IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2898 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To provide drought relief in the State of California, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Western Water and American Food Security Act of 

4 2015’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—ADJUSTING DELTA SMELT MANAGEMENT BASED ON 

INCREASED REAL-TIME MONITORING AND UPDATED SCIENCE 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Revise incidental take level calculation for delta smelt to reflect new 

science. 

Sec. 103. Factoring increased real-time monitoring and updated science into 

Delta smelt management. 

TITLE II—ENSURING SALMONID MANAGEMENT IS RESPONSIVE 

TO NEW SCIENCE 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Process for ensuring salmonid management is responsive to new 

science. 

Sec. 203. Non-Federal program to protect native anadromous fish in the 

Stanislaus River. 

Sec. 204. Pilot projects to implement CALFED invasive species program. 

TITLE III—OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND DROUGHT RELIEF 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Operational flexibility in times of drought. 

Sec. 303. Operation of cross-channel gates. 

Sec. 304. Flexibility for export/inflow ratio. 

Sec. 305. Emergency environmental reviews. 

Sec. 306. Increased flexibility for regular project operations. 

Sec. 307. Temporary operational flexibility for first few storms of the water 

year. 

Sec. 308. Expediting water transfers. 

Sec. 309. Additional emergency consultation. 

Sec. 310. Additional storage at New Melones. 

Sec. 311. Regarding the operation of Folsom Reservoir. 

Sec. 312. Applicants. 

Sec. 313. San Joaquin River settlement. 

Sec. 314. Program for water rescheduling. 

TITLE IV—CALFED STORAGE FEASIBILITY STUDIES 

Sec. 401. Studies. 


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Sec. 402. Temperance Flat. 

Sec. 403. CALFED storage accountability. 

Sec. 404. Water storage project construction. 

TITLE V—WATER RIGHTS PROTECTIONS 

Sec. 501. Offset for State Water Project. 

Sec. 502. Area of origin protections. 

Sec. 503. No redirected adverse impacts. 

Sec. 504. Allocations for Sacramento Valley contractors. 

Sec. 505. Effect on existing obligations. 

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 601. Authorized service area. 

Sec. 602. Oversight board for Restoration Fund. 

Sec. 603. Water supply accounting. 

Sec. 604. Implementation of water replacement plan. 

Sec. 605. Natural and artificially spawned species. 

Sec. 606. Transfer the New Melones Unit, Central Valley Project to interested 

providers. 

Sec. 607. Basin studies. 

Sec. 608. Operations of the Trinity River Division. 

Sec. 609. Amendment to purposes. 

Sec. 610. Amendment to definition. 

Sec. 611. Report on results of water usage. 

Sec. 612. Klamath project consultation applicants. 

TITLE VII—WATER SUPPLY PERMITTING ACT 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Definitions. 

Sec. 703. Establishment of lead agency and cooperating agencies. 

Sec. 704. Bureau responsibilities. 

Sec. 705. Cooperating agency responsibilities. 

Sec. 706. Funding to process permits. 

TITLE VIII—BUREAU OF RECLAMATION PROJECT STREAMLINING 

Sec. 801. Short title. 

Sec. 802. Definitions. 

Sec. 803. Acceleration of studies. 

Sec. 804. Expedited completion of reports. 

Sec. 805. Project acceleration. 

Sec. 806. Annual report to Congress. 

TITLE IX—ACCELERATED REVENUE, REPAYMENT, AND SURFACE 

WATER STORAGE ENHANCEMENT 

Sec. 901. Short title. 

Sec. 902. Prepayment of certain repayment contracts between the United 

States and contractors of federally developed water supplies. 

TITLE X—SAFETY OF DAMS 

Sec. 1001. Authorization of additional project benefits. 

TITLE XI—WATER RIGHTS PROTECTION 


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Sec. 1101. Short title. 

Sec. 1102. Definition of water right. 

Sec. 1103. Treatment of water rights. 

Sec. 1104. Recognition of State authority. 

Sec. 1105. Effect of title. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) As established in the Proclamation of a 

4 State of Emergency issued by the Governor of the 

5 State on January 17, 2014, the State is experi6 encing record dry conditions. 

7 (2) Extremely dry conditions have persisted in 

8 the State since 2012, and the drought conditions are 

9 likely to persist into the future. 

10 (3) The water supplies of the State are at 

11 record-low levels, as indicated by the fact that all 

12 major Central Valley Project reservoir levels were at 

13 20–35 percent of capacity as of September 25, 2014. 

14 (4) The lack of precipitation has been a signifi15 cant contributing factor to the 6,091 fires experi16 enced in the State as of September 15, 2014, and 

17 which covered nearly 400,000 acres. 

18 (5) According to a study released by the Uni19 versity of California, Davis in July 2014, the 

20 drought has led to the fallowing of 428,000 acres of 

21 farmland, loss of $810 million in crop revenue, loss 

22 of $203 million in dairy and other livestock value, 

23 and increased groundwater pumping costs by $454 


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1 million. The statewide economic costs are estimated 

2 to be $2.2 billion, with over 17,000 seasonal and 

3 part-time agricultural jobs lost. 

4 (6) CVPIA Level II water deliveries to refuges 

5 have also been reduced by 25 percent in the north 

6 of Delta region, and by 35 percent in the south of 

7 Delta region. 

8 (7) Only one-sixth of the usual acres of rice 

9 fields are being flooded this fall, which leads to a 

10 significant decline in habitat for migratory birds and 

11 an increased risk of disease at the remaining wet12 lands due to overcrowding of such birds. 

13 (8) The drought of 2013 through 2014 con14 stitutes a serious emergency that poses immediate 

15 and severe risks to human life and safety and to the 

16 environment throughout the State. 

17 (9) The serious emergency described in para18 graph (4) requires— 

19 (A) immediate and credible action that re20 spects the complexity of the water system of the 

21 State and the importance of the water system 

22 to the entire State; and 

23 (B) policies that do not pit stakeholders 

24 against one another, which history shows only 


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1 leads to costly litigation that benefits no one 

2 and prevents any real solutions. 

3 (10) Data on the difference between water de4 mand and reliable water supplies for various regions 

5 of California south of the Delta, including the San 

6 Joaquin Valley, indicate there is a significant annual 

7 gap between reliable water supplies to meet agricul8 tural, municipal and industrial, groundwater, and 

9 refuges water needs within the Delta Division, San 

10 Luis Unit and Friant Division of the Central Valley 

11 Project and the State Water Project south of the 

12 Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the de13 mands of those areas. This gap varies depending on 

14 the methodology of the analysis performed, but can 

15 be represented in the following ways: 

16 (A) For Central Valley Project South-of17 Delta water service contractors, if it is assumed 

18 that a water supply deficit is the difference in 

19 the amount of water available for allocation 

20 versus the maximum contract quantity, then the 

21 water supply deficits that have developed from 

22 1992 to 2014 as a result of legislative and reg23 ulatory changes besides natural variations in 

24 hydrology during this timeframe range between 

25 720,000 and 1,100,000 acre-feet. 


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1 (B) For Central Valley Project and State 

2 Water Project water service contractors south 

3 of the Delta and north of the Tehachapi moun4 tain range, if it is assumed that a water supply 

5 deficit is the difference between reliable water 

6 supplies, including maximum water contract de7 liveries, safe yield of groundwater, safe yield of 

8 local and surface supplies and long-term con9 tracted water transfers, and water demands, in10 cluding water demands from agriculture, munic11 ipal and industrial and refuge contractors, then 

12 the water supply deficit ranges between ap13 proximately 2,500,000 to 2,700,000 acre-feet. 

14 (11) Data of pumping activities at the Central 

15 Valley Project and State Water Project delta pumps 

16 identifies that, on average from Water Year 2009 to 

17 Water Year 2014, take of Delta smelt is 80 percent 

18 less than allowable take levels under the biological 

19 opinion issued December 15, 2008. 

20 (12) Data of field sampling activities of the 

21 Interagency Ecological Program located in the Sac22 ramento-San Joaquin Estuary identifies that, on av23 erage from 2005 to 2013, the program ‘‘takes’’ 

24 3,500 delta smelt during annual surveys with an au25 thorized ‘‘take’’ level of 33,480 delta smelt annuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 ally—according to the biological opinion issued De2 cember 9, 1997. 

3 (13) In 2015, better information exists than 

4 was known in 2008 concerning conditions and oper5 ations that may or may not lead to high salvage 

6 events that jeopardize the fish populations, and what 

7 alternative management actions can be taken to 

8 avoid jeopardy. 

9 (14) Alternative management strategies, remov10 ing non-native species, enhancing habitat, moni11 toring fish movement and location in real-time, and 

12 improving water quality in the Delta can contribute 

13 significantly to protecting and recovering these en14 dangered fish species, and at potentially lower costs 

15 to water supplies. 

16 (15) Resolution of fundamental policy questions 

17 concerning the extent to which application of the 

18 Endangered Species Act of 1973 affects the oper19 ation of the Central Valley Project and State Water 

20 Project is the responsibility of Congress. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) DELTA.—The term ‘‘Delta’’ means the Sac24 ramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Suisun Marsh, 


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1 as defined in sections 12220 and 29101 of the Cali2 fornia Public Resources Code. 

3 (2) EXPORT PUMPING RATES.—The term ‘‘ex4 port pumping rates’’ means the rates of pumping at 

5 the C.W. ‘‘Bill’’ Jones Pumping Plant and the Har6 vey O. Banks Pumping Plant, in the southern Delta. 

7 (3) LISTED FISH SPECIES.—The term ‘‘listed 

8 fish species’’ means listed salmonid species and the 

9 Delta smelt. 

10 (4) LISTED SALMONID SPECIES.—The term 

11 ‘‘listed salmonid species’’ means natural origin 

12 steelhead, natural origin genetic spring run Chinook, 

13 and genetic winter run Chinook salmon including 

14 hatchery steelhead or salmon populations within the 

15 evolutionary significant unit (ESU) or distinct popu16 lation segment (DPS). 

17 (5) NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE LONG-TERM

18 SURVIVAL.—The term ‘‘negative impact on the long19 term survival’’ means to reduce appreciably the like20 lihood of the survival of a listed species in the wild 

21 by reducing the reproduction, numbers, or distribu22 tion of that species. 

23 (6) OMR.—The term ‘‘OMR’’ means the Old 

24 and Middle River in the Delta. 


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1 (7) OMR FLOW OF ¥5,000 CUBIC FEET PER

2 SECOND.—The term ‘‘OMR flow of ¥5,000 cubic 

3 feet per second’’ means Old and Middle River flow 

4 of negative 5,000 cubic feet per second as described 

5 in— 

6 (A) the smelt biological opinion; and 

7 (B) the salmonid biological opinion. 

8 (8) SALMONID BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The 

9 term ‘‘salmonid biological opinion’’ means the bio10 logical opinion issued by the National Marine Fish11 eries Service on June 4, 2009. 

12 (9) SMELT BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The term 

13 ‘‘smelt biological opinion’’ means the biological opin14 ion on the Long-Term Operational Criteria and Plan 

15 for coordination of the Central Valley Project and 

16 State Water Project issued by the United States 

17 Fish and Wildlife Service on December 15, 2008. 

18 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 

19 State of California. 


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1 TITLE I—ADJUSTING DELTA 

2 SMELT MANAGEMENT BASED 

3 ON INCREASED REAL-TIME 

4 MONITORING AND UPDATED 

5 SCIENCE 

6 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

9 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

10 Service. 

11 (2) DELTA SMELT.—The term ‘‘Delta smelt’’ 

12 means the fish species with the scientific name 

13 Hypomesus transpacificus. 

14 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of the Interior. 

16 (4) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis17 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of the Bureau of 

18 Reclamation. 

19 SEC. 102. REVISE INCIDENTAL TAKE LEVEL CALCULATION 

20 FOR DELTA SMELT TO REFLECT NEW 

21 SCIENCE. 

22 (a) REVIEW AND MODIFICATION.—Not later than 

23 October 1, 2016, and at least every five years thereafter, 

24 the Director, in cooperation with other Federal, State, and 

25 local agencies, shall use the best scientific and commercial 


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1 data available to complete a review and, modify the meth2 od used to calculate the incidental take levels for adult 

3 and larval/juvenile Delta smelt in the smelt biological opin4 ion that takes into account all life stages, among other 

5 considerations— 

6 (1) salvage information collected since at least 

7 1993; 

8 (2) updated or more recently developed statis9 tical models; 

10 (3) updated scientific and commercial data; and 

11 (4) the most recent information regarding the 

12 environmental factors affecting Delta smelt salvage. 

13 (b) MODIFIED INCIDENTAL TAKE LEVEL.—Unless 

14 the Director determines in writing that one or more of 

15 the requirements described in paragraphs (1) through (4) 

16 are not appropriate, the modified incidental take level de17 scribed in subsection (a) shall— 

18 (1) be normalized for the abundance of 

19 prespawning adult Delta smelt using the Fall 

20 Midwater Trawl Index or other index; 

21 (2) be based on a simulation of the salvage that 

22 would have occurred from 1993 through 2012 if 

23 OMR flow has been consistent with the smelt bio24 logical opinions; 


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1 (3) base the simulation on a correlation between 

2 annual salvage rates and historic water clarity and 

3 OMR flow during the adult salvage period; and 

4 (4) set the incidental take level as the 80 per5 cent upper prediction interval derived from simu6 lated salvage rates since at least 1993. 

7 SEC. 103. FACTORING INCREASED REAL-TIME MONITORING 

8 AND UPDATED SCIENCE INTO DELTA SMELT 

9 MANAGEMENT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall use the best 

11 scientific and commercial data available to implement, 

12 continuously evaluate, and refine or amend, as appro13 priate, the reasonable and prudent alternative described 

14 in the smelt biological opinion, and any successor opinions 

15 or court order. The Secretary shall make all significant 

16 decisions under the smelt biological opinion, or any suc17 cessor opinions that affect Central Valley Project and 

18 State Water Project operations, in writing, and shall docu19 ment the significant facts upon which such decisions are 

20 made, consistent with section 706 of title 5, United States 

21 Code. 

22 (b) INCREASED MONITORING TO INFORM REAL23 TIME OPERATIONS.—The Secretary shall conduct addi24 tional surveys, on an annual basis at the appropriate time 


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1 of the year based on environmental conditions, in collabo2 ration with other Delta science interests. 

3 (1) In implementing this section, the Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 (A) use the most accurate survey methods 

6 available for the detection of Delta smelt to de7 termine the extent that adult Delta smelt are 

8 distributed in relation to certain levels of tur9 bidity, or other environmental factors that may 

10 influence salvage rate; and 

11 (B) use results from appropriate survey 

12 methods for the detection of Delta smelt to de13 termine how the Central Valley Project and 

14 State Water Project may be operated more effi15 ciently to minimize salvage while maximizing 

16 export pumping rates without causing a signifi17 cant negative impact on the long-term survival 

18 of the Delta smelt. 

19 (2) During the period beginning on December 

20 1, 2015, and ending March 31, 2016, and in each 

21 successive December through March period, if sus22 pended sediment loads enter the Delta from the Sac23 ramento River and the suspended sediment loads ap24 pear likely to raise turbidity levels in the Old River 

25 north of the export pumps from values below 12 


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1 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) to values 

2 above 12 NTU, the Secretary shall— 

3 (A) conduct daily monitoring using appro4 priate survey methods at locations including, 

5 but not limited to, the vicinity of Station 902 

6 to determine the extent that adult Delta smelt 

7 are moving with turbidity toward the export 

8 pumps; and 

9 (B) use results from the monitoring sur10 veys referenced in paragraph (A) to determine 

11 how increased trawling can inform daily real12 time Central Valley Project and State Water 

13 Project operations to minimize salvage while 

14 maximizing export pumping rates without caus15 ing a significant negative impact on the long16 term survival of the Delta smelt. 

17 (c) PERIODIC REVIEW OF MONITORING.—Within 12 

18 months of the date of enactment of this title, and at least 

19 once every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

20 (1) evaluate whether the monitoring program 

21 under subsection (b), combined with other moni22 toring programs for the Delta, is providing sufficient 

23 data to inform Central Valley Project and State 

24 Water Project operations to minimize salvage while 

25 maximizing export pumping rates without causing a 


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1 significant negative impact on the long-term survival 

2 of the Delta smelt; and 

3 (2) determine whether the monitoring efforts 

4 should be changed in the short or long term to pro5 vide more useful data. 

6 (d) DELTA SMELT DISTRIBUTION STUDY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—No later than January 1, 

8 2016, and at least every five years thereafter, the 

9 Secretary, in collaboration with the California De10 partment of Fish and Wildlife, the California De11 partment of Water Resources, public water agencies, 

12 and other interested entities, shall implement new 

13 targeted sampling and monitoring specifically de14 signed to understand Delta smelt abundance, dis15 tribution, and the types of habitat occupied by Delta 

16 smelt during all life stages. 

17 (2) SAMPLING.—The Delta smelt distribution 

18 study shall, at a minimum— 

19 (A) include recording water quality and 

20 tidal data; 

21 (B) be designed to understand Delta smelt 

22 abundance, distribution, habitat use, and move23 ment throughout the Delta, Suisun Marsh, and 

24 other areas occupied by the Delta smelt during 

25 all seasons; 


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1 (C) consider areas not routinely sampled 

2 by existing monitoring programs, including wet3 land channels, near-shore water, depths below 

4 35 feet, and shallow water; and 

5 (D) use survey methods, including sam6 pling gear, best suited to collect the most accu7 rate data for the type of sampling or moni8 toring. 

9 (e) SCIENTIFICALLY SUPPORTED IMPLEMENTATION

10 OF OMR FLOW REQUIREMENTS.—In implementing the 

11 provisions of the smelt biological opinion, or any successor 

12 biological opinion or court order, pertaining to manage13 ment of reverse flow in the Old and Middle Rivers, the 

14 Secretary shall— 

15 (1) consider the relevant provisions of the bio16 logical opinion or any successor biological opinion; 

17 (2) to maximize Central Valley project and 

18 State Water Project water supplies, manage export 

19 pumping rates to achieve a reverse OMR flow rate 

20 of ¥5,000 cubic feet per second unless information 

21 developed by the Secretary under paragraphs (3) 

22 and (4) leads the Secretary to reasonably conclude 

23 that a less negative OMR flow rate is necessary to 

24 avoid a negative impact on the long-term survival of 

25 the Delta smelt. If information available to the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 retary indicates that a reverse OMR flow rate more 

2 negative than ¥5,000 cubic feet per second can be 

3 established without an imminent negative impact on 

4 the long-term survival of the Delta smelt, the Sec5 retary shall manage export pumping rates to achieve 

6 that more negative OMR flow rate; 

7 (3) document in writing any significant facts 

8 about real-time conditions relevant to the determina9 tions of OMR reverse flow rates, including— 

10 (A) whether targeted real-time fish moni11 toring in the Old River pursuant to this section, 

12 including monitoring in the vicinity of Station 

13 902, indicates that a significant negative impact 

14 on the long-term survival of the Delta smelt is 

15 imminent; and 

16 (B) whether near-term forecasts with avail17 able salvage models show under prevailing con18 ditions that OMR flow of ¥5,000 cubic feet per 

19 second or higher will cause a significant nega20 tive impact on the long-term survival of the 

21 Delta smelt; 

22 (4) show in writing that any determination to 

23 manage OMR reverse flow at rates less negative 

24 than ¥5,000 cubic feet per second is necessary to 

25 avoid a significant negative impact on the long-term 


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1 survival of the Delta smelt, including an explanation 

2 of the data examined and the connection between 

3 those data and the choice made, after considering— 

4 (A) the distribution of Delta smelt 

5 throughout the Delta; 

6 (B) the potential effects of documented, 

7 quantified entrainment on subsequent Delta 

8 smelt abundance; 

9 (C) the water temperature; 

10 (D) other significant factors relevant to 

11 the determination; and 

12 (E) whether any alternative measures 

13 could have a substantially lesser water supply 

14 impact; and 

15 (5) for any subsequent biological opinion, make 

16 the showing required in paragraph (4) for any deter17 mination to manage OMR reverse flow at rates less 

18 negative than the most negative limit in the biologi19 cal opinion if the most negative limit in the biologi20 cal opinion is more negative than ¥5,000 cubic feet 

21 per second. 

