity or quality or timing of 

18 water deliveries from— 

19 ‘‘(A) the project with the original capacity 

20 restored, if the extraordinary operation and 

21 maintenance work under section 9603 is in22 tended to restore lost project capacity; 

23 ‘‘(B) the project prior to undertaking the 

24 planning and design, if the extraordinary oper25 ation and maintenance work under section 9603 


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1 is for any purpose other than to restore lost 

2 project capacity; or 

3 ‘‘(C) project operations of the modified 

4 project without an increase in benefits for a 

5 new project beneficiary under section 

6 9603(e)(1)(E). 

7 ‘‘(2) DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY.—The term 

8 ‘disadvantaged community’ has the meaning given 

9 the term ‘low-income community’ in section 45D(e) 

10 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’; 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) (as so re12 designated) the following: 

13 ‘‘(5) NEW BENEFIT.—The term ‘new benefit’ 

14 means the increase in benefits of the modified 

15 project compared to the benefits provided by— 

16 ‘‘(A) the project with the original capacity 

17 restored, if the extraordinary operation and 

18 maintenance work under section 9603 is in19 tended to restore lost project capacity; or 

20 ‘‘(B) the project prior to undertaking the 

21 planning and design, if the extraordinary oper22 ation and maintenance work under section 9603 

23 is for any purpose other than to restore lost 

24 project capacity. 


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1 ‘‘(6) PROJECT BENEFICIARY.—The term 

2 ‘project beneficiary’ means any entity that has a re3 payment, long-term water service, or other form of 

4 long-term contract or agreement executed pursuant 

5 to the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 

6 1093), and Acts supplemental to and amendatory of 

7 that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.), for water supply 

8 from the project.’’; and 

9 (4) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as so re10 designated) the following: 

11 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC BENEFIT.—The term ‘public ben12 efit’, with respect to a modified project, means— 

13 ‘‘(A) a public benefit identified under the 

14 reclamation laws; or 

15 ‘‘(B) a drinking water benefit for 1 or 

16 more disadvantaged communities, including 

17 through groundwater recharge, if— 

18 ‘‘(i) the drinking water meets applica19 ble regulatory standards; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the drinking water benefit ex21 ceeds express mitigation or compliance re22 quirements under Federal or State law; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the modified project reduces the 

24 unit cost per volume, improves water qual25 ity, or increases the reliability or quantity 


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1 of the drinking water supply of the dis2 advantaged community as compared to the 

3 condition of the drinking water or other 

4 sources of drinking water available before 

5 the modification of the project; 

6 ‘‘(iv) the drinking water benefit is 

7 quantified in a public process to determine 

8 the scope of funding; and 

9 ‘‘(v) negative impacts on water quality 

10 for other communities are not caused as 

11 part of the modified project.’’. 

12 (b) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.—Section 9603(b) of 

13 the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (43 

14 U.S.C. 510b(b)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the costs’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘from the Aging Infrastructure Ac17 count established by subsection (d)(1) the costs, in18 cluding reimbursable costs and nonreimbursable 

19 costs,’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF NONREIMBURSABLE

22 COSTS.—Any costs advanced under paragraph (2) 

23 that are allocated to nonreimbursable purposes of 

24 the project, including costs to restore or add a public 


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1 benefit, shall be considered to be nonreimbursable 

2 costs.’’. 

3 (c) AGING INFRASTRUCTURE ACCOUNT CONFORMING

4 AMENDMENTS.—Section 9603(d) of the Omnibus Public 

5 Land Management Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 510b(d)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

8 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the funds’’ and in9 serting ‘‘reimbursable funds’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘to fund’’ and inserting ‘‘to 

12 fund,’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘the funds for’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘reimbursable funds for,’’; 

15 (3) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘the 

16 amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘the reimbursable 

17 amounts’’; and 

18 (4) in paragraph (4)(B)(i), by inserting ‘‘, in19 cluding projects under subsection (e)’’ after ‘‘this 

20 section’’. 

21 (d) AUTHORIZATION TO MODIFY TRANSFERRED

22 WORKS TO INCREASE PUBLIC BENEFITS AND OTHER

23 PROJECT BENEFITS AS PART OF EXTRAORDINARY OPER24 ATION AND MAINTENANCE WORK.—Section 9603 of the 

25 Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (43 


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1 U.S.C. 510b) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION TO MODIFY TRANSFERRED

4 WORKS TO INCREASE PUBLIC BENEFITS AND OTHER

5 PROJECT BENEFITS AS PART OF EXTRAORDINARY OPER6 ATION AND MAINTENANCE WORK.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION; REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con9 sultation with any transferred works operating 

10 entity and any project beneficiaries and as part 

11 of extraordinary operation and maintenance 

12 work under this section, may develop and carry 

13 out a proposal to modify project features for 

14 transferred works to increase public benefits 

15 and other project benefits, including carrying 

16 out a feasibility study and conducting any ap17 plicable environmental analysis required for the 

18 proposal, subject to subparagraphs (B) through 

19 (G). 

20 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM COST.—The maximum 

21 amount that may be added to the original 

22 project cost as a result of a project modification 

23 under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed— 

24 ‘‘(i) an amount equal to 25 percent of 

25 the original cost of the project, in the case 


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1 of a project for which the original cost of 

2 the project exceeds $100,000,000; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) $25,000,000, in the case of a 

4 project for which the original cost of the 

5 project is not more than $100,000,000. 

6 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC BENEFITS.—In the case of a 

7 project modification under subparagraph (A), 

8 not less than 50 percent of the new benefits 

9 provided by the modification of the project shall 

10 be public benefits. 

