I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7938 

To amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 

to provide the Secretary of the Interior with certain authorities with 

respect to projects affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 11, 2024 

Mr. BENTZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement 

Act of 2000 to provide the Secretary of the Interior 

with certain authorities with respect to projects affecting 

the Klamath Basin watershed, 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 ‘‘Klamath Basin Water 

5 Agreement Support Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Klamath River Basin is home to impor2 tant species of fish and wildlife and communities, in3 cluding Tribal and agricultural communities. 

4 (2) Tribal fisheries in the Klamath River Basin 

5 are depressed, owing to a combination of factors. 

6 (3) In recent decades, the Klamath River Basin 

7 has witnessed chronic conflict, much of which has 

8 been fueled or exacerbated by implementation of the 

9 Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

10 (4) The United States has taken, and continues 

11 to take, extraordinary actions to attempt to address 

12 certain factors affecting Tribal fisheries. 

13 (5) The United States actions to enhance fish14 eries have included expenditures of several hundreds 

15 of millions of dollars for research and projects, in16 cluding support of Tribal fisheries programs and im17 position of regulatory burdens on other parties who 

18 make use of natural resources in the Klamath River 

19 Basin for their own livelihoods. 

20 (6) In the past 16 years, the Bureau of Rec21 lamation has requested and received appropriations 

22 of approximately $136,000,000 for Endangered Spe23 cies Act of 1973 compliance activities, even while de24 nying water deliveries for irrigation and wildlife refVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Apr 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938

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1 uges served through Klamath Reclamation Project 

2 facilities. 

3 (7) Denial of water deliveries through Klamath 

4 Reclamation Project facilities has injured commu5 nities and wildlife severely but has not resulted in 

6 any identifiable benefit to populations of fish species 

7 listed as threatened or endangered. 

8 (8) The United States regulatory actions have 

9 also included the imposition of conditions on the 

10 generation of clean hydropower that have made hy11 dropower uneconomical, such that a private utility 

12 has agreed to the removal of 4 dams that have pro13 duced renewable energy for over a century. 

14 (9) The removal of dams has been funded in 

15 substantial part by electric rate payers, including ir16 rigation water users, in Oregon and California, who 

17 also are burdened with the cost of paying for re18 placement power. 

19 (10) The removal of dams has also led indi20 rectly to other significant public costs that would not 

21 have been incurred absent the removal of hydro22 electric generation. 

23 (11) The removal of hydroelectric generation on 

24 the Klamath River is expected to result in the availVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Apr 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938

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1 ability of 425 miles of habitat for anadromous fish 

2 that is not currently accessible. 

3 (12) Commitments have been made to agricul4 tural communities to the effect that dam removal 

5 and restoration activities will not cause new burdens 

6 for those communities and, in fact, that those com7 munities will benefit significantly, but those commit8 ments have either not been kept or lack the nec9 essary assurances that they will be met in the fu10 ture. 

11 (13) It is appropriate and fair to take measures 

12 to stabilize conditions for agricultural communities 

13 in the Klamath Basin that have been at the center 

14 of conflict and to whom important commitments 

15 have been made in connection with extraordinary ac16 tions taken by the United States that affect their in17 terests. 

18 (14) This Act will increase such stability while 

19 not adversely affecting other interests in the Klam20 ath Basin. 

21 SEC. 3. KLAMATH PROJECT WATER AND POWER. 

22 (a) ADDRESSING WATER, POWER, AND FACILITIES

23 MANAGEMENT FOR IRRIGATION.—Section 4 of the Klam24 ath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 (Pub25 lic Law 106–498) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 

2 (1) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to appropriations 

4 and required environmental reviews, the Secretary is 

5 authorized to carry out activities, including entering 

6 into a contract or making financial assistance avail7 able through cooperative agreements or other meth8 ods, to plan, implement, and administer voluntary 

9 programs, including conservation and efficiency 

10 measures, demand limitation or management, and 

11 use of groundwater, to align water supplies and de12 mand for irrigation water users associated with the 

13 Klamath Project, with a primary emphasis on pro14 grams developed or endorsed by local entities com15 prised of representatives of those water users.’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later 

20 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

21 the Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement 

22 Support Act, the Secretary shall, through 1 or 

23 more cooperative agreements, financial assist24 ance agreements, or other methods, implement, 

25 or support the implementation of, the recVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Apr 23, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938

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1 ommendations identified in the report described 

2 in paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines 

3 would lead to bringing the net delivered power 

4 cost for covered power use to an amount that 

5 is the same as, or less than, the power cost 

6 benchmark, subject to the availability of appro7 priations, on the fastest timeline practicable, 

8 with respect to near- and long-term actions. 

9 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The implementation 

10 of recommendations under subparagraph (A) 

11 shall be carried out in accordance with— 

12 ‘‘(i) the report submitted under para13 graph (1); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) any reports submitted under 

15 paragraph (3). 