22 (f) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—No later 

23 than December 1, 2015, the Commissioner and the Direc24 tor will execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 

25 to ensure that the smelt biological opinion is implemented 


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1 in a manner that maximizes water supply while complying 

2 with applicable laws and regulations. If that MOU alters 

3 any procedures set out in the biological opinion, there will 

4 be no need to reinitiate consultation if those changes will 

5 not have a significant negative impact on the long-term 

6 survival on listed species and the implementation of the 

7 MOU would not be a major change to implementation of 

8 the biological opinion. Any change to procedures that does 

9 not create a significant negative impact on the long-term 

10 survival to listed species will not alter application of the 

11 take permitted by the incidental take statement in the bio12 logical opinion under section 7(o)(2) of the Endangered 

13 Species Act of 1973. 

14 (g) CALCULATION OF REVERSE FLOW IN OMR.— 

15 Within 90 days of the enactment of this title, the Sec16 retary is directed, in consultation with the California De17 partment of Water Resources to revise the method used 

18 to calculate reverse flow in Old and Middle Rivers for im19 plementation of the reasonable and prudent alternatives 

20 in the smelt biological opinion and the salmonid biological 

21 opinion, and any succeeding biological opinions, for the 

22 purpose of increasing Central Valley Project and State 

23 Water Project water supplies. The method of calculating 

24 reverse flow in Old and Middle Rivers shall be reevaluated 

25 not less than every five years thereafter to achieve maxVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 imum export pumping rates within limits established by 

2 the smelt biological opinion, the salmonid biological opin3 ion, and any succeeding biological opinions. 

4 TITLE II—ENSURING SALMONID 

5 MANAGEMENT IS RESPON6 SIVE TO NEW SCIENCE 

7 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title: 

9 (1) ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR.—The term 

10 ‘‘Assistant Administrator’’ means the Assistant Ad11 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos12 pheric Administration for Fisheries. 

13 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Commerce. 

15 (3) OTHER AFFECTED INTERESTS.—The term 

16 ‘‘other affected interests’’ means the State of Cali17 fornia, Indian tribes, subdivisions of the State of 

18 California, public water agencies and those who ben19 efit directly and indirectly from the operations of the 

20 Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. 

21 (4) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis22 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of the Bureau of 

23 Reclamation. 


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1 (5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

3 Service. 

4 SEC. 202. PROCESS FOR ENSURING SALMONID MANAGE5 MENT IS RESPONSIVE TO NEW SCIENCE. 

6 (a) GENERAL DIRECTIVE.—The reasonable and pru7 dent alternative described in the salmonid biological opin8 ion allows for and anticipates adjustments in Central Val9 ley Project and State Water Project operation parameters 

10 to reflect the best scientific and commercial data currently 

11 available, and authorizes efforts to test and evaluate im12 provements in operations that will meet applicable regu13 latory requirements and maximize Central Valley Project 

14 and State Water Project water supplies and reliability. 

15 Implementation of the reasonable and prudent alternative 

16 described in the salmonid biological opinion shall be ad17 justed accordingly as new scientific and commercial data 

18 are developed. The Commissioner and the Assistant Ad19 ministrator shall fully utilize these authorities as described 

20 below. 

21 (b) ANNUAL REVIEWS OF CERTAIN CENTRAL VAL22 LEY PROJECT AND STATE WATER PROJECT OPER23 ATIONS.—No later than December 31, 2016, and at least 

24 annually thereafter: 


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1 (1) The Commissioner, with the assistance of 

2 the Assistant Administrator, shall examine and iden3 tify adjustments to the initiation of Action IV.2.3 as 

4 set forth in the Biological Opinion and Conference 

5 Opinion on the Long-Term Operations of the Cen6 tral Valley Project and State Water Project, Endan7 gered Species Act Section 7 Consultation, issued by 

8 the National Marine Fisheries Service on June 4, 

9 2009, pertaining to negative OMR flows, subject to 

10 paragraph (5). 

11 (2) The Commissioner, with the assistance of 

12 the Assistant Administrator, shall examine and iden13 tify adjustments in the timing, triggers or other 

14 operational details relating to the implementation of 

15 pumping restrictions in Action IV.2.1 pertaining to 

16 the inflow to export ratio, subject to paragraph (5). 

17 (3) Pursuant to the consultation and assess18 ments carried out under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

19 this subsection, the Commissioner and the Assistant 

20 Administrator shall jointly make recommendations 

21 to the Secretary of the Interior and to the Secretary 

22 on adjustments to project operations that, in the ex23 ercise of the adaptive management provisions of the 

24 salmonid biological opinion, will reduce water supply 

25 impacts of the salmonid biological opinion on the 


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1 Central Valley Project and the California State 

2 Water Project and are consistent with the require3 ments of applicable law and as further described in 

4 subsection (c). 

5 (4) The Secretary and the Secretary of the In6 terior shall direct the Commissioner and Assistant 

7 Administrator to implement recommended adjust8 ments to Central Valley Project and State Water 

9 Project operations for which the conditions under 

10 subsection (c) are met. 

11 (5) The Assistant Administrator and the Com12 missioner shall review and identify adjustments to 

13 Central Valley Project and State Water Project op14 erations with water supply restrictions in any suc15 cessor biological opinion to the salmonid biological 

16 opinion, applying the provisions of this section to 

17 those water supply restrictions where there are ref18 erences to Actions IV.2.1 and IV.2.3. 

19 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF OPERATIONAL ADJUST20 MENTS.—After reviewing the recommendations under sub21 section (b), the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

22 shall direct the Commissioner and the Assistant Adminis23 trator to implement those operational adjustments, or any 

24 combination, for which, in aggregate— 


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1 (1) the net effect on listed species is equivalent 

2 to those of the underlying project operational param3 eters in the salmonid biological opinion, taking into 

4 account both— 

5 (A) efforts to minimize the adverse effects 

6 of the adjustment to project operations; and 

7 (B) whatever additional actions or meas8 ures may be implemented in conjunction with 

9 the adjustments to operations to offset the ad10 verse effects to listed species, consistent with 

11 (d), that are in excess of the adverse effects of 

12 the underlying operational parameters, if any; 

13 and 

14 (2) the effects of the adjustment can be reason15 ably expected to fall within the incidental take au16 thorizations. 

17 (d) EVALUATION OF OFFSETTING MEASURES.— 

18 When examining and identifying opportunities to offset 

19 the potential adverse effect of adjustments to operations 

20 under subsection (c)(1)(B), the Commissioner and the As21 sistant Administrator shall take into account the potential 

22 species survival improvements that are likely to result 

23 from other measures which, if implemented in conjunction 

24 with such adjustments, would offset adverse effects, if any, 

25 of the adjustments. When evaluating offsetting measures, 


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1 the Commissioner and the Assistant Administrator shall 

2 consider the type, timing and nature of the adverse effects, 

3 if any, to specific species and ensure that the measures 

4 likely provide equivalent overall benefits to the listed spe5 cies in the aggregate, as long as the change will not cause 

6 a significant negative impact on the long-term survival of 

7 a listed salmonid species. 

8 (e) FRAMEWORK FOR EXAMINING OPPORTUNITIES

9 TO MINIMIZE OR OFFSET THE POTENTIAL ADVERSE EF10 FECT OF ADJUSTMENTS TO OPERATIONS.—Not later than 

11 December 31, 2015, and every five years thereafter, the 

12 Assistant Administrator shall, in collaboration with the 

13 Director of the California Department of Fish and Wild14 life, based on the best scientific and commercial data avail15 able and for each listed salmonid species, issue estimates 

16 of the increase in through-Delta survival the Secretary ex17 pects to be achieved— 

18 (1) through restrictions on export pumping 

19 rates as specified by Action IV.2.3 as compared to 

20 limiting OMR flow to a fixed rate of ¥5,000 cubic 

21 feet per second within the time period Action IV.2.3 

22 is applicable, based on a given rate of San Joaquin 

23 River inflow to the Delta and holding other relevant 

24 factors constant; 


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1 (2) through San Joaquin River inflow to export 

2 restrictions on export pumping rates specified within 

3 Action IV.2.1 as compared to the restrictions in the 

4 April/May period imposed by the State Water Re5 sources Control Board decision D–1641, based on a 

6 given rate of San Joaquin River inflow to the Delta 

7 and holding other relevant factors constant; 

8 (3) through physical habitat restoration im9 provements; 

10 (4) through predation control programs; 

11 (5) through the installation of temporary bar12 riers, the management of Cross Channel Gates oper13 ations, and other projects affecting flow in the 

14 Delta; 

15 (6) through salvaging fish that have been en16 trained near the entrance to Clifton Court Forebay; 

17 (7) through any other management measures 

18 that may provide equivalent or better protections for 

19 listed species while maximizing export pumping rates 

20 without causing a significant negative impact on the 

21 long-term survival of a listed salmonid species; and 

22 (8) through development and implementation of 

23 conservation hatchery programs for salmon and 

24 steelhead to aid in the recovery of listed salmon and 

25 steelhead species. 


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1 (f) SURVIVAL ESTIMATES.— 

2 (1) To the maximum extent practicable, the As3 sistant Administrator shall make quantitative esti4 mates of survival such as a range of percentage in5 creases in through-Delta survival that could result 

6 from the management measures, and if the scientific 

7 information is lacking for quantitative estimates, 

8 shall do so on qualitative terms based upon the best 

9 available science. 

10 (2) If the Assistant Administrator provides 

11 qualitative survival estimates for a species resulting 

12 from one or more management measures, the Sec13 retary shall, to the maximum extent feasible, rank 

14 the management measures described in subsection 

15 (e) in terms of their most likely expected contribu16 tion to increased through-Delta survival relative to 

17 the other measures. 

18 (3) If at the time the Assistant Administrator 

19 conducts the reviews under subsection (b), the Sec20 retary has not issued an estimate of increased 

21 through-Delta survival from different management 

22 measures pursuant to subsection (e), the Secretary 

23 shall compare the protections to the species from 

24 different management measures based on the best 

25 scientific and commercial data available at the time. 


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1 (g) COMPARISON OF ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES FOR

2 ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT MEASURES OF EQUIVALENT

3 PROTECTION FOR A SPECIES.— 

4 (1) For the purposes of this subsection and 

5 subsection (c)— 

6 (A) the alternative management measure 

7 or combination of alternative management 

8 measures identified in paragraph (2) shall be 

9 known as the ‘‘equivalent alternative measure’’; 

10 (B) the existing measure or measures iden11 tified in subparagraphs (2) (A), (B), (C), or 

12 (D) shall be known as the ‘‘equivalent existing 

13 measure’’; and 

14 (C) an ‘‘equivalent increase in through15 Delta survival rates for listed salmonid species’’ 

16 shall mean an increase in through-Delta sur17 vival rates that is equivalent when considering 

18 the change in through-Delta survival rates for 

19 the listed salmonid species in the aggregate, 

20 and not the same change for each individual 

21 species, as long as the change in survival rates 

22 will not cause a significant negative impact on 

23 the long-term survival of a listed salmonid spe24 cies. 


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1 (2) As part of the reviews of project operations 

2 pursuant to subsection (b), the Assistant Adminis3 trator shall determine whether any alternative man4 agement measures or combination of alternative 

5 management measures listed in subsection (e) (3) 

6 through (8) would provide an increase in through7 Delta survival rates for listed salmonid species that 

8 is equivalent to the increase in through-Delta sur9 vival rates for listed salmonid species from the fol10 lowing: 

11 (A) Through restrictions on export pump12 ing rates as specified by Action IV.2.3, as com13 pared to limiting OMR flow to a fixed rate of 

14 ¥5,000 cubic feet per second within the time 

15 period Action IV.2.3 is applicable. 

16 (B) Through restrictions on export pump17 ing rates as specified by Action IV.2.3, as com18 pared to a modification of Action IV.2.3 that 

19 would provide additional water supplies, other 

20 than that described in subparagraph (A). 

21 (C) Through San Joaquin River inflow to 

22 export restrictions on export pumping rates 

23 specified within Action IV.2.1, as compared to 

24 the restrictions in the April/May period imposed 


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1 by the State Water Resources Control Board 

2 decision D–1641. 

3 (D) Through San Joaquin River inflow to 

4 export restrictions on export pumping rates 

5 specified within Action IV.2.1, as compared to 

6 a modification of Action IV.2.1 that would re7 duce water supply impacts of the salmonid bio8 logical opinion on the Central Valley Project 

9 and the California State Water Project, other 

10 than that described in subparagraph (C). 

11 (3) If the Assistant Administrator identifies an 

12 equivalent alternative measure pursuant to para13 graph (2), the Assistant Administrator shall deter14 mine whether— 

15 (A) it is technically feasible and within 

16 Federal jurisdiction to implement the equivalent 

17 alternative measure; 

18 (B) the State of California, or subdivision 

19 thereof, or local agency with jurisdiction has 

20 certified in writing within 10 calendar days to 

21 the Assistant Administrator that it has the au22 thority and capability to implement the perti23 nent equivalent alternative measure; or 

24 (C) the adverse consequences of doing so 

25 are less than the adverse consequences of the 


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1 equivalent existing measure, including a concise 

2 evaluation of the adverse consequences to other 

3 affected interests. 

4 (4) If the Assistant Administrator makes the 

5 determinations in subparagraph (3)(A) or (3)(B), 

6 the Commissioner shall adjust project operations to 

7 implement the equivalent alternative measure in 

8 place of the equivalent existing measure in order to 

9 increase export rates of pumping to the greatest ex10 tent possible while maintaining a net combined effect 

11 of equivalent through-Delta survival rates for the 

12 listed salmonid species. 

13 (h) TRACKING ADVERSE EFFECTS BEYOND THE

14 RANGE OF EFFECTS ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE SALMONID

15 BIOLOGICAL OPINION AND COORDINATED OPERATION

16 WITH THE DELTA SMELT BIOLOGICAL OPINION.— 

17 (1) Among the adjustments to the project oper18 ations considered through the adaptive management 

19 process under this section, the Assistant Adminis20 trator and the Commissioner shall— 

21 (A) evaluate the effects on listed salmonid 

22 species and water supply of the potential ad23 justment to operational criteria described in 

24 subparagraph (B); and 


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1 (B) consider requiring that before some or 

2 all of the provisions of Actions IV.2.1. or IV.2.3 

3 are imposed in any specific instance, the Assist4 ant Administrator show that the implementa5 tion of these provisions in that specific instance 

6 is necessary to avoid a significant negative im7 pact on the long-term survival of a listed 

8 salmonid species. 

9 (2) The Assistant Administrator, the Director, 

10 and the Commissioner, in coordination with State of11 ficials as appropriate, shall establish operational cri12 teria to coordinate management of OMR flows under 

13 the smelt and salmonid biological opinions, in order 

14 to take advantage of opportunities to provide addi15 tional water supplies from the coordinated imple16 mentation of the biological opinions. 

17 (3) The Assistant Administrator and the Com18 missioner shall document the effects of any adaptive 

19 management decisions related to the coordinated op20 eration of the smelt and salmonid biological opinions 

21 that prioritizes the maintenance of one species at the 

22 expense of the other. 

23 (i) REAL-TIME MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT.— 

24 Notwithstanding the calendar based triggers described in 

25 the salmonid biological opinion Reasonable and Prudent 


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1 Alternative (RPA), the Assistant Administrator and the 

2 Commissioner shall not limit OMR reverse flow to ¥5,000 

3 cubic feet per second unless current monitoring data indi4 cate that this OMR flow limitation is reasonably required 

5 to avoid a significant negative impact on the long-term 

6 survival of a listed salmonid species. 

7 (j) EVALUATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGE8 MENT MEASURES.—If the quantitative estimates of 

9 through-Delta survival established by the Secretary for the 

10 adjustments in subsection (b)(2) exceed the through-Delta 

11 survival established for the RPAs, the Secretary shall 

12 evaluate and implement the management measures in sub13 section (b)(2) as a prerequisite to implementing the RPAs 

14 contained in the Salmonid Biological Opinion. 

15 (k) ACCORDANCE WITH OTHER LAW.—Consistent 

16 with section 706 of title 5, United States Code, decisions 

17 of the Assistant Administrator and the Commissioner de18 scribed in subsections (b) through (j) shall be made in 

19 writing, on the basis of best scientific and commercial data 

20 currently available, and shall include an explanation of the 

21 data examined at the connection between those data and 

22 the decisions made. 


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1 SEC. 203. NON-FEDERAL PROGRAM TO PROTECT NATIVE 

2 ANADROMOUS FISH IN THE STANISLAUS 

3 RIVER. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NONNATIVE PREDATOR

5 FISH REMOVAL PROGRAM.—The Secretary and the dis6 tricts, in consultation with the Director, shall jointly de7 velop and conduct a nonnative predator fish removal pro8 gram to remove nonnative striped bass, smallmouth bass, 

9 largemouth bass, black bass, and other nonnative predator 

10 fish species from the Stanislaus River. The program 

11 shall— 

12 (1) be scientifically based; 

13 (2) include methods to quantify the number and 

14 size of predator fish removed each year, the impact 

15 of such removal on the overall abundance of pred16 ator fish, and the impact of such removal on the 

17 populations of juvenile anadromous fish found in the 

18 Stanislaus River by, among other things, evaluating 

19 the number of juvenile anadromous fish that migrate 

20 past the rotary screw trap located at Caswell; 

21 (3) among other methods, use wire fyke trap22 ping, portable resistance board weirs, and boat 

23 electrofishing; and 

24 (4) be implemented as quickly as possible fol25 lowing the issuance of all necessary scientific re26 search. 


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1 (b) MANAGEMENT.—The management of the pro2 gram shall be the joint responsibility of the Secretary and 

3 the districts. Such parties shall work collaboratively to en4 sure the performance of the program, and shall discuss 

5 and agree upon, among other things, changes in the struc6 ture, management, personnel, techniques, strategy, data 

7 collection, reporting, and conduct of the program. 

8 (c) CONDUCT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—By agreement between the 

10 Secretary and the districts, the program may be con11 ducted by their own personnel, qualified private con12 tractors hired by the districts, personnel of, on loan 

13 to, or otherwise assigned to the National Marine 

14 Fisheries Service, or a combination thereof. 

15 (2) PARTICIPATION BY THE NATIONAL MARINE

16 FISHERIES SERVICE.—If the districts elect to con17 duct the program using their own personnel or quali18 fied private contractors hired by them in accordance 

19 with paragraph (1), the Secretary may assign an 

20 employee of, on loan to, or otherwise assigned to the 

21 National Marine Fisheries Service, to be present for 

22 all activities performed in the field. Such presence 

23 shall ensure compliance with the agreed-upon ele24 ments specified in subsection (b). The districts shall 


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1 pay the cost of such participation in accordance with 

2 subsection (d). 

3 (3) TIMING OF ELECTION.—The districts shall 

4 notify the Secretary of their election on or before 

5 October 15 of each calendar year of the program. 

6 Such an election shall apply to the work performed 

7 in the subsequent calendar year. 

8 (d) FUNDING.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The districts shall be re10 sponsible for 100 percent of the cost of the program. 

11 (2) CONTRIBUTED FUNDS.—The Secretary may 

12 accept and use contributions of funds from the dis13 tricts to carry out activities under the program. 

14 (3) ESTIMATION OF COST.—On or before De15 cember 1 of each year of the program, the Secretary 

16 shall submit to the districts an estimate of the cost 

17 to be incurred by the National Marine Fisheries 

18 Service for the program in the following calendar 

19 year, if any, including the cost of any data collection 

20 and posting under subsection (e). If an amount 

21 equal to the estimate is not provided through con22 tributions pursuant to paragraph (2) before Decem23 ber 31 of that year— 

24 (A) the Secretary shall have no obligation 

25 to conduct the program activities otherwise 


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1 scheduled for such following calendar year until 

2 such amount is contributed by the districts; and 

3 (B) the districts may not conduct any as4 pect of the program until such amount is con5 tributed by the districts. 

6 (4) ACCOUNTING.—On or before September 1 

7 of each year, the Secretary shall provide to the dis8 tricts an accounting of the costs incurred by the Sec9 retary for the program in the preceding calendar 

10 year. If the amount contributed by the districts pur11 suant to paragraph (2) for that year was greater 

12 than the costs incurred by the Secretary, the Sec13 retary shall— 

14 (A) apply the excess contributions to costs 

15 of activities to be performed by the Secretary 

16 under the program, if any, in the next calendar 

17 year; or 

18 (B) if no such activities are to be per19 formed, repay the excess contribution to the 

20 districts. 

