II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4995 

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

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 

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

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

and Public Works 

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 based on current 

10 methodologies, the term ‘‘disadvantaged community’’ 


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1 means a community (including a city, town, county, 

2 or reasonably isolated and divisible segment of a 

3 larger municipality) with an annual median income 

4 that is less than the statewide annual median in5 come for the State in which the community is lo6 cated, according to the most recent decennial census. 

7 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’ means— 

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

10 grant-merced, local government, water supplier, 

11 or municipal water district located in an eligible 

12 State; 

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

14 located in an eligible State, the members of 

15 which include 1 or more organizations with 

16 water or power delivery authority; 

17 (C) a nonprofit conservation organization 

18 located in an eligible State; 

19 (D) an agency located in an eligible State 

20 that is established under State or Tribal law for 

21 the joint exercise of powers; or 

22 (E) a combination of entities described in 

23 subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

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

25 State’’ means— 


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1 (A) a State or territory described in the 

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

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

4 (B) the State of Alaska; 

5 (C) the State of Hawaii; and 

6 (D) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

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

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

9 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

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

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

13 project in an eligible State that— 

14 (A) enhances the overall resilience of water 

15 supplies to climate-related impacts, including 

16 through activities— 

17 (i) to increase water use efficiency; 

18 (ii) to reduce consumptive use of 

19 water; 

20 (iii) to promote system conservation; 

21 (iv) to reduce water supply-demand 

22 imbalances; 

23 (v) to promote water recycling and 

24 other advanced water treatments to aug25 ment water supplies; 


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1 (vi) to improve management or deliv2 ery of water resources; or 

3 (vii) to encourage sustainable surface 

4 water or groundwater management; and 

5 (B) provides benefits to communities and 

6 ecosystems, including through activities— 

7 (i) to conserve or enhance fish and 

8 wildlife habitat; 

9 (ii) to improve water quality; 

10 (iii) to improve watershed health and 

11 function; 

12 (iv) to enhance recreational opportuni13 ties; 

14 (v) to promote rural economic develop15 ment; or 

16 (vi) to address risks to communities 

17 and infrastructure from climate change. 

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

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

20 action of physical, geological, biological, and chem21 ical processes over time. 

22 (7) NATURE-BASED FEATURE.—The term ‘‘na23 ture-based feature’’ means a feature that is created 

24 by human design, engineering, and construction to 

25 provide a means to reduce water supply and demand 


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1 imbalances or drought or flood risk by acting in con2 cert with natural processes. 

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

4 the Water Project Navigators Program established 

5 under section 3(a). 

6 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 SEC. 3. WATER PROJECT NAVIGATORS PROGRAM. 

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

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es11 tablish a program to support the development and imple12 mentation of multi-benefit water projects within eligible 

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

14 Program’’. 

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

16 Secretary may award grants or cooperative agreements to 

17 eligible entities to support the creation or continuation of 

18 multi-benefit water project navigator positions. 

19 (c) CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.— 

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

21 criteria and guidelines for awarding grants and co22 operative agreements under the Program that con23 sider— 


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1 (A) the potential of the eligible entity to 

2 accelerate development and implementation of 

3 multi-benefit water projects within— 

4 (i) the jurisdiction or service area of 

5 the eligible entity; or 

6 (ii) in the case of an eligible entity 

7 that is a nongovernmental applicant, an 

8 area in which the eligible entity has a dem9 onstrated history of productive engagement 

10 with the community and stakeholders; 

11 (B) any history of development of multi12 benefit water projects by the eligible entity; and 

13 (C) any potential multi-benefit water 

14 projects the eligible entity has not yet imple15 mented due to lack of capacity. 

16 (2) PRIORITIZATION.—The criteria and guide17 lines developed under paragraph (1) shall include 

18 prioritization criteria for awarding grants or cooper19 ative agreements, which shall include prioritizing ap20 plications from eligible entities— 

21 (A) that would provide benefits for Indian 

22 Tribes, disadvantaged communities, and other 

23 eligible entities with limited project development 

24 resources and capacity; 


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1 (B) that would provide support for local 

2 job creation and retention; 

3 (C) with a demonstrated intent and ability 

4 to incorporate improvements to the condition of 

5 a natural feature or nature-based feature in 

6 multi-benefit water projects designed under the 

7 Program; 

8 (D) with demonstrated support from mul9 tiple stakeholders, including Indian Tribes, rep10 resentatives of irrigated agricultural production, 