16 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—Not later than 

17 April 30, 2025, and every 5 years thereafter, the 

18 Secretary shall submit to each committee described 

19 in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) of para20 graph (1) a report that describes— 

21 ‘‘(A) any progress toward meeting the re22 quirements of this subsection; and 

23 ‘‘(B) any modifications or updates to the 

24 actions recommended under paragraph 

25 (1)(B).’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(d) RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

3 may— 

4 ‘‘(1) plan, design, construct, operate, and main5 tain projects in the Klamath Basin watershed, in6 cluding— 

7 ‘‘(A) facilities to reduce fish entrainment; 

8 ‘‘(B) projects that reduce or avoid impacts 

9 on aquatic resources of facilities involved in the 

10 storage or diversion of water for irrigation in 

11 the Klamath Project service area; and 

12 ‘‘(C) projects that restore habitats in the 

13 Klamath Basin watershed, including Tribal 

14 fishery resources held in trust; 

15 ‘‘(2) undertake studies, including feasibility 

16 studies, and improvements that the Secretary deter17 mines to be necessary to implement this subsection; 

18 ‘‘(3) in implementing this subsection, enter into 

19 contracts, memoranda of understanding, financial 

20 assistance agreements, cost-sharing agreements, or 

21 other appropriate agreements with— 

22 ‘‘(A) State, Tribal, and local governmental 

23 agencies; and 

24 ‘‘(B) private parties; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) accept and expend non-Federal funds in 

2 order to facilitate implementation of this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(e) GOALS.—The goals of activities under sub4 sections (b) and (d) shall include, as applicable— 

5 ‘‘(1) the short-term and long-term reduction 

6 and resolution of conflicts relating to water in the 

7 Klamath Basin watershed; and 

8 ‘‘(2) compatibility and utility for protecting nat9 ural resources throughout the Klamath Basin water10 shed, including the protection, preservation, and res11 toration of Klamath River Tribal fishery resources, 

12 particularly through collaboratively developed agree13 ments. 

14 ‘‘(f) PUMPING PLANT D.—The Secretary may enter 

15 into 1 or more agreements with the Tulelake Irrigation 

16 District to reimburse the Tulelake Irrigation District for 

17 not more than 69 percent of the cost incurred by the 

18 Tulelake Irrigation District for the operation and mainte19 nance of Pumping Plant D, subject to the condition that 

20 the cost results in benefits to the United States. 

21 ‘‘(g) INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) KENO AND LINK RIVER DAMS.—The Sec23 retary shall comply with the terms of the agreement 

24 entitled ‘2016 Klamath Power and Facilities Agree25 ment’, including Attachment A to the agreement. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REALIZATION OF BENEFITS.—No modi2 fication of Keno Dam infrastructure to modify cur3 rent fish passage capability shall occur, and no arti4 ficial action to introduce or reintroduce aquatic spe5 cies above Keno Dam shall occur, until 90 days after 

6 the Secretary has certified to the Chairs and Rank7 ing Members of the Natural Resources Committee of 

8 the House of Representatives and the Energy and 

9 Natural Resources Committee of the Senate that— 

10 ‘‘(A) all State and Federal parties to the 

11 2016 Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement 

12 have complied with the first sentence of section 

13 II. B.2.a. of that agreement; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the parties to the 2016 Klamath 

15 Power and Facilities Agreement and the parties 

16 to the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agree17 ment have completed and approved the agree18 ment or agreements contemplated by section 

19 III.C. of the 2016 Klamath Power and Facili20 ties Agreement and Section 1.9 of the Klamath 

21 Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement. 

22 ‘‘(3) DRAFT CERTIFICATION.—Not less than 

23 180 days before providing a certification under para24 graph (2), the Secretary shall provide a draft certifi25 cation to the parties to the respective agreements. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REPLACEMENT OF C CANAL FLUME.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The replacement of 

3 the C Canal flume within the Klamath Project 

4 shall be considered to be, and shall receive the 

5 treatment authorized for, qualified emergency 

6 extraordinary operation and maintenance work 

7 in accordance with Federal reclamation law (the 

8 Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 

9 1093), and Acts supplemental to and amend10 atory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.)). 

11 ‘‘(B) CONTRACT.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

13 180 days after the date of receipt of a re14 quest from the Klamath Irrigation District 

15 to enter into a contract with that district 

16 to amend the contract numbered 16–WC– 

17 20–4838, the Secretary shall enter into a 

18 contract with the Klamath Irrigation Dis19 trict providing that under the contract en20 tered into under this subparagraph— 

21 ‘‘(I) 35 percent of the total re22 payment obligation is nonreimbursable 

23 to the United States; and 

24 ‘‘(II) 65 percent of the total re25 payment obligation shall be repaid to 


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1 the United States over a period of 50 

2 years. 

3 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSION.—Although the Sec4 retary shall not condition the agreement to 

5 the contract entered into under subpara6 graph (A) on any other term, the contract 

7 may include other terms that are not less 

8 favorable to the contractor than contract 

9 numbered 16–WC–20–4838. 

10 ‘‘(5) COST ALLOCATION.—Past and future costs 

11 incurred by the Secretary for compliance with laws 

12 enacted by the United States for protection of the 

13 environment that are not explicitly identified in con14 tracts between the Secretary and a Klamath Project 

15 contractor shall not be— 

16 ‘‘(A) allocated to such contractor; or 

17 ‘‘(B) considered in determining the con18 tractor’s responsibility for reimbursement of the 

19 costs of operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, 

20 modification, or replacement of Klamath 

21 Project works.’’. 

22 (b) ADMINISTRATION; EFFECT.— 

23 (1) COMPLIANCE.—In implementing the amend24 ments made by this section, the Secretary of the In25 terior shall comply with— 


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1 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

2 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

3 (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 

5 (C) all other applicable laws. 

6 (2) EFFECT.—None of the amendments made 

7 by this section— 

8 (A) modify any authority or obligation of 

9 the United States with respect to any Tribal 

10 trust or treaty obligation of the United States; 

11 (B) create or determine any water right; 

12 (C) affect any water right or water right 

13 claim in existence on the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act; or 

15 (D) authorize the use of Federal funds for 

16 the physical deconstruction of the Iron Gate, 

17 Copco 1, Copco 2, or John C. Boyle Dam lo18 cated on the Klamath River in the States of 

19 California and Oregon. 

Æ 


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