21 (e) POSTING AND EVALUATION.—On or before the 

22 15th day of each month, the Secretary shall post on the 

23 Internet website of the National Marine Fisheries Service 

24 a tabular summary of the raw data collected under the 

25 program in the preceding month. 


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1 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The program is hereby found 

2 to be consistent with the requirements of the Central Val3 ley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575). No 

4 provision, plan or definition established or required by the 

5 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 

6 102–575) shall be used to prohibit the imposition of the 

7 program, or to prevent the accomplishment of its goals. 

8 (g) TREATMENT OF STRIPED BASS.—For purposes 

9 of the application of the Central Valley Project Improve10 ment Act (title XXXIV of Public Law 102–575) with re11 spect to the program, striped bass shall not be treated as 

12 anadromous fish. 

13 (h) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 

14 the term ‘‘districts’’ means the Oakdale Irrigation District 

15 and the South San Joaquin Irrigation District, California. 

16 SEC. 204. PILOT PROJECTS TO IMPLEMENT CALFED 

17 INVASIVE SPECIES PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2017, 

19 the Secretary of the Interior, in collaboration with the Sec20 retary of Commerce, the Director of the California De21 partment of Fish and Wildlife, and other relevant agencies 

22 and interested parties, shall begin pilot projects to imple23 ment the invasive species control program authorized pur24 suant to section 103(d)(6)(A)(iv) of Public Law 108–361 

25 (118 Stat. 1690). 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The pilot projects shall— 

2 (1) seek to reduce invasive aquatic vegetation, 

3 predators, and other competitors which contribute to 

4 the decline of native listed pelagic and anadromous 

5 species that occupy the Sacramento and San Joa6 quin Rivers and their tributaries and the Sac7 ramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta; and 

8 (2) remove, reduce, or control the effects of spe9 cies, including Asiatic clams, silversides, gobies, Bra10 zilian water weed, water hyacinth, largemouth bass, 

11 smallmouth bass, striped bass, crappie, bluegill, 

12 white and channel catfish, and brown bullheads. 

13 (c) SUNSET.—The authorities provided under this 

14 subsection shall expire seven years after the Secretaries 

15 commence implementation of the pilot projects pursuant 

16 to subsection (a). 

17 (d) EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.—To 

18 expedite the environmentally beneficial programs for the 

19 conservation of threatened and endangered species, the 

20 Secretaries shall consult with the Council on Environ21 mental Quality in accordance with section 1506.11 of title 

22 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula23 tions), to develop alternative arrangements to comply with 

24 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

25 4321 et seq.) for the projects pursuant to subsection (a). 


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1 TITLE III—OPERATIONAL FLEXI2 BILITY AND DROUGHT RE3 LIEF 

4 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title: 

6 (1) CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT.—The term 

7 ‘‘Central Valley Project’’ has the meaning given the 

8 term in section 3403 of the Central Valley Project 

9 Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 

10 4707). 

11 (2) RECLAMATION PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Rec12 lamation Project’’ means a project constructed pur13 suant to the authorities of the reclamation laws and 

14 whose facilities are wholly or partially located in the 

15 State. 

16 (3) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

19 (B) the Secretary of Commerce; and 

20 (C) the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 (4) STATE WATER PROJECT.—The term ‘‘State 

22 Water Project’’ means the water project described 

23 by California Water Code section 11550 et seq. and 

24 operated by the California Department of Water Re25 sources. 


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1 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

2 of California. 

3 SEC. 302. OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY IN TIMES OF 

4 DROUGHT. 

5 (a) WATER SUPPLIES.—For the period of time such 

6 that in any year that the Sacramento Valley Index is 6.5 

7 or lower, or at the request of the State of California, and 

8 until two succeeding years following either of those events 

9 have been completed where the final Sacramento Valley 

10 Index is 7.8 or greater, the Secretaries shall provide the 

11 maximum quantity of water supplies practicable to all in12 dividuals or district who receive Central Valley Project 

13 water under water service or repayments contracts, water 

14 rights settlement contracts, exchange contracts, or refuge 

15 contracts or agreements entered into prior to or after the 

16 date of enactment of this title; State Water Project con17 tractors, and any other tribe, locality, water agency, or 

18 municipality in the State, by approving, consistent with 

19 applicable laws (including regulations), projects and oper20 ations to provide additional water supplies as quickly as 

21 practicable based on available information to address the 

22 emergency conditions. 

23 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out subsection 

24 (a), the Secretaries shall, consistent with applicable laws 

25 (including regulations)— 


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1 (1) issue all necessary permit decisions under 

2 the authority of the Secretaries not later than 30 

3 days after the date on which the Secretaries receive 

4 a completed application from the State to place and 

5 use temporary barriers or operable gates in Delta 

6 channels to improve water quantity and quality for 

7 the State Water Project and the Central Valley 

8 Project south of Delta water contractors and other 

9 water users, on the condition that the barriers or op10 erable gates— 

11 (A) do not result in a significant negative 

12 impact on the long-term survival of listed spe13 cies within the Delta and provide benefits or 

14 have a neutral impact on in-Delta water user 

15 water quality; and 

16 (B) are designed so that formal consulta17 tions under section 7 of the Endangered Spe18 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) are not nec19 essary; 

20 (2) require the Director of the United States 

21 Fish and Wildlife Service and the Commissioner of 

22 Reclamation— 

23 (A) to complete, not later than 30 days 

24 after the date on which the Director or the 

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1 quest for water transfer, all requirements under 

2 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

3 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Endangered 

4 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

5 necessary to make final permit decisions on the 

6 request; and 

7 (B) to approve any water transfer request 

8 described in subparagraph (A) to maximize the 

9 quantity of water supplies available for non10 habitat uses, on the condition that actions asso11 ciated with the water transfer comply with ap12 plicable Federal laws (including regulations); 

13 (3) adopt a 1:1 inflow to export ratio, as meas14 ured as a 3-day running average at Vernalis during 

15 the period beginning on April 1, and ending on May 

16 31, absent a determination in writing that a more 

17 restrictive inflow to export ratio is required to avoid 

18 a significant negative impact on the long-term sur19 vival of a listed salmonid species under the Endan20 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

21 provided that the 1:1 inflow to export ratio shall 

22 apply for the increment of increased flow of the San 

23 Joaquin River resulting from the voluntary sale, 

24 transfers, or exchanges of water from agencies with 

25 rights to divert water from the San Joaquin River 


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1 or its tributaries and provided that the movement of 

2 the acquired, transferred, or exchanged water 

3 through the Delta consistent with the Central Valley 

4 Project’s and the State Water Project’s permitted 

5 water rights and provided that movement of the 

6 Central Valley Project water is consistent with the 

7 requirements of section 3405(a)(1)(H) of the Cen8 tral Valley Project Improvement Act; and 

9 (4) allow and facilitate, consistent with existing 

10 priorities, water transfers through the C.W. ‘‘Bill’’ 

11 Jones Pumping Plant or the Harvey O. Banks 

12 Pumping Plant from April 1 to November 30 pro13 vided water transfers comply with State law, includ14 ing the California Environmental Quality Act. 

15 (c) ACCELERATED PROJECT DECISION AND ELE16 VATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—On request by the Governor 

18 of the State, the Secretaries shall use the expedited 

19 procedures under this subsection to make final deci20 sions relating to a Federal project or operation, or 

21 to local or State projects or operations that require 

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1 vide relief for emergency drought conditions pursu2 ant to subsections (a) and (b). 

3 (2) REQUEST FOR RESOLUTION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—On request by the Gov5 ernor of the State, the Secretaries referenced in 

6 paragraph (1), or the head of another Federal 

7 agency responsible for carrying out a review of 

8 a project, as applicable, the Secretary of the In9 terior shall convene a final project decision 

10 meeting with the heads of all relevant Federal 

11 agencies to decide whether to approve a project 

12 to provide relief for emergency drought condi13 tions. 

14 (B) MEETING.—The Secretary of the Inte15 rior shall convene a meeting requested under 

16 subparagraph (A) not later than 7 days after 

17 the date on which the meeting request is re18 ceived. 

19 (3) NOTIFICATION.—On receipt of a request for 

20 a meeting under paragraph (2), the Secretary of the 

21 Interior shall notify the heads of all relevant Federal 

22 agencies of the request, including information on the 

23 project to be reviewed and the date of the meeting. 

24 (4) DECISION.—Not later than 10 days after 

25 the date on which a meeting is requested under 


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1 paragraph (2), the head of the relevant Federal 

2 agency shall issue a final decision on the project, 

3 subject to subsection (e)(2). 

4 (5) MEETING CONVENED BY SECRETARY.—The 

5 Secretary of the Interior may convene a final project 

6 decision meeting under this subsection at any time, 

7 at the discretion of the Secretary, regardless of 

8 whether a meeting is requested under paragraph (2). 

9 (d) APPLICATION.—To the extent that a Federal 

10 agency, other than the agencies headed by the Secretaries, 

11 has a role in approving projects described in subsections 

12 (a) and (b), this section shall apply to those Federal agen13 cies. 

14 (e) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section authorizes 

15 the Secretaries to approve projects— 

16 (1) that would otherwise require congressional 

17 authorization; or 

18 (2) without following procedures required by 

19 applicable law. 

20 (f) DROUGHT PLAN.—For the period of time such 

21 that in any year that the Sacramento Valley index is 6.5 

22 or lower, or at the request of the State of California, and 

23 until two succeeding years following either of those events 

24 have been completed where the final Sacramento Valley 

25 Index is 7.8 or greater, the Secretaries of Commerce and 


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1 the Interior, in consultation with appropriate State offi2 cials, shall develop a drought operations plan that is con3 sistent with the provisions of this Act including the provi4 sions that are intended to provide additional water sup5 plies that could be of assistance during the current 

6 drought. 

7 SEC. 303. OPERATION OF CROSS-CHANNEL GATES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce and 

9 the Secretary of the Interior shall jointly— 

10 (1) authorize and implement activities to ensure 

11 that the Delta Cross Channel Gates remain open to 

12 the maximum extent practicable using findings from 

13 the United States Geological Survey on diurnal be14 havior of juvenile salmonids, timed to maximize the 

15 peak flood tide period and provide water supply and 

16 water quality benefits for the duration of the 

17 drought emergency declaration of the State, and for 

18 the period of time such that in any year that the 

19 Sacramento Valley index is 6.5 or lower, or at the 

20 request of the State of California, and until two suc21 ceeding years following either of those events have 

22 been completed where the final Sacramento Valley 

23 Index is 7.8 or greater, consistent with operational 

24 criteria and monitoring criteria set forth into the 

25 Order Approving a Temporary Urgency Change in 


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1 License and Permit Terms in Response to Drought 

2 Conditions of the California State Water Resources 

3 Control Board, effective January 31, 2014 (or a suc4 cessor order) and other authorizations associated 

5 with it; 

6 (2) with respect to the operation of the Delta 

7 Cross Channel Gates described in paragraph (1), 

8 collect data on the impact of that operation on— 

9 (A) species listed as threatened or endan10 gered under the Endangered Species Act of 

11 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

12 (B) water quality; and 

13 (C) water supply; 

14 (3) collaborate with the California Department 

15 of Water Resources to install a deflection barrier at 

16 Georgiana Slough in coordination with Delta Cross 

17 Channel Gate diurnal operations to protect migrat18 ing salmonids, consistent with knowledge gained 

19 from activities carried out during 2014 and 2015; 

20 (4) evaluate the combined salmonid survival in 

21 light of activities carried out pursuant to paragraphs 

22 (1) through (3) in deciding how to operate the Delta 

23 Cross Channel gates to enhance salmonid survival 

24 and water supply benefits; and 


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1 (5) not later than May 15, 2016, submit to the 

2 appropriate committees of the House of Representa3 tives and the Senate a notice and explanation on the 

4 extent to which the gates are able to remain open. 

5 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—After assessing the infor6 mation collected under subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

7 Interior shall recommend revisions to the operation of the 

8 Delta Cross-Channel Gates, to the Central Valley Project, 

9 and to the State Water Project, including, if appropriate, 

10 any reasonable and prudent alternative contained in the 

11 biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries 

12 Service on June 4, 2009, that are likely to produce water 

13 supply benefits without causing a significant negative im14 pact on the long-term survival of the listed fish species 

15 within the Delta or on water quality. 

16 SEC. 304. FLEXIBILITY FOR EXPORT/INFLOW RATIO. 

17 For the period of time such that in any year that 

18 the Sacramento Valley index is 6.5 or lower, or at the re19 quest of the State of California, and until two succeeding 

20 years following either of those events have been completed 

21 where the final Sacramento Valley Index is 7.8 or greater, 

22 the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation shall con23 tinue to vary the averaging period of the Delta Export/ 

24 Inflow ratio pursuant to the California State Water Re25 sources Control Board decision D1641— 


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1 (1) to operate to a 35-percent Export/Inflow 

2 ratio with a 3-day averaging period on the rising 

3 limb of a Delta inflow hydrograph; and 

4 (2) to operate to a 14-day averaging period on 

5 the falling limb of the Delta inflow hydrograph. 

6 SEC. 305. EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS. 

7 (a) NEPA COMPLIANCE.—To minimize the time 

8 spent carrying out environmental reviews and to deliver 

9 water quickly that is needed to address emergency drought 

10 conditions in the State during the duration of an emer11 gency drought declaration, the Secretaries shall, in car12 rying out this Act, consult with the Council on Environ13 mental Quality in accordance with section 1506.11 of title 

14 40, Code of Federal Regulations (including successor reg15 ulations), to develop alternative arrangements to comply 

16 with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

17 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) during the emergency. 

18 (b) DETERMINATIONS.—For the purposes of this sec19 tion, a Secretary may deem a project to be in compliance 

20 with all necessary environmental regulations and reviews 

21 if the Secretary determines that the immediate implemen22 tation of the project is necessary to address— 

23 (1) human health and safety; or 

24 (2) a specific and imminent loss of agriculture 

25 production upon which an identifiable region deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 pends for 25 percent or more of its tax revenue used 

2 to support public services including schools, fire or 

3 police services, city or county health facilities, unem4 ployment services or other associated social services. 

5 SEC. 306. INCREASED FLEXIBILITY FOR REGULAR PROJECT 

6 OPERATIONS. 

7 The Secretaries shall, consistent with applicable laws 

8 (including regulations)— 

9 (1) in coordination with the California Depart10 ment of Water Resources and the California Depart11 ment of Fish and Wildlife, implement offsite up12 stream projects in the Delta and upstream of the 

13 Sacramento River and San Joaquin basins that off14 set the effects on species listed as threatened or en15 dangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

16 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) due to activities carried out 

17 pursuant this Act, as determined by the Secretaries; 

18 (2) manage reverse flow in the Old and Middle 

19 Rivers at ¥6,100 cubic feet per second if real-time 

20 monitoring indicates that flows of ¥6,100 cubic feet 

21 per second or more negative can be established for 

22 specific periods without causing a significant nega23 tive impact on the long-term survival of the Delta 

24 smelt, or if real-time monitoring does not support 

25 flows of ¥6,100 cubic feet per second than manage 


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1 OMR flows at ¥5,000 cubic feet per second subject 

2 to section 103(e) (3) and (4); and 

3 (3) use all available scientific tools to identify 

4 any changes to real-time operations of the Bureau of 

5 Reclamation, State, and local water projects that 

6 could result in the availability of additional water 

7 supplies. 

8 SEC. 307. TEMPORARY OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY FOR 

9 FIRST FEW STORMS OF THE WATER YEAR. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with avoiding a signifi11 cant negative impact on the long-term survival in the short 

12 term upon listed fish species beyond the range of those 

13 authorized under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and 

14 other environmental protections under subsection (e), the 

15 Secretaries shall authorize the Central Valley Project and 

16 the State Water Project, combined, to operate at levels 

17 that result in negative OMR flows at ¥7,500 cubic feet 

18 per second (based on United States Geological Survey 

19 gauges on Old and Middle Rivers) daily average for 56 

20 cumulative days after October 1 as described in subsection 

21 (c). 

22 (b) DAYS OF TEMPORARY OPERATIONAL FLEXI23 BILITY.—The temporary operational flexibility described 

24 in subsection (a) shall be authorized on days that the Cali25 fornia Department of Water Resources determines the 


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1 daily average river flow of the Sacramento River is at, or 

2 above, 17,000 cubic feet per second as measured at the 

3 Sacramento River at Freeport gauge maintained by the 

4 United States Geologic Survey. 

5 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

6 AUTHORIZATIONS.—In carrying out this section, the Sec7 retaries may continue to impose any requirements under 

8 the smelt and salmonid biological opinions during any pe9 riod of temporary operational flexibility as they determine 

10 are reasonably necessary to avoid an additional significant 

11 negative impacts on the long-term survival of a listed fish 

12 species beyond the range of those authorized under the 

13 Endangered Species Act of 1973, provided that the re14 quirements imposed do not reduce water supplies available 

15 for the Central Valley Project and the State Water 

16 Project. 

17 (d) OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS.— 

18 (1) STATE LAW.—The Secretaries’ actions 

19 under this section shall be consistent with applicable 

20 regulatory requirements under State law. 

21 (2) FIRST SEDIMENT FLUSH.—During the first 

22 flush of sediment out of the Delta in each water 

23 year, and provided that such determination is based 

24 upon objective evidence, OMR flow may be managed 

25 at rates less negative than ¥5,000 cubic feet per 


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1 second for a minimum duration to avoid movement 

2 of adult Delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) to 

3 areas in the southern Delta that would be likely to 

4 increase entrainment at Central Valley Project and 

5 State Water Project pumping plants. 

6 (3) APPLICABILITY OF OPINION.—This section 

7 shall not affect the application of the salmonid bio8 logical opinion from April 1 to May 31, unless the 

9 Secretary of Commerce finds that some or all of 

10 such applicable requirements may be adjusted dur11 ing this time period to provide emergency water sup12 ply relief without resulting in additional adverse ef13 fects beyond those authorized under the Endangered 

14 Species Act of 1973. In addition to any other ac15 tions to benefit water supply, the Secretary of the 

16 Interior and the Secretary of Commerce shall con17 sider allowing through-Delta water transfers to 

18 occur during this period if they can be accomplished 

19 consistent with section 3405(a)(1)(H) of the Central 

20 Valley Project Improvement Act. Water transfers 

21 solely or exclusively through the State Water Project 

22 are not required to be consistent with section 

23 3405(a)(1)(H) of the Central Valley Project Im24 provement Act. 


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1 (4) MONITORING.—During operations under 

2 this section, the Commissioner of Reclamation, in 

3 coordination with the Fish and Wildlife Service, Na4 tional Marine Fisheries Service, and California De5 partment of Fish and Wildlife, shall undertake a 

6 monitoring program and other data gathering to en7 sure incidental take levels are not exceeded, and to 

8 identify potential negative impacts and actions, if 

9 any, necessary to mitigate impacts of the temporary 

10 operational flexibility to species listed under the En11 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

12 seq.). 

13 (e) TECHNICAL ADJUSTMENTS TO TARGET PE14 RIOD.—If, before temporary operational flexibility has 

15 been implemented on 56 cumulative days, the Secretaries 

16 operate the Central Valley Project and the State Water 

17 Project combined at levels that result in OMR flows less 

18 negative than ¥7,500 cubic feet per second during days 

19 of temporary operational flexibility as defined in sub20 section (c), the duration of such operation shall not be 

21 counted toward the 56 cumulative days specified in sub22 section (a). 

23 (f) EMERGENCY CONSULTATION; EFFECT ON RUN24 NING AVERAGES.— 


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1 (1) If necessary to implement the provisions of 

2 this section, the Commissioner is authorized to take 

3 any action necessary to implement this section for 

4 up to 56 cumulative days. If during the 56 cumu5 lative days the Commissioner determines that ac6 tions necessary to implement this section will exceed 

7 56 days, the Commissioner shall use the emergency 

8 consultation procedures under the Endangered Spe9 cies Act of 1973 and its implementing regulation at 

10 section 402.05 of title 50, Code of Federal Regula11 tions, to temporarily adjust the operating criteria 

12 under the biological opinions— 

13 (A) solely for extending beyond the 56 cu14 mulative days for additional days of temporary 

15 operational flexibility— 

16 (i) no more than necessary to achieve 

17 the purposes of this section consistent with 

18 the environmental protections in sub19 sections (d) and (e); and 

20 (ii) including, as appropriate, adjust21 ments to ensure that the actual flow rates 

22 during the periods of temporary oper23 ational flexibility do not count toward the 

24 5-day and 14-day running averages of 


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1 tidally filtered daily OMR flow require2 ments under the biological opinions, or 

3 (B) for other adjustments to operating cri4 teria or to take other urgent actions to address 

5 water supply shortages for the least amount of 

6 time or volume of diversion necessary as deter7 mined by the Commissioner. 

