II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5014 

To provide for the establishment of a Water Project Navigators Program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 

Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a Water Project 

Navigators Program, 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 ‘‘Water Project Naviga5 tors Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY.—Except as 

9 otherwise defined by the Secretary of the Interior 

10 (acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation) 


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1 based on current methodologies, the term ‘‘disadvan2 taged community’’ means a community (including a 

3 city, town, county, or reasonably isolated and divis4 ible segment of a larger municipality) with an an5 nual median income that is less than the statewide 

6 annual median income for the State in which the 

7 community is located, according to the most recent 

8 decennial census. 

9 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti10 ty’’ means— 

11 (A) a State, Indian Tribe, acequia, land 

12 grant-merced, local government, water supplier, 

13 or municipal water district located in an eligible 

14 State; 

15 (B) any State, regional, or local authority 

16 located in an eligible State, the members of 

17 which include 1 or more organizations with 

18 water or power delivery authority; 

19 (C) a nonprofit conservation organization 

20 located in an eligible State; 

21 (D) an agency located in an eligible State 

22 that is established under State or Tribal law for 

23 the joint exercise of powers; or 

24 (E) a combination of entities described in 

25 subparagraphs (A) through (D). 


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1 (3) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘‘eligible 

2 State’’ means— 

3 (A) a State or territory described in the 

4 first section of the Act of June 17, 1902 (43 

5 U.S.C. 391; 32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093); 

6 (B) the State of Alaska; 

7 (C) the State of Hawaii; and 

8 (D) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

9 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

11 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

12 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

13 (5) MULTI-BENEFIT WATER PROJECT.—The 

14 term ‘‘multi-benefit water project’’ means any 

15 project in an eligible State that— 

16 (A) enhances the overall resilience of water 

17 supplies to climate-related impacts, including 

18 through activities— 

19 (i) to increase water use efficiency; 

20 (ii) to reduce consumptive use of 

21 water; 

22 (iii) to promote system conservation; 

23 (iv) to reduce water supply-demand 

24 imbalances; 


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1 (v) to promote water recycling and 

2 other advanced water treatments to aug3 ment water supplies; 

4 (vi) to improve management or deliv5 ery of water resources; or 

6 (vii) to encourage sustainable surface 

7 water or groundwater management; and 

8 (B) provides benefits to communities and 

9 ecosystems, including through activities— 

10 (i) to conserve or enhance fish and 

11 wildlife habitat; 

12 (ii) to improve water quality; 

13 (iii) to improve watershed health and 

14 function; 

15 (iv) to enhance recreational opportuni16 ties; 

17 (v) to promote rural economic develop18 ment; or 

19 (vi) to address risks to communities 

20 and infrastructure from climate change. 

21 (6) NATURAL FEATURE.—The term ‘‘natural 

22 feature’’ means a feature that is created through the 

23 action of physical, geological, biological, and chem24 ical processes over time. 


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1 (7) NATURE-BASED FEATURE.—The term ‘‘na2 ture-based feature’’ means a feature that is created 

3 by human design, engineering, and construction to 

4 provide a means to reduce water supply and demand 

5 imbalances or drought or flood risk by acting in con6 cert with natural processes. 

7 (8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

8 the Water Project Navigators Program established 

9 under section 3(a). 

10 SEC. 3. WATER PROJECT NAVIGATORS PROGRAM. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

13 Interior (acting through the Commissioner of Reclama14 tion) (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall es15 tablish a program to support the development and imple16 mentation of multi-benefit water projects within eligible 

17 States, to be known as the ‘‘Water Project Navigators 

18 Program’’. 

19 (b) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the Program, the 

20 Secretary may award grants or cooperative agreements to 

21 eligible entities to support the creation or continuation of 

22 multi-benefit water project navigator positions. 

23 (c) CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

25 criteria and guidelines for awarding grants and coVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:12 Sep 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5014.IS S5014

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1 operative agreements under the Program that con2 sider— 

3 (A) the potential of the eligible entity to 

4 accelerate development and implementation of 

5 multi-benefit water projects within— 

6 (i) the jurisdiction or service area of 

7 the eligible entity; or 

8 (ii) in the case of an eligible entity 

9 that is a nongovernmental applicant, an 

10 area in which the eligible entity has a dem11 onstrated history of productive engagement 

12 with the community and stakeholders; 

13 (B) any history of development of multi14 benefit water projects by the eligible entity; and 

15 (C) any potential multi-benefit water 

16 projects the eligible entity has not yet imple17 mented due to lack of capacity. 