11 ‘‘(D) WRITTEN CONSENT REQUIRED.—A 

12 project modification under subparagraph (A) 

13 shall not be constructed until the date on which 

14 the Secretary has obtained the written consent 

15 of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the transferred works operating 

17 entity, if applicable; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) consistent with paragraph (2), 

19 any project beneficiary that would experi20 ence an adverse impact as a result of the 

21 modification of the project. 

22 ‘‘(E) ADVERSE IMPACT.—Any benefits that 

23 accrue to a new project beneficiary resulting 

24 from operations of the modified project shall 

25 not be increased without the consent of existing 


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1 project beneficiaries that would experience an 

2 adverse impact as a result of the modification 

3 of the project. 

4 ‘‘(F) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.—The 

5 costs of planning, design, and environmental 

6 compliance for a project modification under 

7 subparagraph (A) shall be reimbursed in ac8 cordance with subsection (b), except that any of 

9 the costs that would otherwise be allocated to a 

10 project beneficiary shall be considered nonreim11 bursable if the project beneficiary does not re12 ceive any increase in long-term average annual 

13 water deliveries as a result of the modification. 

14 ‘‘(G) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN PROJECT

15 MODIFICATIONS.—If a project modification that 

16 is otherwise eligible under subparagraph (A) is 

17 in the planning, design, or construction phase 

18 as of December 31, 2022, the project modifica19 tion shall remain eligible to be developed under 

20 that subparagraph. 

21 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING CONSENT

22 AND TIME LIMITATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) INITIAL DETERMINATION.—The Sec24 retary shall initially determine whether the con25 sent of a project beneficiary is required prior to 


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1 construction under paragraph (1)(D) based on 

2 whether the modification or subsequent oper3 ations of the modified project would have any 

4 adverse impacts on a project beneficiary. 

5 ‘‘(B) WRITTEN REQUEST FOR CONSENT.— 

6 The Secretary shall provide to the transferred 

7 works operating entity, if any, and any project 

8 beneficiaries, in writing— 

9 ‘‘(i) a description of the proposed 

10 modification and subsequent operations of 

11 the project; and 

12 ‘‘(ii)(I) a request for consent under 

13 paragraph (1)(D); or 

14 ‘‘(II)(aa) an explanation that the Sec15 retary has determined that no consent is 

16 required under paragraph (1)(D); and 

17 ‘‘(bb) a statement that if the project 

18 beneficiary believes that the consent of the 

19 project beneficiary is required, the project 

20 beneficiary shall send to the Secretary a 

21 reply not later than 30 days after the date 

22 of receipt of the notice that includes an ex23 planation of the reasons that the project 

24 beneficiary would experience adverse imVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5215.IS S5215

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1 pacts as a result of the project modifica2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(C) FINAL DETERMINATION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) WRITTEN RESPONSE.—The Sec5 retary shall respond in writing to any reply 

6 from a project beneficiary under subpara7 graph (B)(ii)(II)(bb) stating whether or 

8 not the Secretary determines that the 

9 project beneficiary would experience ad10 verse impacts as a result of the project 

11 modification. 

12 ‘‘(ii) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—A writ13 ten determination by the Secretary under 

14 clause (i) shall be considered to be a final 

15 agency action for purposes of section 704 

16 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 ‘‘(iii) WRITTEN REQUEST.—If the 

18 Secretary determines under clause (i) that 

19 the project beneficiary would experience 

20 adverse impacts as a result of the project 

21 modification, the Secretary shall send to 

22 the project beneficiary a written request 

23 for consent in accordance with subpara24 graph (B)(ii). 

25 ‘‘(D) TIME PERIOD FOR CONSENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If written consent 

2 required under paragraph (1)(D) is not ob3 tained by the date that is 1 year after the 

4 date on which written consent is requested 

5 under subparagraph (B)(ii), the Secretary 

6 or the transferred works operating entity, 

7 as applicable, shall proceed with extraor8 dinary operation and maintenance work of 

9 the project without the modification, unless 

10 the Secretary extends the time for consent 

11 under clause (ii). 

12 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION.—At the discretion 

13 of the Secretary, the Secretary may elect 

14 to extend the time for obtaining consent 

15 under paragraph (1)(D) by 1 year. 

16 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF COSTS BASED ON

17 PROJECT CHANGES AND INCREASED PUBLIC BENE18 FITS.—The Secretary shall allocate costs, including 

19 capital repayment costs and operation and mainte20 nance costs, for a project modification under para21 graph (1), to provide that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the public benefits provided by the 

23 modified project, including associated annual 

24 operation and maintenance costs, shall be non25 reimbursable; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the cost allocation of reimbursable 

2 costs to each project beneficiary reflects any 

3 changes in the benefits that the modified 

4 project is providing to the project beneficiary. 

5 ‘‘(4) INCENTIVE FOR BENEFITTING ENTITIES

6 TO PARTICIPATE IN PROJECTS WITH INCREASED

7 PUBLIC BENEFITS.—The total amount of reimburs8 able capital costs, as determined under paragraph 

9 (3), for a project modification that would increase 

10 public benefits without increasing municipal, indus11 trial, or irrigation benefits of a project, shall be re12 duced by 15 percent, with each project beneficiary to 

13 be responsible for 85 percent of the reimbursable 

14 costs that would otherwise be allocated to the project 

15 beneficiary. 

16 ‘‘(5) REIMBURSABLE FUNDS.—All reimbursable 

17 costs under this subsection shall be repaid in accord18 ance with subsection (b).’’. 

Æ 


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