8 (2) Following the conclusion of the 56 cumu9 lative days of temporary operational flexibility, or 

10 the extended number of days covered by the emer11 gency consultation procedures, the Commissioner 

12 shall not reinitiate consultation on these adjusted 

13 operations, and no mitigation shall be required, if 

14 the effects on listed fish species of these operations 

15 under this section remain within the range of those 

16 authorized under the Endangered Species Act of 

17 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If the Commissioner 

18 reinitiates consultation, no mitigation measures shall 

19 be required. 

20 (g) LEVEL OF DETAIL REQUIRED FOR ANALYSIS.— 

21 In articulating the determinations required under this sec22 tion, the Secretaries shall fully satisfy the requirements 

23 herein but shall not be expected to provide a greater level 

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1 sionmaking in response to changing conditions in the 

2 Delta. 

3 SEC. 308. EXPEDITING WATER TRANSFERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3405(a) of the Central 

5 Valley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575; 

6 106 Stat. 4709(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

8 (3) as paragraphs (4) through (6), respectively; 

9 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (4) (as 

10 so designated)— 

11 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘In 

12 order to’’ and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to’’; and 

14 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

15 ‘‘Except as provided herein’’ and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—Except as otherwise provided in 

18 this section’’; 

19 (3) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as so 

20 designated) the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) EXPEDITED TRANSFER OF WATER.—The 

22 Secretary shall take all necessary actions to facilitate 

23 and expedite transfers of Central Valley Project 

24 water in accordance with— 

25 ‘‘(A) this Act; 


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1 ‘‘(B) any other applicable provision of the 

2 reclamation laws; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the National Environmental Policy 

4 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).’’; 

5 (4) in paragraph (4) (as so designated)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘to 

7 combination’’ and inserting ‘‘or combination’’; 

8 and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘3405(a)(2) of this title’’ 

10 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘(5)’’; 

11 (5) in paragraph (5) (as so designated), by add12 ing at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(E) The contracting district from which 

14 the water is coming, the agency, or the Sec15 retary shall determine if a written transfer pro16 posal is complete within 45 days after the date 

17 of submission of the proposal. If the contracting 

18 district or agency or the Secretary determines 

19 that the proposal is incomplete, the district or 

20 agency or the Secretary shall state with speci21 ficity what must be added to or revised for the 

22 proposal to be complete.’’; and 

23 (6) in paragraph (6) (as so designated), by 

24 striking ‘‘3405(a)(1)(A)–(C), (E), (G), (H), (I), (L), 

25 and (M) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) through 


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1 (C), (E), (G), (H), (I), (L), and (M) of paragraph 

2 (4)’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Central Val4 ley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in section 3407(c)(1) (106 Stat. 4726), by 

7 striking ‘‘3405(a)(1)(C)’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘3405(a)(4)(C)’’; and 

9 (2) in section 3408(i)(1) (106 Stat. 4729), by 

10 striking ‘‘3405(a)(1) (A) and (J) of this title’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (J) of section 

12 3405(a)(4)’’. 

13 SEC. 309. ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY CONSULTATION. 

14 For adjustments to operating criteria other than 

15 under section 308 of this Act or to take urgent actions 

16 to address water supply shortages for the least amount 

17 of time or volume of diversion necessary as determined 

18 by the Commissioner of Reclamation, no mitigation meas19 ures shall be required during any year that the Sac20 ramento Valley index is 6.5 or lower, or at the request 

21 of the State of California, and until two succeeding years 

22 following either of those events have been completed where 

23 the final Sacramento Valley Index is 7.8 or greater, and 

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1 titative data and required only to the extent that such data 

2 demonstrates actual harm to species. 

3 SEC. 310. ADDITIONAL STORAGE AT NEW MELONES. 

4 The Commissioner of Reclamation is directed to work 

5 with local water and irrigation districts in the Stanislaus 

6 River Basin to ascertain the water storage made available 

7 by the Draft Plan of Operations in New Melones Reservoir 

8 (DRPO) for water conservation programs, conjunctive use 

9 projects, water transfers, rescheduled project water and 

10 other projects to maximize water storage and ensure the 

11 beneficial use of the water resources in the Stanislaus 

12 River Basin. All such programs and projects shall be im13 plemented according to all applicable laws and regulations. 

14 The source of water for any such storage program at New 

15 Melones Reservoir shall be made available under a valid 

16 water right, consistent with the State of California water 

17 transfer guidelines and any other applicable State water 

18 law. The Commissioner shall inform the Congress within 

19 18 months setting forth the amount of storage made avail20 able by the DRPO that has been put to use under this 

21 program, including proposals received by the Commis22 sioner from interested parties for the purpose of this sec23 tion. 


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1 SEC. 311. REGARDING THE OPERATION OF FOLSOM RES2 ERVOIR. 

3 The Secretary of the Interior, in collaboration with 

4 the Sacramento Water Forum, shall expedite evaluation, 

5 completion and implementation of the Modified Lower 

6 American River Flow Management Standard developed by 

7 the Water Forum in 2015 to improve water supply reli8 ability for Central Valley Project American River water 

9 contractors and resource protection in the lower American 

10 River during consecutive dry-years under current and fu11 ture demand and climate change conditions. 

12 SEC. 312. APPLICANTS. 

13 In the event that the Bureau of Reclamation or an14 other Federal agency initiates or reinitiates consultation 

15 with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National 

16 Marine Fisheries Service under section 7(a)(2) of the En17 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)), 

18 with respect to construction or operation of the Central 

19 Valley Project and State Water Project, or any part there20 of, the State Water Project contractors and the Central 

21 Valley Project contractors will be accorded all the rights 

22 and responsibilities extended to applicants in the consulta23 tion process. 

24 SEC. 313. SAN JOAQUIN RIVER SETTLEMENT. 

25 (a) CALIFORNIA STATE LAW SATISFIED BY WARM

26 WATER FISHERY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Sections 5930 through 5948 

2 of the California Fish and Game Code, and all appli3 cable Federal laws, including the San Joaquin River 

4 Restoration Settlement Act (Public Law 111–11) 

5 and the Stipulation of Settlement (Natural Re6 sources Defense Council, et al. v. Kirk Rodgers, et 

7 al., Eastern District of California, No. Civ. S–88– 

8 1658–LKK/GGH), shall be satisfied by the existence 

9 of a warm water fishery in the San Joaquin River 

10 below Friant Dam, but upstream of Gravelly Ford. 

11 (2) DEFINITION OF WARM WATER FISHERY.— 

12 For the purposes of this section, the term ‘‘warm 

13 water fishery’’ means a water system that has an 

14 environment suitable for species of fish other than 

15 salmon (including all subspecies) and trout (includ16 ing all subspecies). 

17 (b) REPEAL OF THE SAN JOAQUIN RIVER SETTLE18 MENT.—As of the date of enactment of this section, the 

19 Secretary of the Interior shall cease any action to imple20 ment the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act 

21 (subtitle A of title X of Public Law 111–11) and the Stip22 ulation of Settlement (Natural Resources Defense Council, 

23 et al. v. Kirk Rodgers, et al., Eastern District of Cali24 fornia, No. Civ. S–88–1658 LKK/GGH). 


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1 SEC. 314. PROGRAM FOR WATER RESCHEDULING. 

2 By December 31, 2015, the Secretary of the Interior 

3 shall develop and implement a program, including resched4 uling guidelines for Shasta and Folsom Reservoirs, to 

5 allow existing Central Valley Project agricultural water 

6 service contractors within the Sacramento River Water7 shed, and refuge service and municipal and industrial 

8 water service contractors within the Sacramento River 

9 Watershed and the American River Watershed to resched10 ule water, provided for under their Central Valley Project 

11 contracts, from one year to the next; provided, that the 

12 program is consistent with existing rescheduling guidelines 

13 as utilized by the Bureau of Reclamation for rescheduling 

14 water for Central Valley Project water service contractors 

15 that are located South of the Delta. 

16 TITLE IV—CALFED STORAGE 

17 FEASIBILITY STUDIES 

18 SEC. 401. STUDIES. 

19 The Secretary of the Interior, through the Commis20 sioner of Reclamation, shall— 

21 (1) complete the feasibility studies described in 

22 clauses (i)(I) and (ii)(II) of section 103(d)(1)(A) of 

23 Public Law 108–361 (118 Stat. 1684) and submit 

24 such studies to the appropriate committees of the 

25 House of Representatives and the Senate not later 

26 than December 31, 2015; 


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1 (2) complete the feasibility study described in 

2 clause (i)(II) of section 103(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 

3 108–361 and submit such study to the appropriate 

4 committees of the House of Representatives and the 

5 Senate not later than November 30, 2016; 

6 (3) complete a publicly available draft of the 

7 feasibility study described in clause (ii)(I) of section 

8 103(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 108–361 and submit 

9 such study to the appropriate committees of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Senate not later 

11 than November 30, 2016; 

12 (4) complete the feasibility study described in 

13 clause (ii)(I) of section 103(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 

14 108–361 and submit such study to the appropriate 

15 committees of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Senate not later than November 30, 2017; 

17 (5) complete the feasibility study described in 

18 section 103(f)(1)(A) of Public Law 108–361 (118 

19 Stat. 1694) and submit such study to the appro20 priate Committees of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Senate not later than December 31, 2017; 

22 (6) provide a progress report on the status of 

23 the feasibility studies referred to in paragraphs (1) 

24 through (3) to the appropriate committees of the 

25 House of Representatives and the Senate not later 


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1 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act and each 180 days thereafter until December 

3 31, 2017, as applicable. The report shall include 

4 timelines for study completion, draft environmental 

5 impact statements, final environmental impact state6 ments, and Records of Decision; 

7 (7) in conducting any feasibility study under 

8 this Act, the reclamation laws, the Central Valley 

9 Project Improvement Act (title XXXIV of Public 

10 Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4706), the Fish and Wild11 life Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), the 

12 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

13 seq.), and other applicable law, for the purposes of 

14 determining feasibility the Secretary shall document, 

15 delineate, and publish costs directly relating to the 

16 engineering and construction of a water storage 

17 project separately from the costs resulting from reg18 ulatory compliance or the construction of auxiliary 

19 facilities necessary to achieve regulatory compliance; 

20 and 

21 (8) communicate, coordinate and cooperate with 

22 public water agencies that contract with the United 

23 States for Central Valley Project water and that are 

24 expected to participate in the cost pools that will be 


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1 created for the projects proposed in the feasibility 

2 studies under this section. 

3 SEC. 402. TEMPERANCE FLAT. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

5 (1) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Project’’ means the 

6 Temperance Flat Reservoir Project on the Upper 

7 San Joaquin River. 

8 (2) RMP.—The term ‘‘RMP’’ means the docu9 ment titled ‘‘Bakersfield Field Office, Record of De10 cision and Approved Resource Management Plan,’’ 

11 dated December 2014. 

12 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY OF RMP.—The RMP and find15 ings related thereto shall have no effect on or applicability 

16 to the Secretary’s determination of feasibility of, or on any 

17 findings or environmental review documents related to— 

18 (1) the Project; or 

19 (2) actions taken by the Secretary pursuant to 

20 section 103(d)(1)(A)(ii)(II) of the Bay-Delta Au21 thorization Act (title I of Public Law 108–361). 

22 (c) DUTIES OF SECRETARY UPON DETERMINATION

23 OF FEASIBILITY.—If the Secretary finds the Project to 

24 be feasible, the Secretary shall manage the land rec25 ommended in the RMP for designation under the Wild and 


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1 Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.) in a manner 

2 that does not impede any environmental reviews, 

3 preconstruction, construction, or other activities of the 

4 Project, regardless of whether or not the Secretary sub5 mits any official recommendation to Congress under the 

6 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. 

7 (d) RESERVED WATER RIGHTS.—Effective Decem8 ber 22, 2014, there shall be no Federal reserved water 

9 rights to any segment of the San Joaquin River related 

10 to the Project as a result of any designation made under 

11 the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 403. CALFED STORAGE ACCOUNTABILITY. 

13 If the Secretary of the Interior fails to provide the 

14 feasibility studies described in section 401 to the appro15 priate committees of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Senate by the times prescribed, the Secretary shall notify 

17 each committee chair individually in person on the status 

18 of each project once a month until the feasibility study 

19 for that project is provided to Congress. 

20 SEC. 404. WATER STORAGE PROJECT CONSTRUCTION. 

21 (a) PARTNERSHIP AND AGREEMENTS.—The Sec22 retary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner 

23 of the Bureau of Reclamation, may partner or enter into 

24 an agreement on the water storage projects identified in 

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1 vironmental Improvement Act (Public Law 108–361) (and 

2 Acts supplemental and amendatory to the Act) with local 

3 joint powers authorities formed pursuant to State law by 

4 irrigation districts and other local water districts and local 

5 governments within the applicable hydrologic region, to 

6 advance those projects. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR PROJECT.—If the Secretary 

8 determines a project described in section 402(a)(1) and 

9 (2) is feasible, the Secretary is authorized to carry out 

10 the project in a manner that is substantially in accordance 

11 with the recommended plan, and subject to the conditions 

12 described in the feasibility study, provided that no Federal 

13 funding shall be used to construct the project. 

14 TITLE V—WATER RIGHTS 

15 PROTECTIONS 

16 SEC. 501. OFFSET FOR STATE WATER PROJECT. 

17 (a) IMPLEMENTATION IMPACTS.—The Secretary of 

18 the Interior shall confer with the California Department 

19 of Fish and Wildlife in connection with the implementa20 tion of this Act on potential impacts to any consistency 

21 determination for operations of the State Water Project 

22 issued pursuant to California Fish and Game Code section 

23 2080.1. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL YIELD.—If, as a result of the appli2 cation of this Act, the California Department of Fish and 

3 Wildlife— 

4 (1) revokes the consistency determinations pur5 suant to California Fish and Game Code section 

6 2080.1 that are applicable to the State Water 

7 Project; 

8 (2) amends or issues one or more new consist9 ency determinations pursuant to California Fish and 

10 Game Code section 2080.1 in a manner that directly 

11 or indirectly results in reduced water supply to the 

12 State Water Project as compared with the water 

13 supply available under the smelt biological opinion 

14 and the salmonid biological opinion; or 

15 (3) requires take authorization under California 

16 Fish and Game Code section 2081 for operation of 

17 the State Water Project in a manner that directly or 

18 indirectly results in reduced water supply to the 

19 State Water Project as compared with the water 

20 supply available under the smelt biological opinion 

21 and the salmonid biological opinion, and as a con22 sequence of the Department’s action, Central Valley 

23 Project yield is greater than it would have been ab24 sent the Department’s actions, then that additional 

25 yield shall be made available to the State Water 


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1 Project for delivery to State Water Project contrac2 tors to offset losses resulting from the Department’s 

3 action. 

4 (c) NOTIFICATION RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL

5 PROTECTIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior shall imme6 diately notify the Director of the California Department 

7 of Fish and Wildlife in writing if the Secretary of the Inte8 rior determines that implementation of the smelt biological 

9 opinion and the salmonid biological opinion consistent with 

10 this Act reduces environmental protections for any species 

11 covered by the opinions. 

12 SEC. 502. AREA OF ORIGIN PROTECTIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior is 

14 directed, in the operation of the Central Valley Project, 

15 to adhere to California’s water rights laws governing water 

16 rights priorities and to honor water rights senior to those 

17 held by the United States for operation of the Central Val18 ley Project, regardless of the source of priority, including 

19 any appropriative water rights initiated prior to December 

20 19, 1914, as well as water rights and other priorities per21 fected or to be perfected pursuant to California Water 

22 Code Part 2 of Division 2. Article 1.7 (commencing with 

23 section 1215 of chapter 1 of part 2 of division 2, sections 

24 10505, 10505.5, 11128, 11460, 11461, 11462, and 

25 11463, and sections 12200 to 12220, inclusive). 


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1 (b) DIVERSIONS.—Any action undertaken by the Sec2 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce pur3 suant to both this Act and section 7 of the Endangered 

4 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) that requires 

5 that diversions from the Sacramento River or the San Joa6 quin River watersheds upstream of the Delta be bypassed 

7 shall not be undertaken in a manner that alters the water 

8 rights priorities established by California law. 

9 (c) ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.—Nothing in this 

10 title alters the existing authorities provided to and obliga11 tions placed upon the Federal Government under the En12 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

13 as amended. 

14 (d) CONTRACTS.—With respect to individuals and en15 tities with water rights on the Sacramento River, the man16 dates of this section may be met, in whole or in part, 

17 through a contract with the Secretary of the Interior exe18 cuted pursuant to section 14 of Public Law 76–260; 53 

19 Stat. 1187 (43 U.S.C. 389) that is in conformance with 

20 the Sacramento River Settlement Contracts renewed by 

21 the Secretary of the Interior in 2005. 

22 SEC. 503. NO REDIRECTED ADVERSE IMPACTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

24 ensure that, except as otherwise provided for in a water 

25 service or repayment contract, actions taken in compliance 


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1 with legal obligations imposed pursuant to or as a result 

2 of this Act, including such actions under section 7 of the 

3 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

4 and other applicable Federal and State laws, shall not di5 rectly or indirectly— 

6 (1) result in the involuntary reduction of water 

7 supply or fiscal impacts to individuals or districts 

8 who receive water from either the State Water 

9 Project or the United States under water rights set10 tlement contracts, exchange contracts, water service 

11 contracts, repayment contracts, or water supply con12 tracts; or 

13 (2) cause redirected adverse water supply or fis14 cal impacts to those within the Sacramento River 

15 watershed, the San Joaquin River watershed or the 

16 State Water Project service area. 

17 (b) COSTS.—To the extent that costs are incurred 

18 solely pursuant to or as a result of this Act and would 

19 not otherwise have been incurred by any entity or public 

20 or local agency or subdivision of the State of California, 

21 such costs shall not be borne by any such entity, agency, 

22 or subdivision of the State of California, unless such costs 

23 are incurred on a voluntary basis. 


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1 (c) RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS NOT MODIFIED OR

2 AMENDED.—Nothing in this Act shall modify or amend 

3 the rights and obligations of the parties to any existing— 

4 (1) water service, repayment, settlement, pur5 chase, or exchange contract with the United States, 

6 including the obligation to satisfy exchange contracts 

7 and settlement contracts prior to the allocation of 

8 any other Central Valley Project water; or 

9 (2) State Water Project water supply or settle10 ment contract with the State. 

11 SEC. 504. ALLOCATIONS FOR SACRAMENTO VALLEY CON12 TRACTORS. 

13 (a) ALLOCATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

15 and subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior is 

16 directed, in the operation of the Central Valley 

17 Project, to allocate water provided for irrigation pur18 poses to existing Central Valley Project agricultural 

19 water service contractors within the Sacramento 

20 River Watershed in compliance with the following: 

21 (A) Not less than 100 percent of their con22 tract quantities in a ‘‘Wet’’ year. 

23 (B) Not less than 100 percent of their con24 tract quantities in an ‘‘Above Normal’’ year. 


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1 (C) Not less than 100 percent of their con2 tract quantities in a ‘‘Below Normal’’ year that 

3 is preceded by an ‘‘Above Normal’’ or a ‘‘Wet’’ 

4 year. 

5 (D) Not less than 50 percent of their con6 tract quantities in a ‘‘Dry’’ year that is pre7 ceded by a ‘‘Below Normal,’’ an ‘‘Above Nor8 mal,’’ or a ‘‘Wet’’ year. 

9 (E) In all other years not identified herein, 

10 the allocation percentage for existing Central 

11 Valley Project agricultural water service con12 tractors within the Sacramento River Water13 shed shall not be less than twice the allocation 

14 percentage to south-of-Delta Central Valley 

15 Project agricultural water service contractors, 

16 up to 100 percent; provided, that nothing here17 in shall preclude an allocation to existing Cen18 tral Valley Project agricultural water service 

19 contractors within the Sacramento River Water20 shed that is greater than twice the allocation 

21 percentage to south-of-Delta Central Valley 

22 Project agricultural water service contractors. 

23 (2) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary’s actions 

24 under paragraph (a) shall be subject to— 


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1 (A) the priority of individuals or entities 

2 with Sacramento River water rights, including 

3 those with Sacramento River Settlement Con4 tracts, that have priority to the diversion and 

5 use of Sacramento River water over water 

6 rights held by the United States for operations 

7 of the Central Valley Project; 

8 (B) the United States obligation to make 

9 a substitute supply of water available to the 

10 San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors; and 

11 (C) the Secretary’s obligation to make 

12 water available to managed wetlands pursuant 

13 to section 3406(d) of the Central Valley Project 

14 Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575). 