18 (2) PRIORITIZATION.—The criteria and guide19 lines developed under paragraph (1) shall include 

20 prioritization criteria for awarding grants or cooper21 ative agreements, which shall include prioritizing ap22 plications from eligible entities— 

23 (A) that would provide benefits for Indian 

24 Tribes, disadvantaged communities, and other 


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1 eligible entities with limited project development 

2 resources and capacity; 

3 (B) that would provide support for local 

4 job creation and retention; 

5 (C) with a demonstrated intent and ability 

6 to incorporate improvements to the condition of 

7 a natural feature or nature-based feature in 

8 multi-benefit water projects designed under the 

9 Program; 

10 (D) with demonstrated support from mul11 tiple stakeholders, including Indian Tribes, rep12 resentatives of irrigated agricultural production, 

13 hydroelectric production, municipal and indus14 trial water users, local governments, commu15 nity-based organizations, and nonprofit con16 servation organizations; 

17 (E) that would provide benefits for areas 

18 experiencing severe long-term drought; and 

19 (F) with the capability to work in coordi20 nation with other projects that have been fund21 ed under, or help advance the objectives of, 

22 other Department of Interior programs, includ23 ing a program authorized under— 


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1 (i) section 9504 of the Omnibus Pub2 lic Land Management Act of 2009 (42 

3 U.S.C. 10364); 

4 (ii) section 6002 of the Omnibus Pub5 lic Land Management Act of 2009 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1015a); 

7 (iii) section 1109 of the Consolidated 

8 Appropriations Act, 2021 (33 U.S.C. 

9 2330c); 

10 (iv) title IX of division D of the Infra11 structure Investment and Jobs Act (43 

12 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.); or 

13 (v) section 50233 of Public Law 117– 

14 169 (commonly known as the ‘‘Inflation 

15 Reduction Act of 2022’’) (136 Stat. 2053). 

16 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Before finalizing the 

17 criteria and guidelines developed under paragraph 

18 (1), the Secretary shall make the criteria and guide19 lines available for public comment. 

20 (4) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not 

21 award a grant or cooperative agreement under the 

22 Program that would fund activities to meet existing 

23 environmental mitigation or compliance obligations 

24 under Federal or State law. 


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1 (d) DUTIES OF NAVIGATORS.—A multi-benefit water 

2 project navigator funded under the Program shall assist 

3 the eligible entity in planning, developing, and imple4 menting multi-benefit water projects, including— 

5 (1) grant writing; 

6 (2) project management; 

7 (3) technical assistance, such as feasibility, de8 sign, preliminary environmental review, and engi9 neering; and 

10 (4) any other necessary activities. 

11 (e) DURATION OF GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE

12 AGREEMENTS.— 

13 (1) LIMITATION.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

14 grant or cooperative agreement under the Program 

15 shall be limited to a period of not more than 3 

16 years. 

17 (2) CONTINUATION AND EXTENSION.—At the 

18 discretion of the Secretary, the Secretary may issue 

19 a continuation grant or extend a cooperative agree20 ment awarded under the Program for not more than 

21 2 additional years, with additional funding to be 

22 awarded, as determined to be appropriate by the 

23 Secretary, if the recipient of the grant or cooperative 

24 agreement has demonstrated satisfactory perform25 ance with implementation of the proposal under the 


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1 initial grant or cooperative agreement, as determined 

2 by the Secretary. 

3 (f) CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT.—The Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 (1) make funding opportunities for the Pro6 gram available on a regular basis; and 

7 (2) allow applications for grants or cooperative 

8 agreements under the Program to be submitted and 

9 evaluated multiple times per year. 

10 (g) COST SHARE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (3), the Federal share of the cost of any activ13 ity awarded a grant or cooperative agreement under 

14 the Program shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost 

15 of the activity carried out under the grant or cooper16 ative agreement. 

17 (2) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The 

18 non-Federal share of the cost of an activity awarded 

19 a grant or cooperative agreement under the Program 

20 may be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. 

21 (3) REDUCTION; WAIVER.—With respect to a 

22 grant or cooperative agreement awarded to an In23 dian Tribe, acequia, land grant-merced, disadvan24 taged community, or any other eligible entity work25 ing in partnership with or on behalf of those entities, 


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1 the Secretary may reduce or waive the non-Federal 

2 share of the cost of any activity that is the subject 

3 of the grant or cooperative agreement if the reduc4 tion or waiver would further a compelling Federal 

5 interest, as determined by the Secretary. 

6 (h) COORDINATION.—In administering the Program, 

7 the Secretary shall coordinate with other Federal, Tribal, 

8 State, and local government technical assistance programs 

9 to enhance multi-benefit water project development. 

10 (i) COMPLIANCE.—A multi-benefit water project nav11 igator funded under the Program shall comply with all ap12 plicable Federal and State laws in carrying out the duties 

13 of the multi-benefit water project navigator under the Pro14 gram. 

15 (j) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

17 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re18 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re19 sources of the House of Representatives a report that de20 scribes— 

21 (1) the ways in which the Program assists the 

22 Secretary in— 

23 (A) reducing basin-wide water supply-de24 mand imbalances; and 


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1 (B) enhancing drought and ecosystem re2 silience; and 

3 (2) the benefits that the Program provides, in4 cluding, to the maximum extent practicable, a quan5 titative analysis of the multiple benefits advanced 

6 under the Program. 

7 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this Act $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

10 2029, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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