I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1435 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take actions supporting nonFederal investments in water infrastructure improvements in the Sacramento Valley, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 

Mr. GARAMENDI (for himself and Mr. LAMALFA) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take actions supporting non-Federal investments in water infrastructure 

improvements in the Sacramento Valley, 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 ‘‘Sites Reservoir Project 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the 

2 State of California experienced one of the longest, 

3 driest periods on record from late December 2011 

4 until April 2017, with a statewide emergency dec5 laration in effect from mid-January 2014 until early 

6 April 2017. In water year 2017, the State of Cali7 fornia experienced one of the wettest years on 

8 record. New surface water storage infrastructure 

9 with the capacity to store water in wet years for use 

10 in dry periods is urgently needed. 

11 (2) The Sites Project (sometimes referred to as 

12 ‘‘North-of-Delta Offstream Storage’’) has been iden13 tified by the State of California and the Federal 

14 Government as an important component to inte15 grated water management in the Sacramento Valley 

16 that would advance the co-equal objectives of im17 proving water management and restoring ecological 

18 health for beneficial uses of the Sacramento-San 

19 Joaquin Delta and the Sacramento River watershed. 

20 Further, the Sites Reservoir was found in the 2000 

21 CALFED Record of Decision to be the preferred lo22 cation to provide North-of-Delta Offstream Storage 

23 and subsequent studies have shown the Sites Res24 ervoir to be technically and economically feasible. 


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1 (3) Among other things, the Sites Project 

2 would— 

3 (A) increase surface water storage to en4 hance water management flexibility in the Sac5 ramento Valley; 

6 (B) improve operation of the State’s water 

7 system to provide improvements in ecosystem 

8 and water quality conditions in the Bay-Delta 

9 while providing a more reliable water supply for 

10 the State of California; 

11 (C) improve conditions for fish, waterfowl, 

12 and wildlife in the Sacramento Valley, including 

13 anadromous fish in the Sacramento River; 

14 (D) provide local flood control benefits; 

15 (E) integrate with renewable energy 

16 sources consistent with applicable Federal and 

17 State of California goals; 

18 (F) create both construction and long-term 

19 jobs to improve the local and regional econo20 mies in the Sacramento Valley; 

21 (G) provide additional recreational bene22 fits; and 

23 (H) reduce local flooding. 

24 (4) The Sites Project has been shown to provide 

25 approximately 500,000 acre-feet of additional 


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1 annualized yield that, when integrated into the oper2 ations of the State and Federal reservoirs upstream 

3 of the Bay-Delta, can improve the system-wide oper4 ational efficiency for both water supply reliability 

5 and the environment. 

6 (5) Healthy wetlands and wildlife refuges are of 

7 vital importance to wildlife in California and require 

8 a reliable supply of water. Additional surface water 

9 storage can help meet water supply goals under the 

10 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (title 

11 XXXIV of Public Law 102–575). 

12 (6) It is in the interests of the United States 

13 for the Federal Government to work with the Sites 

14 Project Authority, which has been established under 

15 the laws of the State of California as an independent 

16 joint exercise of powers authority to, among other 

17 things, study, promote, develop, design, finance, ac18 quire, construct, manage, and operate Sites Res19 ervoir and related facilities to advance the Sites 

20 Project in the most expeditious and cost-effective 

21 manner possible. 

22 (7) On July 24, 2018, the California Water 

23 Commission voted to award $816,000,000 to the 

24 Sites Project under Proposition 1 (Water Quality, 

25 Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 


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1 2014), showing a strong commitment from the State 

2 of California to advance the project. 

3 (8) As of the date of the introduction of this 

4 Act, the Sites Project Authority had the following 

5 public agencies serving on its 11-member governing 

6 board: Colusa County Water District, Glenn-Colusa 

7 Irrigation District, Placer County Water District/ 

8 City of Roseville, Reclamation District 108, Sac9 ramento County Water Agency/City of Sacramento, 

10 the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority, Westside 

11 Water District, the County of Colusa, and the Coun12 ty of Glenn. In addition, other agencies from the 

13 Sacramento Valley and agencies from the Bay Area, 

14 San Joaquin Valley, and southern California are ac15 tively participating to advance the Sites Project. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 

19 the Sites Project Authority that entered into a Joint 

20 Exercise of Powers Agreement on August 26, 2010, 

21 for the purpose of advancing the Sites Project as a 

22 non-Federal facility. 