15 (b) PROTECTION OF MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL

16 SUPPLIES.—Nothing in subsection (a) shall be deemed 

17 to— 

18 (1) modify any provision of a water service con19 tract that addresses municipal and industrial water 

20 shortage policies of the Secretary; 

21 (2) affect or limit the authority of the Secretary 

22 to adopt or modify municipal and industrial water 

23 shortage policies; 


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1 (3) affect or limit the authority of the Secretary 

2 to implement municipal and industrial water short3 age policies; or 

4 (4) affect allocations to Central Valley Project 

5 municipal and industrial contractors pursuant to 

6 such policies. 

7 Neither subsection (a) nor the Secretary’s implementation 

8 of subsection (a) shall constrain, govern or affect, directly, 

9 the operations of the Central Valley Project’s American 

10 River Division or any deliveries from that Division, its 

11 units or facilities. 

12 (c) NO EFFECT ON ALLOCATIONS.—This section 

13 shall not— 

14 (1) affect the allocation of water to Friant Divi15 sion contractors; or 

16 (2) result in the involuntary reduction in con17 tract water allocations to individuals or entities with 

18 contracts to receive water from the Friant Division. 

19 (d) PROGRAM FOR WATER RESCHEDULING.—The 

20 Secretary of the Interior shall develop and implement a 

21 program, not later than 1 year after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, to provide for the opportunity for exist23 ing Central Valley Project agricultural water service con24 tractors within the Sacramento River Watershed to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 schedule water, provided for under their Central Valley 

2 Project water service contracts, from one year to the next. 

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) The term ‘‘existing Central Valley Project 

5 agricultural water service contractors within the 

6 Sacramento River Watershed’’ means water service 

7 contractors within the Shasta, Trinity, and Sac8 ramento River Divisions of the Central Valley 

9 Project, that have a water service contract in effect, 

10 on the date of the enactment of this section, that 

11 provides water for irrigation. 

12 (2) The year type terms used in subsection (a) 

13 have the meaning given those year types in the Sac14 ramento Valley Water Year Type (40–30–30) Index. 

15 SEC. 505. EFFECT ON EXISTING OBLIGATIONS. 

16 Nothing in this Act preempts or modifies any existing 

17 obligation of the United States under Federal reclamation 

18 law to operate the Central Valley Project in conformity 

19 with State law, including established water rights prior20 ities. 

21 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

22 SEC. 601. AUTHORIZED SERVICE AREA. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The authorized service area of the 

24 Central Valley Project authorized under the Central Valley 

25 Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 


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1 4706) shall include the area within the boundaries of the 

2 Kettleman City Community Services District, California, 

3 as in existence on the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (b) LONG-TERM CONTRACT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Central 

6 Valley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102– 

7 575; 106 Stat. 4706) and subject to paragraph (2), 

8 the Secretary of the Interior, in accordance with the 

9 Federal reclamation laws, shall enter into a long10 term contract with the Kettleman City Community 

11 Services District, California, under terms and condi12 tions mutually agreeable to the parties, for the deliv13 ery of up to 900 acre-feet of Central Valley Project 

14 water for municipal and industrial use. 

15 (2) LIMITATION.—Central Valley Project water 

16 deliveries authorized under the contract entered into 

17 under paragraph (1) shall be limited to the minimal 

18 quantity necessary to meet the immediate needs of 

19 the Kettleman City Community Services District, 

20 California, in the event that local supplies or State 

21 Water Project allocations are insufficient to meet 

22 those needs. 

23 (c) PERMIT.—The Secretary shall apply for a permit 

24 with the State for a joint place of use for water deliveries 

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1 section (b) with respect to the expanded service area under 

2 subsection (a), consistent with State law. 

3 (d) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—If any additional infra4 structure, water treatment, or related costs are needed to 

5 implement this section, those costs shall be the responsi6 bility of the non-Federal entity. 

7 SEC. 602. OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR RESTORATION FUND. 

8 (a) PLAN; ADVISORY BOARD.—Section 3407 of the 

9 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 

10 102–575; 106 Stat. 4726) is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(g) PLAN ON EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, the 

14 Secretary, in consultation with the Advisory Board, 

15 shall submit to Congress a plan for the expenditure 

16 of all of the funds deposited into the Restoration 

17 Fund during the preceding fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include an 

19 analysis of the cost-effectiveness of each expenditure. 

20 ‘‘(h) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

22 the Restoration Fund Advisory Board (referred to in 

23 this section as the ‘Advisory Board’), which shall be 

24 composed of 11 members appointed by the Sec25 retary. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

3 appoint members to the Advisory Board that 

4 represent the various Central Valley Project 

5 stakeholders, of whom— 

6 ‘‘(i) 4 members shall be agricultural 

7 users of the Central Valley Project, includ8 ing at least one agricultural user from 

9 north-of-the-Delta and one agricultural 

10 user from south-of-the-Delta; 

11 ‘‘(ii) 2 members shall be municipal 

12 and industrial users of the Central Valley 

13 Project, including one municipal and in14 dustrial user from north-of-the-Delta and 

15 one municipal and industrial user from 

16 south-of-the-Delta; 

17 ‘‘(iii) 2 members shall be power con18 tractors of the Central Valley Project, in19 cluding at least one power contractor from 

20 north-of-the-Delta and from south-of-the21 Delta; 

22 ‘‘(iv) 1 member shall be a representa23 tive of a Federal national wildlife refuge 

24 that contracts for Central Valley Project 


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1 water supplies with the Bureau of Rec2 lamation; 

3 ‘‘(v) 1 member shall have expertise in 

4 the economic impacts of the changes to 

5 water operations; and 

6 ‘‘(vi) 1 member shall be a representa7 tive of a wildlife entity that primarily fo8 cuses on waterfowl. 

9 ‘‘(B) OBSERVER.—The Secretary and the 

10 Secretary of Commerce may each designate a 

11 representative to act as an observer of the Advi12 sory Board. 

13 ‘‘(C) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall appoint 

14 1 of the members described in subparagraph 

15 (A) to serve as Chair of the Advisory Board. 

16 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—The term of each member of the 

17 Advisory Board shall be 4 years. 

18 ‘‘(4) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The appoint19 ment of a member of the Panel shall be made not 

20 later than— 

21 ‘‘(A) the date that is 120 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act; or 

23 ‘‘(B) in the case of a vacancy on the Panel 

24 described in subsection (c)(2), the date that is 


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1 120 days after the date on which the vacancy 

2 occurs. 

3 ‘‘(5) VACANCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy on the 

5 Panel shall be filled in the manner in which the 

6 original appointment was made and shall be 

7 subject to any conditions that applied with re8 spect to the original appointment. 

9 ‘‘(B) FILLING UNEXPIRED TERM.—An in10 dividual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be ap11 pointed for the unexpired term of the member 

12 replaced. 

13 ‘‘(C) EXPIRATION OF TERMS.—The term 

14 of any member shall not expire before the date 

15 on which the successor of the member takes of16 fice. 

17 ‘‘(6) REMOVAL.—A member of the Panel may 

18 be removed from office by the Secretary of the Inte19 rior. 

20 ‘‘(7) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

21 The Panel shall not be subject to the requirements 

22 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

23 ‘‘(8) DUTIES.—The duties of the Advisory 

24 Board are— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to meet not less frequently than semi2 annually to develop and make recommendations 

3 to the Secretary regarding priorities and spend4 ing levels on projects and programs carried out 

5 under this title; 

6 ‘‘(B) to ensure that any advice given or 

7 recommendation made by the Advisory Board 

8 reflects the independent judgment of the Advi9 sory Board; 

10 ‘‘(C) not later than December 31, 2015, 

11 and annually thereafter, to submit to the Sec12 retary and Congress the recommendations 

13 under subparagraph (A); and 

14 ‘‘(D) not later than December 31, 2015, 

15 and biennially thereafter, to submit to Congress 

16 details of the progress made in achieving the 

17 actions required under section 3406. 

18 ‘‘(9) ADMINISTRATION.—With the consent of 

19 the appropriate agency head, the Advisory Board 

20 may use the facilities and services of any Federal 

21 agency. 

22 ‘‘(10) COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Upon 

24 request of the Panel Chair for information or 

25 assistance to facilitate carrying out this section, 


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1 the Secretary of the Interior shall promptly pro2 vide such information, unless otherwise prohib3 ited by law. 

4 ‘‘(B) SPACE AND ASSISTANCE.—The Sec5 retary of the Interior shall provide the Panel 

6 with appropriate and adequate office space, to7 gether with such equipment, office supplies, and 

8 communications facilities and services as may 

9 be necessary for the operation of the Panel, and 

10 shall provide necessary maintenance services for 

11 such offices and the equipment and facilities lo12 cated therein.’’. 

13 SEC. 603. WATER SUPPLY ACCOUNTING. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—All Central Valley Project water, 

15 except Central Valley Project water released pursuant to 

16 U.S. Department of the Interior Record of Decision, Trin17 ity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration Final Environ18 mental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report 

19 dated December 2000 used to implement an action under20 taken for a fishery beneficial purpose that was not im21 posed by terms and conditions existing in licenses, per22 mits, and other agreements pertaining to the Central Val23 ley Project under applicable State or Federal law existing 

24 on October 30, 1992, shall be credited to the quantity of 

25 Central Valley Project yield dedicated and managed under 


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1 this section; provided, that nothing herein shall affect the 

2 Secretary of the Interior’s duty to comply with any other3 wise lawful requirement imposed on operations of the Cen4 tral Valley Project under any provision of Federal or State 

5 law. 

6 (b) RECLAMATION POLICIES AND ALLOCATIONS.— 

7 Reclamation policies and allocations shall not be based 

8 upon any premise or assumption that Central Valley 

9 Project contract supplies are supplemental or secondary 

10 to any other contractor source of supply. 

11 SEC. 604. IMPLEMENTATION OF WATER REPLACEMENT 

12 PLAN. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 2016, 

14 the Secretary of the Interior shall update and implement 

15 the plan required by section 3408(j) of title XXXIV of 

16 Public Law 102–575. The Secretary shall notify the Con17 gress annually describing the progress of implementing 

18 the plan required by section 3408(j) of title XXXIV of 

19 Public Law 102–575. 

20 (b) POTENTIAL AMENDMENT.—If the plan required 

21 in subsection (a) has not increased the Central Valley 

22 Project yield by 800,000 acre-feet within 5 years after the 

23 enactment of this Act, then section 3406 of the Central 

24 Valley Project Improvement Act (title XXXIV of Public 

25 Law 102–575) is amended as follows: 


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1 (1) In subsection (b)— 

2 (A) by amending paragraph (2)(C) to read: 

3 ‘‘(C) If by March 15, 2021, and any year 

4 thereafter the quantity of Central Valley 

5 Project water forecasted to be made available to 

6 all water service or repayment contractors of 

7 the Central Valley Project is below 50 percent 

8 of the total quantity of water to be made avail9 able under said contracts, the quantity of Cen10 tral Valley Project yield dedicated and managed 

11 for that year under this paragraph shall be re12 duced by 25 percent.’’. 

13 SEC. 605. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIALLY SPAWNED SPECIES. 

14 After the date of the enactment of this title, and re15 gardless of the date of listing, the Secretaries of the Inte16 rior and Commerce shall not distinguish between natural17 spawned and hatchery-spawned or otherwise artificially 

18 propagated strains of a species in making any determina19 tion under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

20 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) that relates to any anadromous or 

21 pelagic fish species that resides for all or a portion of its 

22 life in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or rivers tribu23 tary thereto. 


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1 SEC. 606. TRANSFER THE NEW MELONES UNIT, CENTRAL 

2 VALLEY PROJECT TO INTERESTED PRO3 VIDERS. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 

5 the following terms apply: 

6 (1) INTERESTED LOCAL WATER AND POWER

7 PROVIDERS.—The term ‘‘interested local water and 

8 power providers’’ includes the Calaveras County 

9 Water District, Calaveras Public Power Agency, 

10 Central San Joaquin Water Conservation District, 

11 Oakdale Irrigation District, Stockton East Water 

12 District, South San Joaquin Irrigation District, 

13 Tuolumne Utilities District, Tuolumne Public Power 

14 Agency, and Union Public Utilities District. 

15 (2) NEW MELONES UNIT, CENTRAL VALLEY

16 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘New Melones Unit, Central 

17 Valley Project’’ means all Federal reclamation 

18 projects located within or diverting water from or to 

19 the watershed of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin 

20 rivers and their tributaries as authorized by the Act 

21 of August 26, 1937 (50 Stat. 850), and all Acts 

22 amendatory or supplemental thereto, including the 

23 Act of October 23, 1962 (76 Stat. 1173). 

24 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 (b) NEGOTIATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other pro2 vision of law, not later than 180 days after the date of 

3 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into 

4 negotiations with interested local water and power pro5 viders for the transfer ownership, control, and operation 

6 of the New Melones Unit, Central Valley Project to inter7 ested local water and power providers within the State of 

8 California. 

9 (c) TRANSFER.—The Secretary shall transfer the 

10 New Melones Unit, Central Valley Project in accordance 

11 with an agreement reached pursuant to negotiations con12 ducted under subsection (b). 

13 (d) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 360 days after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 6 months 

15 thereafter, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate com16 mittees of the House of Representatives and the Senate— 

17 (1) if an agreement is reached pursuant to ne18 gotiations conducted under subsection (b), the terms 

19 of that agreement; 

20 (2) of the status of formal discussions with in21 terested local water and power providers for the 

22 transfer of ownership, control, and operation of the 

23 New Melones Unit, Central Valley Project to inter24 ested local water and power providers; 


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1 (3) of all unresolved issues that are preventing 

2 execution of an agreement for the transfer of owner3 ship, control, and operation of the New Melones 

4 Unit, Central Valley Project to interested local water 

5 and power providers; 

6 (4) on analysis and review of studies, reports, 

7 discussions, hearing transcripts, negotiations, and 

8 other information about past and present formal dis9 cussions that— 

10 (A) have a serious impact on the progress 

11 of the formal discussions; 

12 (B) explain or provide information about 

13 the issues that prevent progress or finalization 

14 of formal discussions; or 

15 (C) are, in whole or in part, preventing 

16 execution of an agreement for the transfer; and 

17 (5) of any actions the Secretary recommends 

18 that the United States should take to finalize an 

19 agreement for that transfer. 

20 SEC. 607. BASIN STUDIES. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZED STUDIES.—The Secretary of the In22 terior is authorized and directed to expand opportunities 

23 and expedite completion of assessments under section 

24 9503(b) of the SECURE Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

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1 basins and watersheds within major Reclamation river ba2 sins; and shall ensure timely decision and expedited imple3 mentation of adaptation and mitigation strategies devel4 oped through the special study process. 

5 (b) FUNDING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal partners 

7 shall be responsible for 100 percent of the cost of 

8 the special studies. 

9 (2) CONTRIBUTED FUNDS.—The Secretary may 

10 accept and use contributions of funds from the non11 Federal partners to carry out activities under the 

12 special studies. 

13 SEC. 608. OPERATIONS OF THE TRINITY RIVER DIVISION. 

14 The Secretary of the Interior, in the operation of the 

15 Trinity River Division of the Central Valley Project, shall 

16 not make releases from Lewiston Dam in excess of the 

17 volume for each water-year type required by the U.S. De18 partment of the Interior Record of Decision, Trinity River 

19 Mainstem Fishery Restoration Final Environmental Im20 pact Statement/Environmental Impact Report dated De21 cember 2000. 

22 (1) A maximum of 369,000 acre-feet in a 

23 ‘‘Critically Dry’’ year. 

24 (2) A maximum of 453,000 acre-feet in a 

25 ‘‘Dry’’ year. 


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1 (3) A maximum of 647,000 acre-feet in a ‘‘Nor2 mal’’ year. 

3 (4) A maximum of 701,000 acre-feet in a 

4 ‘‘Wet’’ year. 

5 (5) A maximum of 815,000 acre-feet in an 

6 ‘‘Extremely Wet’’ year. 

7 SEC. 609. AMENDMENT TO PURPOSES. 

8 Section 3402 of the Central Valley Project Improve9 ment Act (106 Stat. 4706) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (f), by striking the period at 

11 the end; and 

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

13 ‘‘(g) to ensure that water dedicated to fish and wild14 life purposes by this title is replaced and provided to Cen15 tral Valley Project water contractors by December 31, 

16 2018, at the lowest cost reasonably achievable; and 

17 ‘‘(h) to facilitate and expedite water transfers in ac18 cordance with this Act.’’. 

19 SEC. 610. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION. 

20 Section 3403 of the Central Valley Project Improve21 ment Act (106 Stat. 4707) is amended— 

22 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(a) the term ‘anadromous fish’ means those native 

25 stocks of salmon (including steelhead) and sturgeon that, 


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1 as of October 30, 1992, were present in the Sacramento 

2 and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries and ascend 

3 those rivers and their tributaries to reproduce after matur4 ing in San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean;’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (l), by striking ‘‘and,’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (m), by striking the period 

7 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(n) the term ‘reasonable flow’ means water flows ca10 pable of being maintained taking into account competing 

11 consumptive uses of water and economic, environmental, 

12 and social factors.’’. 

13 SEC. 611. REPORT ON RESULTS OF WATER USAGE. 

14 The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 

15 Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Natural Re16 sources of the State of California, shall publish an annual 

17 report detailing instream flow releases from the Central 

18 Valley Project and California State Water Project, their 

19 explicit purpose and authority, and all measured environ20 mental benefit as a result of the releases. 

21 SEC. 612. KLAMATH PROJECT CONSULTATION APPLICANTS. 

22 If the Bureau of Reclamation initiates or reinitiates 

23 consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or 

24 the National Marine Fisheries Service under section 

25 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 


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1 1536(a)(2)), with respect to construction or operation of 

2 the Klamath Project (or any part thereof), Klamath 

3 Project contractors shall be accorded all the rights and 

4 responsibilities extended to applicants in the consultation 

5 process. Upon request of the Klamath Project contractors, 

6 they may be represented through an association or organi7 zation. 

8 TITLE VII—WATER SUPPLY 

9 PERMITTING ACT 

10 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Water Supply Permit12 ting Coordination Act’’. 

13 SEC. 702. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this title: 

15 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

18 Bureau of Reclamation. 

19 (3) QUALIFYING PROJECTS.—The term ‘‘quali20 fying projects’’ means new surface water storage 

21 projects in the States covered under the Act of June 

22 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and Acts 

23 supplemental to and amendatory of that Act (43 

24 U.S.C. 371 et seq.) constructed on lands adminis25 tered by the Department of the Interior or the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 partment of Agriculture, exclusive of any easement, 

2 right-of-way, lease, or any private holding. 

3 (4) COOPERATING AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘co4 operating agency’’ means a Federal agency with ju5 risdiction over a review, analysis, opinion, statement, 

6 permit, license, or other approval or decision re7 quired for a qualifying project under applicable Fed8 eral laws and regulations, or a State agency subject 

9 to section 703(c). 

10 SEC. 703. ESTABLISHMENT OF LEAD AGENCY AND COOPER11 ATING AGENCIES. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF LEAD AGENCY.—The Bu13 reau of Reclamation is established as the lead agency for 

14 purposes of coordinating all reviews, analyses, opinions, 

15 statements, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci16 sions required under Federal law to construct qualifying 

17 projects. 

18 (b) IDENTIFICATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF CO19 OPERATING AGENCIES.—The Commissioner of the Bureau 

20 shall— 

21 (1) identify, as early as practicable upon receipt 

22 of an application for a qualifying project, any Fed23 eral agency that may have jurisdiction over a review, 

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1 proval, or decision required for a qualifying project 

2 under applicable Federal laws and regulations; and 

3 (2) notify any such agency, within a reasonable 

4 timeframe, that the agency has been designated as 

5 a cooperating agency in regards to the qualifying 

6 project unless that agency responds to the Bureau in 

7 writing, within a timeframe set forth by the Bureau, 

8 notifying the Bureau that the agency— 

9 (A) has no jurisdiction or authority with 

10 respect to the qualifying project; 

11 (B) has no expertise or information rel12 evant to the qualifying project or any review, 

13 analysis, opinion, statement, permit, license, or 

14 other approval or decision associated therewith; 

15 or 

16 (C) does not intend to submit comments 

17 on the qualifying project or conduct any review 

18 of such a project or make any decision with re19 spect to such project in a manner other than in 

20 cooperation with the Bureau. 