11 hydroelectric production, municipal and indus12 trial water users, local governments, commu13 nity-based organizations, and nonprofit con14 servation organizations; 

15 (E) that would provide benefits for areas 

16 experiencing severe long-term drought; and 

17 (F) with the capability to work in coordi18 nation with other projects that have been fund19 ed under, or help advance the objectives of, 

20 other Department of Interior programs, includ21 ing a program authorized under— 

22 (i) section 9504 of the Omnibus Pub23 lic Land Management Act of 2009 (42 

24 U.S.C. 10364); 


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1 (ii) section 6002 of the Omnibus Pub2 lic Land Management Act of 2009 (16 

3 U.S.C. 1015a); 

4 (iii) section 1109 of the Consolidated 

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

6 2330c); 

7 (iv) title IX of division D of the Infra8 structure Investment and Jobs Act (43 

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

10 (v) section 50233 of Public Law 117– 

11 169 (commonly known as the ‘‘Inflation 

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

13 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Before finalizing the 

14 criteria and guidelines developed under paragraph 

15 (1), the Secretary shall make the criteria and guide16 lines available for public comment. 

17 (4) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not 

18 award a grant or cooperative agreement under the 

19 Program that would fund activities to meet existing 

20 environmental mitigation or compliance obligations 

21 under Federal or State law. 

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

23 project navigator funded under the Program shall assist 

24 the eligible entity in planning, developing, and imple25 menting multi-benefit water projects, including— 


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1 (1) grant writing; 

2 (2) project management; 

3 (3) technical assistance, such as feasibility, de4 sign, preliminary environmental review, and engi5 neering; and 

6 (4) any other necessary activities. 

7 (e) DURATION OF GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE

8 AGREEMENTS.— 

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

10 grant or cooperative agreement under the Program 

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

12 years. 

13 (2) CONTINUATION AND EXTENSION.—At the 

14 discretion of the Secretary, the Secretary may issue 

15 a continuation grant or extend a cooperative agree16 ment awarded under the Program for not more than 

17 2 additional years, with additional funding to be 

18 awarded, as determined to be appropriate by the 

19 Secretary, if the recipient of the grant or cooperative 

20 agreement has demonstrated satisfactory perform21 ance with implementation of the proposal under the 

22 initial grant or cooperative agreement, as determined 

23 by the Secretary. 

24 (f) CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT.—The Secretary 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) make funding opportunities for the Pro2 gram available on a regular basis; and 

3 (2) allow applications for grants or cooperative 

4 agreements under the Program to be submitted and 

5 evaluated multiple times per year. 

6 (g) COST SHARE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (3), the Federal share of the cost of any activ9 ity awarded a grant or cooperative agreement under 

10 the Program shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost 

11 of the activity carried out under the grant or cooper12 ative agreement. 

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

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

15 a grant or cooperative agreement under the Program 

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

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

18 grant or cooperative agreement awarded to an In19 dian Tribe, acequia, land grant-merced, disadvan20 taged community, or any other eligible entity work21 ing in partnership with or on behalf of those entities, 

22 the Secretary may reduce or waive the non-Federal 

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

24 of the grant or cooperative agreement if the reducVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Sep 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4995.IS S4995

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1 tion or waiver would further a compelling Federal 

2 interest, as determined by the Secretary. 

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

4 the Secretary shall coordinate with other Federal, Tribal, 

5 State, and local government technical assistance programs 

6 to enhance multi-benefit water project development. 

7 (i) COMPLIANCE.—A multi-benefit water project nav8 igator funded under the Program shall comply with all ap9 plicable Federal and State laws in carrying out the duties 

10 of the multi-benefit water project navigator under the Pro11 gram. 

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

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

14 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re15 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re16 sources of the House of Representatives a report that de17 scribes— 

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

19 Secretary in— 

20 (A) reducing basin-wide water supply-de21 mand imbalances; and 

22 (B) enhancing drought and ecosystem re23 silience; and 

24 (2) the benefits that the Program provides, in25 cluding, to the maximum extent practicable, a quanVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Sep 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4995.IS S4995

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1 titative analysis of the multiple benefits advanced 

2 under the Program. 

3 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

6 2029, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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