23 (2) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 

24 Bureau of Reclamation. 


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1 (3) CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT.—The term 

2 ‘‘Central Valley Project’’ means all Federal reclama3 tion projects located within or diverting water from 

4 or to the watershed of the Sacramento and San Joa5 quin Rivers and their tributaries as authorized by 

6 the Act of August 26, 1937 (50 Stat. 850), and all 

7 Acts amendatory or supplemental thereto, includ8 ing— 

9 (A) the Act of October 17, 1940 (54 Stat. 

10 1198, 1199); 

11 (B) the Act of December 22, 1944 (58 

12 Stat. 887); 

13 (C) the Act of October 14, 1949 (63 Stat. 

14 852); 

15 (D) the Act of September 26, 1950 (64 

16 Stat. 1036); 

17 (E) the Act of August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 

18 879); 

19 (F) the Act of August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 

20 719); 

21 (G) the Act of June 3, 1960 (74 Stat. 

22 156); 

23 (H) the Act of October 23, 1962 (76 Stat. 

24 1173); 


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1 (I) the Act of September 2, 1965 (79 Stat. 

2 615); 

3 (J) the Act of August 19, 1967 (81 Stat. 

4 167); 

5 (K) the Act of August 27, 1967 (81 Stat. 

6 173); 

7 (L) the Act of October 23, 1970 (84 Stat. 

8 1097); 

9 (M) the Act of September 28, 1976 (90 

10 Stat. 1324); and 

11 (N) the Act of October 27, 1986 (100 

12 Stat. 3050). 

13 (4) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis14 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of the Bureau of 

15 Reclamation. 

16 (5) REPAYMENT AND WATER SERVICE CON17 TRACTS.—The terms ‘‘repayment contract’’ and 

18 ‘‘water service contract’’ have the same meaning 

19 given those terms in sections 9(d) and 9(e), respec20 tively, of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 

21 Stat. 1187, 1195). 

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

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 

24 (7) SITES PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Sites 

25 Project’’— 


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1 (A) refers to the off-stream water storage 

2 project identified in the CALFED Record of 

3 Decision, dated August 28, 2000; and 

4 (B) means the Sites Reservoir in Glenn 

5 and Colusa Counties, California, and related fa6 cilities, including associated water conveyance 

7 and hydropower generation and transmission 

8 facilities. 

9 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

10 of California. 

11 SEC. 4. FEASIBILITY STUDY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

12 STATEMENTS. 

13 (a) DUTIES OF THE BUREAU.—With respect to the 

14 Sites Project, the Bureau shall— 

15 (1) be the lead Federal agency for the purposes 

16 of all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, state17 ments, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci18 sions required under Federal law to allow the con19 struction of the Sites Project, including all require20 ments under— 

21 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

23 (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

24 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 


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1 (C) any other Federal law applicable to the 

2 construction of the Sites Project facilities by 

3 the Authority; 

4 (2) take such steps as are necessary to ensure 

5 that all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, state6 ments, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci7 sions required under Federal law to allow the Au8 thority to construct and operate the Sites Project 

9 are completed on an expeditious basis and use the 

10 shortest applicable process, and, to the maximum ex11 tent practicable, are completed not later than Janu12 ary 1, 2022, as required by the California Water 

13 Quality Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement 

14 Act, as approved by California voters on November 

15 4, 2014, as a condition of State financial participa16 tion in a project deemed eligible for assistance under 

17 the aforementioned Act; and 

18 (3) coordinate, as appropriate, with the non19 Federal project sponsors, which are the State of 

20 California and the Sites Project Authority. 

21 (b) FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

22 AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT.—No later than 

23 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

24 Secretary shall work with the Secretary of Commerce, the 

25 Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and the 


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1 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 

2 develop a plan to expeditiously complete and issue the final 

3 joint environmental impact statement and environmental 

4 impact report on the Sites Project. 

5 (c) REQUIREMENTS OF EXISTING LAW.—Nothing in 

6 this section affects the requirements of Federal law. 

7 SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF NON-FEDERAL 

8 PROJECT. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 

10 103(d)(1)(B) of the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act 

11 (Public Law 108–361) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as 

13 clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; 

14 (2) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 

15 ‘‘(ii) CONSTRUCTION AUTHORIZA16 TION.—If the Secretary determines that 

17 the project described in subparagraph 

18 (A)(ii)(I) is feasible, the Secretary, in co19 operation with the Authority, may partici20 pate in the design, planning, and construc21 tion of the Sites Project, as a non-Federal, 

22 State-led project as defined under section 

23 4007(a)(2) of Public Law 114–322, in a 

24 manner that is substantially in accordance 

25 with the recommended plan, subject to the 


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1 conditions described in the feasibility 

2 study. 