21 (c) STATE AUTHORITY.—A State in which a quali22 fying project is being considered may choose, consistent 

23 with State law— 

24 (1) to participate as a cooperating agency; and 


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1 (2) to make subject to the processes of this title 

2 all State agencies that— 

3 (A) have jurisdiction over the qualifying 

4 project; 

5 (B) are required to conduct or issue a re6 view, analysis, or opinion for the qualifying 

7 project; or 

8 (C) are required to make a determination 

9 on issuing a permit, license, or approval for the 

10 qualifying project. 

11 SEC. 704. BUREAU RESPONSIBILITIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The principal responsibilities of 

13 the Bureau under this title are to— 

14 (1) serve as the point of contact for applicants, 

15 State agencies, Indian tribes, and others regarding 

16 proposed qualifying projects; 

17 (2) coordinate preparation of unified environ18 mental documentation that will serve as the basis for 

19 all Federal decisions necessary to authorize the use 

20 of Federal lands for qualifying projects; and 

21 (3) coordinate all Federal agency reviews nec22 essary for project development and construction of 

23 qualifying projects. 

24 (b) COORDINATION PROCESS.—The Bureau shall 

25 have the following coordination responsibilities: 


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1 (1) PRE-APPLICATION COORDINATION.—Notify 

2 cooperating agencies of proposed qualifying projects 

3 not later than 30 days after receipt of a proposal 

4 and facilitate a preapplication meeting for prospec5 tive applicants, relevant Federal and State agencies, 

6 and Indian tribes to— 

7 (A) explain applicable processes, data re8 quirements, and applicant submissions nec9 essary to complete the required Federal agency 

10 reviews within the timeframe established; and 

11 (B) establish the schedule for the quali12 fying project. 

13 (2) CONSULTATION WITH COOPERATING AGEN14 CIES.—Consult with the cooperating agencies 

15 throughout the Federal agency review process, iden16 tify and obtain relevant data in a timely manner, 

17 and set necessary deadlines for cooperating agencies. 

18 (3) SCHEDULE.—Work with the qualifying 

19 project applicant and cooperating agencies to estab20 lish a project schedule. In establishing the schedule, 

21 the Bureau shall consider, among other factors— 

22 (A) the responsibilities of cooperating 

23 agencies under applicable laws and regulations; 


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1 (B) the resources available to the cooper2 ating agencies and the non-Federal qualifying 

3 project sponsor, as applicable; 

4 (C) the overall size and complexity of the 

5 qualifying project; 

6 (D) the overall schedule for and cost of the 

7 qualifying project; and 

8 (E) the sensitivity of the natural and his9 toric resources that may be affected by the 

10 qualifying project. 

11 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.—Prepare a 

12 unified environmental review document for each 

13 qualifying project application, incorporating a single 

14 environmental record on which all cooperating agen15 cies with authority to issue approvals for a given 

16 qualifying project shall base project approval deci17 sions. Help ensure that cooperating agencies make 

18 necessary decisions, within their respective authori19 ties, regarding Federal approvals in accordance with 

20 the following timelines: 

21 (A) Not later than one year after accept22 ance of a completed project application when an 

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1 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

2 et seq.). 

3 (B) Not later than one year and 30 days 

4 after the close of the public comment period for 

5 a draft environmental impact statement under 

6 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

7 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), when an environ8 mental impact statement is required under the 

9 same. 

10 (5) CONSOLIDATED ADMINISTRATIVE

11 RECORD.—Maintain a consolidated administrative 

12 record of the information assembled and used by the 

13 cooperating agencies as the basis for agency deci14 sions. 

15 (6) PROJECT DATA RECORDS.—To the extent 

16 practicable and consistent with Federal law, ensure 

17 that all project data is submitted and maintained in 

18 generally accessible electronic format, compile, and 

19 where authorized under existing law, make available 

20 such project data to cooperating agencies, the quali21 fying project applicant, and to the public. 

22 (7) PROJECT MANAGER.—Appoint a project 

23 manager for each qualifying project. The project 

24 manager shall have authority to oversee the project 

25 and to facilitate the issuance of the relevant final 


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1 authorizing documents, and shall be responsible for 

2 ensuring fulfillment of all Bureau responsibilities set 

3 forth in this section and all cooperating agency re4 sponsibilities under section 705. 

5 SEC. 705. COOPERATING AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES. 

6 (a) ADHERENCE TO BUREAU SCHEDULE.—Upon no7 tification of an application for a qualifying project, all co8 operating agencies shall submit to the Bureau a timeframe 

9 under which the cooperating agency reasonably considers 

10 it will be able to complete its authorizing responsibilities. 

11 The Bureau shall use the timeframe submitted under this 

12 subsection to establish the project schedule under section 

13 704, and the cooperating agencies shall adhere to the 

14 project schedule established by the Bureau. 

15 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD.—Cooperating agen16 cies shall submit to the Bureau all environmental review 

17 material produced or compiled in the course of carrying 

18 out activities required under Federal law consistent with 

19 the project schedule established by the Bureau. 

20 (c) DATA SUBMISSION.—To the extent practicable 

21 and consistent with Federal law, the cooperating agencies 

22 shall submit all relevant project data to the Bureau in a 

23 generally accessible electronic format subject to the project 

24 schedule set forth by the Bureau. 


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1 SEC. 706. FUNDING TO PROCESS PERMITS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, after public notice 

3 in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act (5 

4 U.S.C. 553), may accept and expend funds contributed by 

5 a non-Federal public entity to expedite the evaluation of 

6 a permit of that entity related to a qualifying project. 

7 (b) EFFECT ON PERMITTING.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

9 the Secretary shall ensure that the use of funds ac10 cepted under subsection (a) will not impact impartial 

11 decisionmaking with respect to permits, either sub12 stantively or procedurally. 

13 (2) EVALUATION OF PERMITS.—In carrying out 

14 this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the eval15 uation of permits carried out using funds accepted 

16 under this section shall— 

17 (A) be reviewed by the Regional Director 

18 of the Bureau, or the Regional Director’s des19 ignee, of the region in which the qualifying 

20 project or activity is located; and 

21 (B) use the same procedures for decisions 

22 that would otherwise be required for the evalua23 tion of permits for similar projects or activities 

24 not carried out using funds authorized under 

25 this section. 


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1 (3) IMPARTIAL DECISIONMAKING.—In carrying 

2 out this section, the Secretary and the cooperating 

3 agencies receiving funds under this section for quali4 fying projects shall ensure that the use of the funds 

5 accepted under this section for such projects shall 

6 not— 

7 (A) impact impartial decisionmaking with 

8 respect to the issuance of permits, either sub9 stantively or procedurally; or 

10 (B) diminish, modify, or otherwise affect 

11 the statutory or regulatory authorities of such 

12 agencies. 

13 (c) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—None of the 

14 funds accepted under this section shall be used to carry 

15 out a review of the evaluation of permits required under 

16 subsection (b)(2)(A). 

17 (d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall en18 sure that all final permit decisions carried out using funds 

19 authorized under this section are made available to the 

20 public, including on the Internet. 


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1 TITLE VIII—BUREAU OF REC2 LAMATION PROJECT STREAM3 LINING 

4 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Bureau of Reclama6 tion Project Streamlining Act’’. 

7 SEC. 802. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title: 

9 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

10 The term ‘‘environmental impact statement’’ means 

11 the detailed statement of environmental impacts of 

12 a project required to be prepared pursuant to the 

13 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

14 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

15 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘environ17 mental review process’’ means the process of 

18 preparing an environmental impact statement, 

19 environmental assessment, categorical exclusion, 

20 or other document under the National Environ21 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

22 seq.) for a project study. 

23 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘environ24 mental review process’’ includes the process for 

25 and completion of any environmental permit, 


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1 approval, review, or study required for a project 

2 study under any Federal law other than the 

3 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

4 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

5 (3) FEDERAL JURISDICTIONAL AGENCY.—The 

6 term ‘‘Federal jurisdictional agency’’ means a Fed7 eral agency with jurisdiction delegated by law, regu8 lation, order, or otherwise over a review, analysis, 

9 opinion, statement, permit, license, or other approval 

10 or decision required for a project study under appli11 cable Federal laws (including regulations). 

12 (4) FEDERAL LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Fed13 eral lead agency’’ means the Bureau of Reclamation. 

14 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

15 surface water project, a project under the purview of 

16 title XVI of Public Law 102–575, or a rural water 

17 supply project investigated under Public Law 109– 

18 451 to be carried out, funded or operated in whole 

19 or in party by the Secretary pursuant to the Act of 

20 June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and 

21 Acts supplemental to and amendatory of that Act 

22 (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.). 

23 (6) PROJECT SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘project 

24 sponsor’’ means a State, regional, or local authority 

25 or instrumentality or other qualifying entity, such as 


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1 a water conservation district, irrigation district, 

2 water conservancy district, joint powers authority, 

3 mutual water company, canal company, rural water 

4 district or association, or any other entity that has 

5 the capacity to contract with the United States 

6 under Federal reclamation law. 

7 (7) PROJECT STUDY.—The term ‘‘project 

8 study’’ means a feasibility study for a project carried 

9 out pursuant to the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 

10 388, chapter 1093), and Acts supplemental to and 

11 amendatory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.). 

12 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 (9) SURFACE WATER STORAGE.—The term 

15 ‘‘surface water storage’’ means any surface water 

16 reservoir or impoundment that would be owned, 

17 funded or operated in whole or in part by the Bu18 reau of Reclamation or that would be integrated into 

19 a larger system owned, operated or administered in 

20 whole or in part by the Bureau of Reclamation. 

21 SEC. 803. ACCELERATION OF STUDIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent practicable, a 

23 project study initiated by the Secretary, after the date of 

24 enactment of this Act, under the Reclamation Act of 1902 


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1 (32 Stat. 388), and all Acts amendatory thereof or supple2 mentary thereto, shall— 

3 (1) result in the completion of a final feasibility 

4 report not later than 3 years after the date of initi5 ation; 

6 (2) have a maximum Federal cost of 

7 $3,000,000; and 

8 (3) ensure that personnel from the local project 

9 area, region, and headquarters levels of the Bureau 

10 of Reclamation concurrently conduct the review re11 quired under this section. 

12 (b) EXTENSION.—If the Secretary determines that a 

13 project study described in subsection (a) will not be con14 ducted in accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary, 

15 not later than 30 days after the date of making the deter16 mination, shall— 

17 (1) prepare an updated project study schedule 

18 and cost estimate; 

19 (2) notify the non-Federal project cost-sharing 

20 partner that the project study has been delayed; and 

21 (3) provide written notice to the Committee on 

22 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

23 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re24 sources of the Senate as to the reasons the require25 ments of subsection (a) are not attainable. 


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1 (c) EXCEPTION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the re3 quirements of subsection (a), the Secretary may ex4 tend the timeline of a project study by a period not 

5 to exceed 3 years, if the Secretary determines that 

6 the project study is too complex to comply with the 

7 requirements of subsection (a). 

8 (2) FACTORS.—In making a determination that 

9 a study is too complex to comply with the require10 ments of subsection (a), the Secretary shall con11 sider— 

12 (A) the type, size, location, scope, and 

13 overall cost of the project; 

14 (B) whether the project will use any inno15 vative design or construction techniques; 

16 (C) whether the project will require signifi17 cant action by other Federal, State, or local 

18 agencies; 

19 (D) whether there is significant public dis20 pute as to the nature or effects of the project; 

21 and 

22 (E) whether there is significant public dis23 pute as to the economic or environmental costs 

24 or benefits of the project. 


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1 (3) NOTIFICATION.—Each time the Secretary 

2 makes a determination under this subsection, the 

3 Secretary shall provide written notice to the Com4 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat6 ural Resources of the Senate as to the results of 

7 that determination, including an identification of the 

8 specific one or more factors used in making the de9 termination that the project is complex. 

10 (4) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not ex11 tend the timeline for a project study for a period of 

12 more than 7 years, and any project study that is not 

13 completed before that date shall no longer be au14 thorized. 

15 (d) REVIEWS.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

16 of the initiation of a project study described in subsection 

17 (a), the Secretary shall— 

18 (1) take all steps necessary to initiate the proc19 ess for completing federally mandated reviews that 

20 the Secretary is required to complete as part of the 

21 study, including the environmental review process 

22 under section 805; 

23 (2) convene a meeting of all Federal, tribal, and 

24 State agencies identified under section 805(d) that 

25 may— 


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1 (A) have jurisdiction over the project; 

2 (B) be required by law to conduct or issue 

3 a review, analysis, opinion, or statement for the 

4 project study; or 

5 (C) be required to make a determination 

6 on issuing a permit, license, or other approval 

7 or decision for the project study; and 

8 (3) take all steps necessary to provide informa9 tion that will enable required reviews and analyses 

10 related to the project to be conducted by other agen11 cies in a thorough and timely manner. 

12 (e) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

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

14 submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

15 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

16 and Natural Resources of the Senate and make publicly 

17 available a report that describes— 

18 (1) the status of the implementation of the 

19 planning process under this section, including the 

20 number of participating projects; 

21 (2) a review of project delivery schedules, in22 cluding a description of any delays on those studies 

23 initiated prior to the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act; and 


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1 (3) any recommendations for additional author2 ity necessary to support efforts to expedite the 

3 project. 

4 (f) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

6 to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

7 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat8 ural Resources of the Senate and make publicly available 

9 a report that describes— 

10 (1) the status of the implementation of this sec11 tion, including a description of each project study 

12 subject to the requirements of this section; 

13 (2) the amount of time taken to complete each 

14 project study; and 

15 (3) any recommendations for additional author16 ity necessary to support efforts to expedite the 

17 project study process, including an analysis of 

18 whether the limitation established by subsection 

19 (a)(2) needs to be adjusted to address the impacts 

20 of inflation. 

21 SEC. 804. EXPEDITED COMPLETION OF REPORTS. 

22 The Secretary shall— 

23 (1) expedite the completion of any ongoing 

24 project study initiated before the date of enactment 

25 of this Act; and 


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1 (2) if the Secretary determines that the project 

2 is justified in a completed report, proceed directly to 

3 preconstruction planning, engineering, and design of 

4 the project in accordance with the Reclamation Act 

5 of 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and all Acts amendatory 

6 thereof or supplementary thereto. 

7 SEC. 805. PROJECT ACCELERATION. 

8 (a) APPLICABILITY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall apply to— 

10 (A) each project study that is initiated 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act and for 

12 which an environmental impact statement is 

13 prepared under the National Environmental 

14 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

15 (B) the extent determined appropriate by 

16 the Secretary, to other project studies initiated 

17 before the date of enactment of this Act and for 

18 which an environmental review process docu19 ment is prepared under the National Environ20 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

21 seq.); and 

22 (C) any project study for the development 

23 of a non-federally owned and operated surface 

24 water storage project for which the Secretary 


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1 determines there is a demonstrable Federal in2 terest and the project— 

3 (i) is located in a river basin where 

4 other Bureau of Reclamation water 

5 projects are located; 

6 (ii) will create additional water sup7 plies that support Bureau of Reclamation 

8 water projects; or 

9 (iii) will become integrated into the 

10 operation of Bureau of Reclamation water 

11 projects. 

12 (2) FLEXIBILITY.—Any authority granted 

13 under this section may be exercised, and any re14 quirement established under this section may be sat15 isfied, for the conduct of an environmental review 

16 process for a project study, a class of project stud17 ies, or a program of project studies. 

18 (3) LIST OF PROJECT STUDIES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall an20 nually prepare, and make publicly available, a 

21 list of all project studies that the Secretary has 

22 determined— 

23 (i) meets the standards described in 

24 paragraph (1); and 


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1 (ii) does not have adequate funding to 

2 make substantial progress toward the com3 pletion of the project study. 

4 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The Secretary shall in5 clude for each project study on the list under 

6 subparagraph (A) a description of the estimated 

7 amounts necessary to make substantial progress 

8 on the project study. 

9 (b) PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS.— 

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

11 and implement a coordinated environmental review 

12 process for the development of project studies. 

13 (2) COORDINATED REVIEW.—The coordinated 

14 environmental review process described in paragraph 

15 (1) shall require that any review, analysis, opinion, 

16 statement, permit, license, or other approval or deci17 sion issued or made by a Federal, State, or local 

18 governmental agency or an Indian tribe for a project 

19 study described in subsection (b) be conducted, to 

20 the maximum extent practicable, concurrently with 

21 any other applicable governmental agency or Indian 

22 tribe. 

23 (3) TIMING.—The coordinated environmental 

24 review process under this subsection shall be com25 pleted not later than the date on which the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 retary, in consultation and concurrence with the 

2 agencies identified under section 805(d), establishes 

3 with respect to the project study. 

4 (c) LEAD AGENCIES.— 

5 (1) JOINT LEAD AGENCIES.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the require7 ments of the National Environmental Policy 

8 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the 

9 requirements of section 1506.8 of title 40, Code 

10 of Federal Regulations (or successor regula11 tions), including the concurrence of the pro12 posed joint lead agency, a project sponsor may 

13 serve as the joint lead agency. 

14 (B) PROJECT SPONSOR AS JOINT LEAD

15 AGENCY.—A project sponsor that is a State or 

16 local governmental entity may— 

17 (i) with the concurrence of the Sec18 retary, serve as a joint lead agency with 

19 the Federal lead agency for purposes of 

20 preparing any environmental document 

21 under the National Environmental Policy 

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

23 (ii) prepare any environmental review 

24 process document under the National En25 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 4321 et seq.) required in support of any 

2 action or approval by the Secretary if— 

3 (I) the Secretary provides guid4 ance in the preparation process and 

5 independently evaluates that docu6 ment; 

7 (II) the project sponsor complies 

8 with all requirements applicable to the 

9 Secretary under— 

10 (aa) the National Environ11 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

12 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

13 (bb) any regulation imple14 menting that Act; and 

15 (cc) any other applicable 

16 Federal law; and 

17 (III) the Secretary approves and 

18 adopts the document before the Sec19 retary takes any subsequent action or 

20 makes any approval based on that 

21 document, regardless of whether the 

22 action or approval of the Secretary re23 sults in Federal funding. 

24 (2) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall ensure 

25 that— 


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1 (A) the project sponsor complies with all 

2 design and mitigation commitments made joint3 ly by the Secretary and the project sponsor in 

4 any environmental document prepared by the 

5 project sponsor in accordance with this sub6 section; and 

7 (B) any environmental document prepared 

8 by the project sponsor is appropriately supple9 mented to address any changes to the project 

10 the Secretary determines are necessary. 

11 (3) ADOPTION AND USE OF DOCUMENTS.—Any 

12 environmental document prepared in accordance 

13 with this subsection shall be adopted and used by 

14 any Federal agency making any determination re15 lated to the project study to the same extent that 

16 the Federal agency could adopt or use a document 

17 prepared by another Federal agency under— 

18 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

20 (B) parts 1500 through 1508 of title 40, 

21 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu22 lations). 

23 (4) ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF LEAD

24 AGENCY.—With respect to the environmental review 


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1 process for any project study, the Federal lead agen2 cy shall have authority and responsibility— 

3 (A) to take such actions as are necessary 

4 and proper and within the authority of the Fed5 eral lead agency to facilitate the expeditious 

6 resolution of the environmental review process 

7 for the project study; and 

8 (B) to prepare or ensure that any required 

9 environmental impact statement or other envi10 ronmental review document for a project study 

11 required to be completed under the National 

12 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

13 4321 et seq.) is completed in accordance with 

14 this section and applicable Federal law. 

15 (d) PARTICIPATING AND COOPERATING AGENCIES.— 

16 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF JURISDICTIONAL AGEN17 CIES.—With respect to carrying out the environ18 mental review process for a project study, the Sec19 retary shall identify, as early as practicable in the 

20 environmental review process, all Federal, State, and 

21 local government agencies and Indian tribes that 

22 may— 

23 (A) have jurisdiction over the project; 


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1 (B) be required by law to conduct or issue 

2 a review, analysis, opinion, or statement for the 

3 project study; or 

4 (C) be required to make a determination 

5 on issuing a permit, license, or other approval 

6 or decision for the project study. 