3 ‘‘(iii) FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN A

4 NON-FEDERAL SITES PROJECT.—As re5 quired by section 4007(c)(2)(C), the Sec6 retary shall take such steps as are nec7 essary to ensure that, in return for any 

8 Federal investment in a non-Federal Sites 

9 Project, a proportionate share of the 

10 project’s public benefits are Federal bene11 fits, including water supplies dedicated to 

12 specific purposes such as environmental 

13 enhancement and those purposes referred 

14 to in section 5(f) and (g) of the Sites Res15 ervoir Project Act.’’; 

16 (3) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘the project’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘a project described in subparagraph 

18 (A)(ii)(I)’’; and 

19 (4) in subclause (I) of clause (v) (as so redesig20 nated by paragraph (1) of this subsection), by strik21 ing ‘‘clause (ii)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

22 ‘‘clause (iv)’’. 

23 (b) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provision of 

24 this Act, the Commissioner shall take any and all actions 

25 possible to advance the Sites Project as a non-Federal 


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1 project, including entering into cost-shared financial as2 sistance agreements with the Authority to support the de3 sign, planning, and construction of the Sites Project as 

4 a non-Federal project. 

5 (c) PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.—At the 

6 request of the Authority, the Bureau shall enter into a 

7 project partnership agreement with the Authority for the 

8 Authority to provide full project management control for 

9 construction of the Sites Project, or a separable element 

10 of the project, in accordance with plans approved by the 

11 Secretary. 

12 (d) DETAILED PROJECT SCHEDULE.—Not later than 

13 180 days after entering into a Project partnership agree14 ment under subsection (c), the Authority, to the maximum 

15 extent practicable, shall submit to the Secretary a detailed 

16 project schedule based on estimated funding levels that 

17 lists all deadlines for each milestone in the construction 

18 of the project. 

19 (e) TITLE; OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.—The 

20 Authority shall— 

21 (1) hold title to all new facilities constructed 

22 under this section; and 

23 (2) be solely responsible for the operation and 

24 maintenance costs for such facilities. 


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1 (f) COORDINATED OPERATIONS.—The Secretary 

2 shall execute and implement a long-term agreement be3 tween the United States and the Authority to provide for 

4 the coordination of operations of the Central Valley 

5 Project and the Sites Project to— 

6 (1) satisfy any contracts or cooperative agree7 ments entered into subsection (g); 

8 (2) help meet any unmet needs for Sacramento 

9 Valley inbasin water uses; 

10 (3) help meet any unmet needs of existing Cen11 tral Valley Project repayment and water service con12 tracts; and 

13 (4) ensure that any surplus water supplies from 

14 the Sites Project are put to full and beneficial use. 

15 (g) CONTRACTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

16 The Secretary is authorized to enter into long-term con17 tracts and cooperative agreements with the Authority to 

18 complete all planning and preconstruction activities and 

19 to acquire water supplies and lease-of-power privilege 

20 made available from the Sites Project for the purposes of 

21 meeting the requirements under section 3406(b)(3) and 

22 section 3408(j) of the Central Valley Project Improvement 

23 Act (Public Law 102–575) and such other purposes as 

24 the Secretary may deem appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 6. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS FOR 

2 THE NATION (WIIN) ACT AMENDMENTS. 

3 (a) ISSUANCE OF GUIDELINES.—Section 4007(c)(4) 

4 of Public Law 114–322 is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘(C)’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘but’’ after ‘‘analyses’’; and 

7 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A), the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(B) shall, not later than 120 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of the Sites Reservoir 

11 Project Act, issue guidelines for feasibility (or 

12 the equivalent) studies for State-led storage 

13 projects that shall be deemed to provide suffi14 cient information for making the independent 

15 determinations described in paragraph (2); 

16 and’’. 

17 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 4011(f)(2) of Public Law 

18 114–322 is amended— 

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘permitting,’’ following ‘‘de20 signing’’; and 

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘mitigation’’ following ‘‘regu22 latory’’. 

23 SEC. 7. COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS. 

24 Nothing in this Act— 


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1 (1) modifies or alters any obligations or re2 quirements under any Federal environmental law, 

3 including— 

4 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

6 (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

7 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 

8 (2) preempts or modifies any obligation of the 

9 Federal Government to act in conformance with ap10 plicable State law, including applicable State water 

11 law. 

12 SEC. 8. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt or 

14 modify any obligation of the United States to act in con15 formance with applicable State law, including area of ori16 gin and other water rights protections. 

Æ 


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