7 (2) STATE AUTHORITY.—If the environmental 

8 review process is being implemented by the Sec9 retary for a project study within the boundaries of 

10 a State, the State, consistent with State law, may 

11 choose to participate in the process and to make 

12 subject to the process all State agencies that— 

13 (A) have jurisdiction over the project; 

14 (B) are required to conduct or issue a re15 view, analysis, opinion, or statement for the 

16 project study; or 

17 (C) are required to make a determination 

18 on issuing a permit, license, or other approval 

19 or decision for the project study. 

20 (3) INVITATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal lead agen22 cy shall invite, as early as practicable in the en23 vironmental review process, any agency identi24 fied under paragraph (1) to become a partici25 pating or cooperating agency, as applicable, in 


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1 the environmental review process for the project 

2 study. 

3 (B) DEADLINE.—An invitation to partici4 pate issued under subparagraph (A) shall set a 

5 deadline by which a response to the invitation 

6 shall be submitted, which may be extended by 

7 the Federal lead agency for good cause. 

8 (4) PROCEDURES.—Section 1501.6 of title 40, 

9 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

10 date of enactment of the Bureau of Reclamation 

11 Project Streamlining Act) shall govern the identi12 fication and the participation of a cooperating agen13 cy. 

14 (5) FEDERAL COOPERATING AGENCIES.—Any 

15 Federal agency that is invited by the Federal lead 

16 agency to participate in the environmental review 

17 process for a project study shall be designated as a 

18 cooperating agency by the Federal lead agency un19 less the invited agency informs the Federal lead 

20 agency, in writing, by the deadline specified in the 

21 invitation that the invited agency— 

22 (A)(i) has no jurisdiction or authority with 

23 respect to the project; 

24 (ii) has no expertise or information rel25 evant to the project; or 


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1 (iii) does not have adequate funds to par2 ticipate in the project; and 

3 (B) does not intend to submit comments 

4 on the project. 

5 (6) ADMINISTRATION.—A participating or co6 operating agency shall comply with this section and 

7 any schedule established under this section. 

8 (7) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—Designation as 

9 a participating or cooperating agency under this 

10 subsection shall not imply that the participating or 

11 cooperating agency— 

12 (A) supports a proposed project; or 

13 (B) has any jurisdiction over, or special ex14 pertise with respect to evaluation of, the 

15 project. 

16 (8) CONCURRENT REVIEWS.—Each partici17 pating or cooperating agency shall— 

18 (A) carry out the obligations of that agen19 cy under other applicable law concurrently and 

20 in conjunction with the required environmental 

21 review process, unless doing so would prevent 

22 the participating or cooperating agency from 

23 conducting needed analysis or otherwise car24 rying out those obligations; and 


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1 (B) formulate and implement administra2 tive, policy, and procedural mechanisms to en3 able the agency to ensure completion of the en4 vironmental review process in a timely, coordi5 nated, and environmentally responsible manner. 

6 (e) NON-FEDERAL PROJECTS INTEGRATED INTO

7 RECLAMATION SYSTEMS.—The Federal lead agency shall 

8 serve in that capacity for the entirety of all non-Federal 

9 projects that will be integrated into a larger system owned, 

10 operated or administered in whole or in part by the Bu11 reau of Reclamation. 

12 (f) NON-FEDERAL PROJECT.—If the Secretary deter13 mines that a project can be expedited by a non-Federal 

14 sponsor and that there is a demonstrable Federal interest 

15 in expediting that project, the Secretary shall take such 

16 actions as are necessary to advance such a project as a 

17 non-Federal project, including, but not limited to, entering 

18 into agreements with the non-Federal sponsor of such 

19 project to support the planning, design and permitting of 

20 such project as a non-Federal project. 

21 (g) PROGRAMMATIC COMPLIANCE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue 

23 guidance regarding the use of programmatic ap24 proaches to carry out the environmental review proc25 ess that— 


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1 (A) eliminates repetitive discussions of the 

2 same issues; 

3 (B) focuses on the actual issues ripe for 

4 analyses at each level of review; 

5 (C) establishes a formal process for coordi6 nating with participating and cooperating agen7 cies, including the creation of a list of all data 

8 that are needed to carry out an environmental 

9 review process; and 

10 (D) complies with— 

11 (i) the National Environmental Policy 

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

13 (ii) all other applicable laws. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para15 graph (1), the Secretary shall— 

16 (A) as the first step in drafting guidance 

17 under that paragraph, consult with relevant 

18 Federal, State, and local governmental agen19 cies, Indian tribes, and the public on the appro20 priate use and scope of the programmatic ap21 proaches; 

22 (B) emphasize the importance of collabora23 tion among relevant Federal, State, and local 

24 governmental agencies, and Indian tribes in un25 dertaking programmatic reviews, especially with 


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1 respect to including reviews with a broad geo2 graphical scope; 

3 (C) ensure that the programmatic re4 views— 

5 (i) promote transparency, including of 

6 the analyses and data used in the environ7 mental review process, the treatment of 

8 any deferred issues raised by Federal, 

9 State, and local governmental agencies, In10 dian tribes, or the public, and the temporal 

11 and special scales to be used to analyze 

12 those issues; 

13 (ii) use accurate and timely informa14 tion in the environmental review process, 

15 including— 

16 (I) criteria for determining the 

17 general duration of the usefulness of 

18 the review; and 

19 (II) the timeline for updating any 

20 out-of-date review; 

21 (iii) describe— 

22 (I) the relationship between pro23 grammatic analysis and future tiered 

24 analysis; and 


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1 (II) the role of the public in the 

2 creation of future tiered analysis; and 

3 (iv) are available to other relevant 

4 Federal, State, and local governmental 

5 agencies, Indian tribes, and the public; 

6 (D) allow not fewer than 60 days of public 

7 notice and comment on any proposed guidance; 

8 and 

9 (E) address any comments received under 

10 subparagraph (D). 

11 (h) COORDINATED REVIEWS.— 

12 (1) COORDINATION PLAN.— 

13 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Federal lead 

14 agency shall, after consultation with and with 

15 the concurrence of each participating and co16 operating agency and the project sponsor or 

17 joint lead agency, as applicable, establish a plan 

18 for coordinating public and agency participation 

19 in, and comment on, the environmental review 

20 process for a project study or a category of 

21 project studies. 

22 (B) SCHEDULE.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—As soon as prac24 ticable but not later than 45 days after the 

25 close of the public comment period on a 


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1 draft environmental impact statement, the 

2 Federal lead agency, after consultation 

3 with and the concurrence of each partici4 pating and cooperating agency and the 

5 project sponsor or joint lead agency, as ap6 plicable, shall establish, as part of the co7 ordination plan established in subpara8 graph (A), a schedule for completion of the 

9 environmental review process for the 

10 project study. 

11 (ii) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.— 

12 In establishing a schedule, the Secretary 

13 shall consider factors such as— 

14 (I) the responsibilities of partici15 pating and cooperating agencies under 

16 applicable laws; 

17 (II) the resources available to the 

18 project sponsor, joint lead agency, and 

19 other relevant Federal and State 

20 agencies, as applicable; 

21 (III) the overall size and com22 plexity of the project; 

23 (IV) the overall schedule for and 

24 cost of the project; and 


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1 (V) the sensitivity of the natural 

2 and historical resources that could be 

3 affected by the project. 

4 (iii) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary 

5 may— 

6 (I) lengthen a schedule estab7 lished under clause (i) for good cause; 

8 and 

9 (II) shorten a schedule only with 

10 concurrence of the affected partici11 pating and cooperating agencies and 

12 the project sponsor or joint lead agen13 cy, as applicable. 

14 (iv) DISSEMINATION.—A copy of a 

15 schedule established under clause (i) shall 

16 be— 

17 (I) provided to each participating 

18 and cooperating agency and the 

19 project sponsor or joint lead agency, 

20 as applicable; and 

21 (II) made available to the public. 

22 (2) COMMENT DEADLINES.—The Federal lead 

23 agency shall establish the following deadlines for 

24 comment during the environmental review process 

25 for a project study: 


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1 (A) DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

2 STATEMENTS.—For comments by Federal and 

3 State agencies and the public on a draft envi4 ronmental impact statement, a period of not 

5 more than 60 days after publication in the Fed6 eral Register of notice of the date of public 

7 availability of the draft environmental impact 

8 statement, unless— 

9 (i) a different deadline is established 

10 by agreement of the Federal lead agency, 

11 the project sponsor or joint lead agency, as 

12 applicable, and all participating and co13 operating agencies; or 

14 (ii) the deadline is extended by the 

15 Federal lead agency for good cause. 

16 (B) OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

17 PROCESSES.—For all other comment periods es18 tablished by the Federal lead agency for agency 

19 or public comments in the environmental review 

20 process, a period of not more than 30 days 

21 after the date on which the materials on which 

22 comment is requested are made available, un23 less— 

24 (i) a different deadline is established 

25 by agreement of the Federal lead agency, 


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1 the project sponsor, or joint lead agency, 

2 as applicable, and all participating and co3 operating agencies; or 

4 (ii) the deadline is extended by the 

5 Federal lead agency for good cause. 

6 (3) DEADLINES FOR DECISIONS UNDER OTHER

7 LAWS.—In any case in which a decision under any 

8 Federal law relating to a project study, including the 

9 issuance or denial of a permit or license, is required 

10 to be made by the date described in subsection 

11 (i)(5)(B), the Secretary shall submit to the Com12 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep13 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat14 ural Resources of the Senate— 

15 (A) as soon as practicable after the 180- 

16 day period described in subsection (i)(5)(B), an 

17 initial notice of the failure of the Federal agen18 cy to make the decision; and 

19 (B) every 60 days thereafter until such 

20 date as all decisions of the Federal agency re21 lating to the project study have been made by 

22 the Federal agency, an additional notice that 

23 describes the number of decisions of the Fed24 eral agency that remain outstanding as of the 

25 date of the additional notice. 


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1 (4) INVOLVEMENT OF THE PUBLIC.—Nothing 

2 in this subsection reduces any time period provided 

3 for public comment in the environmental review 

4 process under applicable Federal law (including reg5 ulations). 

6 (5) TRANSPARENCY REPORTING.— 

7 (A) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

8 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act, the Secretary shall establish and main10 tain an electronic database and, in coordination 

11 with other Federal and State agencies, issue re12 porting requirements to make publicly available 

13 the status and progress with respect to compli14 ance with applicable requirements of the Na15 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

16 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and any other Federal, 

17 State, or local approval or action required for a 

18 project study for which this section is applica19 ble. 

20 (B) PROJECT STUDY TRANSPARENCY.— 

21 Consistent with the requirements established 

22 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

23 make publicly available the status and progress 

24 of any Federal, State, or local decision, action, 

25 or approval required under applicable laws for 


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1 each project study for which this section is ap2 plicable. 

3 (i) ISSUE IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLUTION.— 

4 (1) COOPERATION.—The Federal lead agency, 

5 the cooperating agencies, and any participating 

6 agencies shall work cooperatively in accordance with 

7 this section to identify and resolve issues that could 

8 delay completion of the environmental review process 

9 or result in the denial of any approval required for 

10 the project study under applicable laws. 

11 (2) FEDERAL LEAD AGENCY RESPONSIBIL12 ITIES.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal lead agen14 cy shall make information available to the co15 operating agencies and participating agencies as 

16 early as practicable in the environmental review 

17 process regarding the environmental and socio18 economic resources located within the project 

19 area and the general locations of the alter20 natives under consideration. 

21 (B) DATA SOURCES.—The information 

22 under subparagraph (A) may be based on exist23 ing data sources, including geographic informa24 tion systems mapping. 


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1 (3) COOPERATING AND PARTICIPATING AGENCY

2 RESPONSIBILITIES.—Based on information received 

3 from the Federal lead agency, cooperating and par4 ticipating agencies shall identify, as early as prac5 ticable, any issues of concern regarding the potential 

6 environmental or socioeconomic impacts of the 

7 project, including any issues that could substantially 

8 delay or prevent an agency from granting a permit 

9 or other approval that is needed for the project 

10 study. 

11 (4) ACCELERATED ISSUE RESOLUTION AND

12 ELEVATION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—On the request of a 

14 participating or cooperating agency or project 

15 sponsor, the Secretary shall convene an issue 

16 resolution meeting with the relevant partici17 pating and cooperating agencies and the project 

18 sponsor or joint lead agency, as applicable, to 

19 resolve issues that may— 

20 (i) delay completion of the environ21 mental review process; or 

22 (ii) result in denial of any approval re23 quired for the project study under applica24 ble laws. 


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1 (B) MEETING DATE.—A meeting requested 

2 under this paragraph shall be held not later 

3 than 21 days after the date on which the Sec4 retary receives the request for the meeting, un5 less the Secretary determines that there is good 

6 cause to extend that deadline. 

7 (C) NOTIFICATION.—On receipt of a re8 quest for a meeting under this paragraph, the 

9 Secretary shall notify all relevant participating 

10 and cooperating agencies of the request, includ11 ing the issue to be resolved and the date for the 

12 meeting. 

13 (D) ELEVATION OF ISSUE RESOLUTION.— 

14 If a resolution cannot be achieved within the 

15 30-day period beginning on the date of a meet16 ing under this paragraph and a determination 

17 is made by the Secretary that all information 

18 necessary to resolve the issue has been ob19 tained, the Secretary shall forward the dispute 

20 to the heads of the relevant agencies for resolu21 tion. 

22 (E) CONVENTION BY SECRETARY.—The 

23 Secretary may convene an issue resolution 

24 meeting under this paragraph at any time, at 

25 the discretion of the Secretary, regardless of 


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1 whether a meeting is requested under subpara2 graph (A). 

3 (5) FINANCIAL PENALTY PROVISIONS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A Federal jurisdictional 

5 agency shall complete any required approval or 

6 decision for the environmental review process 

7 on an expeditious basis using the shortest exist8 ing applicable process. 

9 (B) FAILURE TO DECIDE.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (I) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—If a 

12 Federal jurisdictional agency fails to 

13 render a decision required under any 

14 Federal law relating to a project study 

15 that requires the preparation of an 

16 environmental impact statement or 

17 environmental assessment, including 

18 the issuance or denial of a permit, li19 cense, statement, opinion, or other ap20 proval by the date described in clause 

21 (ii), the amount of funds made avail22 able to support the office of the head 

23 of the Federal jurisdictional agency 

24 shall be reduced by an amount of 

25 funding equal to the amount specified 


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1 in item (aa) or (bb) of subclause (II), 

2 and those funds shall be made avail3 able to the division of the Federal ju4 risdictional agency charged with ren5 dering the decision by not later than 

6 1 day after the applicable date under 

7 clause (ii), and once each week there8 after until a final decision is rendered, 

9 subject to subparagraph (C). 

10 (II) AMOUNT TO BE TRANS11 FERRED.—The amount referred to in 

12 subclause (I) is— 

13 (aa) $20,000 for any project 

14 study requiring the preparation 

15 of an environmental assessment 

16 or environmental impact state17 ment; or 

18 (bb) $10,000 for any project 

19 study requiring any type of re20 view under the National Environ21 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

22 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) other than 

23 an environmental assessment or 

24 environmental impact statement. 


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1 (ii) DESCRIPTION OF DATE.—The 

2 date referred to in clause (i) is the later 

3 of— 

4 (I) the date that is 180 days 

5 after the date on which an application 

6 for the permit, license, or approval is 

7 complete; and 

8 (II) the date that is 180 days 

9 after the date on which the Federal 

10 lead agency issues a decision on the 

11 project under the National Environ12 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

13 4321 et seq.). 

14 (C) LIMITATIONS.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—No transfer of 

16 funds under subparagraph (B) relating to 

17 an individual project study shall exceed, in 

18 any fiscal year, an amount equal to 1 per19 cent of the funds made available for the 

20 applicable agency office. 

21 (ii) FAILURE TO DECIDE.—The total 

22 amount transferred in a fiscal year as a re23 sult of a failure by an agency to make a 

24 decision by an applicable deadline shall not 

25 exceed an amount equal to 5 percent of the 


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1 funds made available for the applicable 

2 agency office for that fiscal year. 

3 (iii) AGGREGATE.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of law, for each fiscal 

5 year, the aggregate amount of financial 

6 penalties assessed against each applicable 

7 agency office under this Act and any other 

8 Federal law as a result of a failure of the 

9 agency to make a decision by an applicable 

10 deadline for environmental review, includ11 ing the total amount transferred under this 

12 paragraph, shall not exceed an amount 

13 equal to 9.5 percent of the funds made 

14 available for the agency office for that fis15 cal year. 

16 (D) NOTIFICATION OF TRANSFERS.—Not 

17 later than 10 days after the last date in a fiscal 

18 year on which funds of the Federal jurisdic19 tional agency may be transferred under sub20 paragraph (B)(5) with respect to an individual 

21 decision, the agency shall submit to the appro22 priate committees of the House of Representa23 tives and the Senate written notification that 

24 includes a description of— 

25 (i) the decision; 


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1 (ii) the project study involved; 

2 (iii) the amount of each transfer 

3 under subparagraph (B) in that fiscal year 

4 relating to the decision; 

5 (iv) the total amount of all transfers 

6 under subparagraph (B) in that fiscal year 

7 relating to the decision; and 

8 (v) the total amount of all transfers of 

9 the agency under subparagraph (B) in that 

10 fiscal year. 

11 (E) NO FAULT OF AGENCY.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—A transfer of funds 

13 under this paragraph shall not be made if 

14 the applicable agency described in subpara15 graph (A) notifies, with a supporting ex16 planation, the Federal lead agency, cooper17 ating agencies, and project sponsor, as ap18 plicable, that— 

19 (I) the agency has not received 

20 necessary information or approvals 

21 from another entity in a manner that 

22 affects the ability of the agency to 

23 meet any requirements under Federal, 

24 State, or local law; 


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1 (II) significant new information, 

2 including from public comments, or 

3 circumstances, including a major 

4 modification to an aspect of the 

5 project, requires additional analysis 

6 for the agency to make a decision on 

7 the project application; or 

8 (III) the agency lacks the finan9 cial resources to complete the review 

10 under the scheduled timeframe, in11 cluding a description of the number of 

12 full-time employees required to com13 plete the review, the amount of fund14 ing required to complete the review, 

15 and a justification as to why not 

16 enough funding is available to com17 plete the review by the deadline. 

18 (ii) LACK OF FINANCIAL RE19 SOURCES.—If the agency provides notice 

20 under clause (i)(III), the Inspector General 

21 of the agency shall— 

22 (I) conduct a financial audit to 

23 review the notice; and 

24 (II) not later than 90 days after 

25 the date on which the review described 


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1 in subclause (I) is completed, submit 

2 to the Committee on Natural Re3 sources of the House of Representa4 tives and the Committee on Energy 

5 and Natural Resources of the Senate 

6 the results of the audit conducted 

7 under subclause (I). 

8 (F) LIMITATION.—The Federal agency 

9 from which funds are transferred pursuant to 

10 this paragraph shall not reprogram funds to the 

11 office of the head of the agency, or equivalent 

12 office, to reimburse that office for the loss of 

13 the funds. 

14 (G) EFFECT OF PARAGRAPH.—Nothing in 

15 this paragraph affects or limits the application 

16 of, or obligation to comply with, any Federal, 

17 State, local, or tribal law. 

18 (j) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENTS FOR EARLY CO19 ORDINATION.— 

20 (1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

21 Congress that— 

22 (A) the Secretary and other Federal agen23 cies with relevant jurisdiction in the environ24 mental review process should cooperate with 

25 each other, State and local agencies, and Indian 


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1 tribes on environmental review and Bureau of 

2 Reclamation project delivery activities at the 

3 earliest practicable time to avoid delays and du4 plication of effort later in the process, prevent 

5 potential conflicts, and ensure that planning 

6 and project development decisions reflect envi7 ronmental values; and 

8 (B) the cooperation referred to in subpara9 graph (A) should include the development of 

10 policies and the designation of staff that advise 

11 planning agencies and project sponsors of stud12 ies or other information foreseeably required for 

13 later Federal action and early consultation with 

14 appropriate State and local agencies and Indian 

15 tribes. 

16 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—If requested at 

17 any time by a State or project sponsor, the Sec18 retary and other Federal agencies with relevant ju19 risdiction in the environmental review process, shall, 

20 to the maximum extent practicable and appropriate, 

21 as determined by the agencies, provide technical as22 sistance to the State or project sponsor in carrying 

23 out early coordination activities. 

24 (3) MEMORANDUM OF AGENCY AGREEMENT.— 

25 If requested at any time by a State or project sponVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00142 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 sor, the Federal lead agency, in consultation with 

2 other Federal agencies with relevant jurisdiction in 

3 the environmental review process, may establish 

4 memoranda of agreement with the project sponsor, 

5 Indian tribes, State and local governments, and 

6 other appropriate entities to carry out the early co7 ordination activities, including providing technical 

8 assistance in identifying potential impacts and miti9 gation issues in an integrated fashion. 

10 (k) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this section preempts 

11 or interferes with— 

12 (1) any obligation to comply with the provisions 

13 of any Federal law, including— 

14 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

16 (B) any other Federal environmental law; 

17 (2) the reviewability of any final Federal agency 

18 action in a court of the United States or in the court 

19 of any State; 

20 (3) any requirement for seeking, considering, or 

21 responding to public comment; or 

22 (4) any power, jurisdiction, responsibility, duty, 

23 or authority that a Federal, State, or local govern24 mental agency, Indian tribe, or project sponsor has 


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1 with respect to carrying out a project or any other 

2 provision of law applicable to projects. 

3 (l) TIMING OF CLAIMS.— 

4 (1) TIMING.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

6 other provision of law, a claim arising under 

7 Federal law seeking judicial review of a permit, 

8 license, or other approval issued by a Federal 

9 agency for a project study shall be barred un10 less the claim is filed not later than 3 years 

11 after publication of a notice in the Federal Reg12 ister announcing that the permit, license, or 

13 other approval is final pursuant to the law 

14 under which the agency action is taken, unless 

15 a shorter time is specified in the Federal law 

16 that allows judicial review. 

17 (B) APPLICABILITY.—Nothing in this sub18 section creates a right to judicial review or 

19 places any limit on filing a claim that a person 

20 has violated the terms of a permit, license, or 

21 other approval. 

22 (2) NEW INFORMATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

24 consider new information received after the 

25 close of a comment period if the information 


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1 satisfies the requirements for a supplemental 

2 environmental impact statement under title 40, 

3 Code of Federal Regulations (including suc4 cessor regulations). 

5 (B) SEPARATE ACTION.—The preparation 

6 of a supplemental environmental impact state7 ment or other environmental document, if re8 quired under this section, shall be considered a 

9 separate final agency action and the deadline 

10 for filing a claim for judicial review of the ac11 tion shall be 3 years after the date of publica12 tion of a notice in the Federal Register an13 nouncing the action relating to such supple14 mental environmental impact statement or 

15 other environmental document. 

16 (m) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary shall— 

20 (A) survey the use by the Bureau of Rec21 lamation of categorical exclusions in projects 

22 since 2005; 

23 (B) publish a review of the survey that in24 cludes a description of— 


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1 (i) the types of actions that were cat2 egorically excluded or could be the basis 

3 for developing a new categorical exclusion; 

4 and 

5 (ii) any requests previously received 

6 by the Secretary for new categorical exclu7 sions; and 

8 (C) solicit requests from other Federal 

9 agencies and project sponsors for new categor10 ical exclusions. 

11 (2) NEW CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.—Not 

12 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act, if the Secretary has identified a category of ac14 tivities that merit establishing a categorical exclusion 

15 that did not exist on the day before the date of en16 actment this Act based on the review under para17 graph (1), the Secretary shall publish a notice of 

18 proposed rulemaking to propose that new categorical 

19 exclusion, to the extent that the categorical exclusion 

20 meets the criteria for a categorical exclusion under 

21 section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula22 tions (or successor regulation). 

23 (n) REVIEW OF PROJECT ACCELERATION RE24 FORMS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

2 the United States shall— 

3 (A) assess the reforms carried out under 

4 this section; and 

5 (B) not later than 5 years and not later 

6 than 10 years after the date of enactment of 

7 this Act, submit to the Committee on Natural 

8 Resources of the House of Representatives and 

9 the Committee on Energy and Natural Re10 sources of the Senate a report that describes 

11 the results of the assessment. 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—The reports under paragraph 

13 (1) shall include an evaluation of impacts of the re14 forms carried out under this section on— 

15 (A) project delivery; 

16 (B) compliance with environmental laws; 

17 and 

18 (C) the environmental impact of projects. 

19 (o) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.—The Secretary 

20 shall establish a program to measure and report on 

21 progress made toward improving and expediting the plan22 ning and environmental review process. 

23 (p) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS IN EMERGENCIES.— 

24 For the repair, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of a Bu25 reau of Reclamation surface water storage project that is 


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1 in operation or under construction when damaged by an 

2 event or incident that results in a declaration by the Presi3 dent of a major disaster or emergency pursuant to the 

4 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist5 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), the Secretary shall 

6 treat such repair, reconstruction, or rehabilitation activity 

7 as a class of action categorically excluded from the re8 quirements relating to environmental assessments or envi9 ronmental impact statements under section 1508.4 of title 

10 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula11 tions), if the repair or reconstruction activity is— 

12 (1) in the same location with the same capacity, 

13 dimensions, and design as the original Bureau of 

14 Reclamation surface water storage project as before 

15 the declaration described in this section; and 

16 (2) commenced within a 2-year period begin17 ning on the date of a declaration described in this 

18 subsection. 

19 SEC. 806. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1 of each 

21 year, the Secretary shall develop and submit to the Com22 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Representa23 tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re24 sources of the Senate an annual report, to be entitled ‘‘ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00148 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2898.RFS H2898

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1 port to Congress on Future Water Project Development’’, 

2 that identifies the following: 

3 (1) PROJECT REPORTS.—Each project report 

4 that meets the criteria established in subsection 

5 (c)(1)(A). 

6 (2) PROPOSED PROJECT STUDIES.—Any pro7 posed project study submitted to the Secretary by a 

8 non-Federal interest pursuant to subsection (b) that 

9 meets the criteria established in subsection 

10 (c)(1)(A). 

11 (3) PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS.—Any proposed 

12 modification to an authorized water project or 

13 project study that meets the criteria established in 

14 subsection (c)(1)(A) that— 

15 (A) is submitted to the Secretary by a non16 Federal interest pursuant to subsection (b); or 

17 (B) is identified by the Secretary for au18 thorization. 

19 (4) EXPEDITED COMPLETION OF REPORT AND

20 DETERMINATIONS.—Any project study that was ex21 pedited and any Secretarial determinations under 

22 section 804. 

23 (b) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.— 

24 (1) PUBLICATION.—Not later than May 1 of 

25 each year, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal 


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1 Register a notice requesting proposals from non2 Federal interests for proposed project studies and 

3 proposed modifications to authorized projects and 

4 project studies to be included in the annual report. 

5 (2) DEADLINE FOR REQUESTS.—The Secretary 

6 shall include in each notice required by this sub7 section a requirement that non-Federal interests 

8 submit to the Secretary any proposals described in 

9 paragraph (1) by not later than 120 days after the 

10 date of publication of the notice in the Federal Reg11 ister in order for the proposals to be considered for 

12 inclusion in the annual report. 

13 (3) NOTIFICATION.—On the date of publication 

14 of each notice required by this subsection, the Sec15 retary shall— 

16 (A) make the notice publicly available, in17 cluding on the Internet; and 

18 (B) provide written notification of the pub19 lication to the Committee on Natural Resources 

20 of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

22 Senate. 

23 (c) CONTENTS.— 

24 (1) PROJECT REPORTS, PROPOSED PROJECT

25 STUDIES, AND PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS.— 


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1 (A) CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION IN RE2 PORT.—The Secretary shall include in the an3 nual report only those project reports, proposed 

4 project studies, and proposed modifications to 

5 authorized projects and project studies that— 

6 (i) are related to the missions and au7 thorities of the Bureau of Reclamation; 

8 (ii) require specific congressional au9 thorization, including by an Act of Con10 gress; 

11 (iii) have not been congressionally au12 thorized; 

13 (iv) have not been included in any 

14 previous annual report; and 

15 (v) if authorized, could be carried out 

16 by the Bureau of Reclamation. 

17 (B) DESCRIPTION OF BENEFITS.— 

18 (i) DESCRIPTION.—The Secretary 

19 shall describe in the annual report, to the 

20 extent applicable and practicable, for each 

21 proposed project study and proposed modi22 fication to an authorized water resources 

23 development project or project study in24 cluded in the annual report, the benefits, 


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1 as described in clause (ii), of each such 

2 study or proposed modification. 

3 (ii) BENEFITS.—The benefits (or ex4 pected benefits, in the case of a proposed 

5 project study) described in this clause are 

6 benefits to— 

7 (I) the protection of human life 

8 and property; 

9 (II) improvement to domestic ir10 rigated water and power supplies; 

11 (III) the national economy; 

12 (IV) the environment; or 

13 (V) the national security inter14 ests of the United States. 

15 (C) IDENTIFICATION OF OTHER FAC16 TORS.—The Secretary shall identify in the an17 nual report, to the extent practicable— 

18 (i) for each proposed project study in19 cluded in the annual report, the non-Fed20 eral interest that submitted the proposed 

21 project study pursuant to subsection (b); 

22 and 

23 (ii) for each proposed project study 

24 and proposed modification to a project or 

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1 port, whether the non-Federal interest has 

2 demonstrated— 

3 (I) that local support exists for 

4 the proposed project study or pro5 posed modification to an authorized 

6 project or project study (including the 

7 surface water storage development 

8 project that is the subject of the pro9 posed feasibility study or the proposed 

10 modification to an authorized project 

11 study); and 

12 (II) the financial ability to pro13 vide the required non-Federal cost 

14 share. 

15 (2) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary shall in16 clude in the annual report, for each project report, 

17 proposed project study, and proposed modification to 

18 a project or project study included under paragraph 

19 (1)(A)— 

20 (A) the name of the associated non-Fed21 eral interest, including the name of any non22 Federal interest that has contributed, or is ex23 pected to contribute, a non-Federal share of the 

24 cost of— 

25 (i) the project report; 


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1 (ii) the proposed project study; 

2 (iii) the authorized project study for 

3 which the modification is proposed; or 

4 (iv) construction of— 

5 (I) the project that is the subject 

6 of— 

7 (aa) the water report; 

8 (bb) the proposed project 

9 study; or 

10 (cc) the authorized project 

11 study for which a modification is 

12 proposed; or 

13 (II) the proposed modification to 

14 a project; 

15 (B) a letter or statement of support for the 

16 water report, proposed project study, or pro17 posed modification to a project or project study 

18 from each associated non-Federal interest; 

19 (C) the purpose of the feasibility report, 

20 proposed feasibility study, or proposed modi21 fication to a project or project study; 

22 (D) an estimate, to the extent practicable, 

23 of the Federal, non-Federal, and total costs 

24 of— 


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1 (i) the proposed modification to an 

2 authorized project study; and 

3 (ii) construction of— 

4 (I) the project that is the subject 

5 of— 

6 (aa) the project report; or 

7 (bb) the authorized project 

8 study for which a modification is 

9 proposed, with respect to the 

10 change in costs resulting from 

11 such modification; or 

12 (II) the proposed modification to 

13 an authorized project; and 

14 (E) an estimate, to the extent practicable, 

15 of the monetary and nonmonetary benefits of— 

16 (i) the project that is the subject of— 

17 (I) the project report; or 

18 (II) the authorized project study 

19 for which a modification is proposed, 

20 with respect to the benefits of such 

21 modification; or 

22 (ii) the proposed modification to an 

23 authorized project. 

24 (3) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall in25 clude in the annual report a certification stating 


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1 that each feasibility report, proposed feasibility 

2 study, and proposed modification to a project or 

3 project study included in the annual report meets 

4 the criteria established in paragraph (1)(A). 

5 (4) APPENDIX.—The Secretary shall include in 

6 the annual report an appendix listing the proposals 

7 submitted under subsection (b) that were not in8 cluded in the annual report under paragraph (1)(A) 

9 and a description of why the Secretary determined 

10 that those proposals did not meet the criteria for in11 clusion under such paragraph. 

12 (d) SPECIAL RULE FOR INITIAL ANNUAL REPORT.— 

13 Notwithstanding any other deadlines required by this sec14 tion, the Secretary shall— 

15 (1) not later than 60 days after the date of en16 actment of this Act, publish in the Federal Register 

17 a notice required by subsection (b)(1); and 

18 (2) include in such notice a requirement that 

19 non-Federal interests submit to the Secretary any 

20 proposals described in subsection (b)(1) by not later 

21 than 120 days after the date of publication of such 

22 notice in the Federal Register in order for such pro23 posals to be considered for inclusion in the first an24 nual report developed by the Secretary under this 

25 section. 


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1 (e) PUBLICATION.—Upon submission of an annual 

2 report to Congress, the Secretary shall make the annual 

3 report publicly available, including through publication on 

4 the Internet. 

5 (f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘project 

6 report’’ means a final feasibility report developed under 

7 the Reclamation Act of 1902 (32 Stat. 388), and all Acts 

8 amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto. 

9 TITLE IX—ACCELERATED REV10 ENUE, REPAYMENT, AND SUR11 FACE WATER STORAGE EN12 HANCEMENT 

13 SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Accelerated Revenue, 

15 Repayment, and Surface Water Storage Enhancement 

16 Act’’. 

17 SEC. 902. PREPAYMENT OF CERTAIN REPAYMENT CON18 TRACTS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND 

19 CONTRACTORS OF FEDERALLY DEVELOPED 

20 WATER SUPPLIES. 

21 (a) CONVERSION AND PREPAYMENT OF CON22 TRACTS.— 

23 (1) CONVERSION.—Upon request of the con24 tractor, the Secretary of the Interior shall convert 

25 any water service contract in effect on the date of 


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1 enactment of this Act and between the United 

2 States and a water users’ association to allow for 

3 prepayment of the repayment contract pursuant to 

4 paragraph (2) under mutually agreeable terms and 

5 conditions. The manner of conversion under this 

6 paragraph shall be as follows: 

7 (A) Water service contracts that were en8 tered into under section 9(e) of the Act of Au9 gust 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1196), to be converted 

10 under this section shall be converted to repay11 ment contracts under section 9(d) of that Act 

12 (53 Stat. 1195). 

13 (B) Water service contracts that were en14 tered under subsection (c)(2) of section 9 of the 

15 Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1194), to be 

16 converted under this section shall be converted 

17 to a contract under subsection (c)(1) of section 

18 9 of that Act (53 Stat. 1195). 

19 (2) PREPAYMENT.—Except for those repayment 

20 contracts under which the contractor has previously 

21 negotiated for prepayment, all repayment contracts 

22 under section 9(d) of that Act (53 Stat. 1195) in ef23 fect on the date of enactment of this Act at the re24 quest of the contractor, and all contracts converted 

25 pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) shall— 


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1 (A) provide for the repayment, either in 

2 lump sum or by accelerated prepayment, of the 

3 remaining construction costs identified in water 

4 project specific irrigation rate repayment sched5 ules, as adjusted to reflect payment not re6 flected in such schedule, and properly assign7 able for ultimate return by the contractor, or if 

8 made in approximately equal installments, no 

9 later than 3 years after the effective date of the 

10 repayment contract, such amount to be discounted by 1 11 ⁄2 the Treasury rate. An estimate 

12 of the remaining construction costs, as ad13 justed, shall be provided by the Secretary to the 

14 contractor no later than 90 days following re15 ceipt of request of the contractor; 

16 (B) require that construction costs or 

17 other capitalized costs incurred after the effec18 tive date of the contract or not reflected in the 

19 rate schedule referenced in subparagraph (A), 

20 and properly assignable to such contractor shall 

21 be repaid in not more than 5 years after notifi22 cation of the allocation if such amount is a re23 sult of a collective annual allocation of capital 

24 costs to the contractors exercising contract con25 versation under this subsection of less than 


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1 $5,000,000. If such amount is $5,000,000 or 

2 greater, such cost shall be repaid as provided by 

3 applicable reclamation law; 

4 (C) provide that power revenues will not be 

5 available to aid in repayment of construction 

6 costs allocated to irrigation under the contract; 

7 and 

8 (D) continue so long as the contractor 

9 pays applicable charges, consistent with section 

10 9(d) of the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 

11 1195), and applicable law. 

12 (3) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—Except for 

13 those repayment contracts under which the con14 tractor has previously negotiated for prepayment, 

15 the following shall apply with regard to all repay16 ment contracts under subsection (c)(1) of section 9 

17 of that Act (53 Stat. 1195) in effect on the date of 

18 enactment of this Act at the request of the con19 tractor, and all contracts converted pursuant to 

20 paragraph (1)(B): 

21 (A) Provide for the repayment in lump 

22 sum of the remaining construction costs identi23 fied in water project specific municipal and in24 dustrial rate repayment schedules, as adjusted 

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1 ule, and properly assignable for ultimate return 

2 by the contractor. An estimate of the remaining 

3 construction costs, as adjusted, shall be pro4 vided by the Secretary to the contractor no 

5 later than 90 days after receipt of request of 

6 contractor. 

7 (B) The contract shall require that con8 struction costs or other capitalized costs in9 curred after the effective date of the contract or 

10 not reflected in the rate schedule referenced in 

11 subparagraph (A), and properly assignable to 

12 such contractor, shall be repaid in not more 

13 than 5 years after notification of the allocation 

14 if such amount is a result of a collective annual 

15 allocation of capital costs to the contractors ex16 ercising contract conversation under this sub17 section of less than $5,000,000. If such amount 

18 is $5,000,000 or greater, such cost shall be re19 paid as provided by applicable reclamation law. 

20 (C) Continue so long as the contractor 

21 pays applicable charges, consistent with section 

22 9(c)(1) of the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 

23 1195), and applicable law. 

24 (4) CONDITIONS.—All contracts entered into 

25 pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) shall— 


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1 (A) not be adjusted on the basis of the 

2 type of prepayment financing used by the water 

3 users’ association; 

4 (B) conform to any other agreements, such 

5 as applicable settlement agreements and new 

6 constructed appurtenant facilities; and 

7 (C) not modify other water service, repay8 ment, exchange and transfer contractual rights 

9 between the water users’ association, and the 

10 Bureau of Reclamation, or any rights, obliga11 tions, or relationships of the water users’ asso12 ciation and their landowners as provided under 

13 State law. 

14 (b) ACCOUNTING.—The amounts paid pursuant to 

15 subsection (a) shall be subject to adjustment following a 

16 final cost allocation by the Secretary of the Interior. In 

17 the event that the final cost allocation indicates that the 

18 costs properly assignable to the contractor are greater 

19 than what has been paid by the contractor, the contractor 

20 shall be obligated to pay the remaining allocated costs. 

21 The term of such additional repayment contract shall be 

22 not less than one year and not more than 10 years, how23 ever, mutually agreeable provisions regarding the rate of 

24 repayment of such amount may be developed by the par25 ties. In the event that the final cost allocation indicates 


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1 that the costs properly assignable to the contractor are 

2 less than what the contractor has paid, the Secretary shall 

3 credit such overpayment as an offset against any out4 standing or future obligation of the contractor. 

5 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.— 

6 (1) EFFECT OF EXISTING LAW.—Upon a con7 tractor’s compliance with and discharge of the obli8 gation of repayment of the construction costs pursu9 ant to a contract entered into pursuant to subsection 

10 (a)(2)(A), subsections (a) and (b) of section 213 of 

11 the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 

12 1269) shall apply to affected lands. 

13 (2) EFFECT OF OTHER OBLIGATIONS.—The ob14 ligation of a contractor to repay construction costs 

15 or other capitalized costs described in subsection 

16 (a)(2)(B), (a)(3)(B), or (b) shall not affect a con17 tractor’s status as having repaid all of the construc18 tion costs assignable to the contractor or the appli19 cability of subsections (a) and (b) of section 213 of 

20 the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 

21 1269) once the amount required to be paid by the 

22 contractor under the repayment contract entered 

23 into pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(A) have been 

24 paid. 


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1 (d) EFFECT ON EXISTING LAW NOT ALTERED.—Im2 plementation of the provisions of this title shall not alter— 

3 (1) the repayment obligation of any water serv4 ice or repayment contractor receiving water from the 

5 same water project, or shift any costs that would 

6 otherwise have been properly assignable to the water 

7 users’ association identified in subsections (a)(1), 

8 (a)(2), and (a)(3) absent this section, including op9 eration and maintenance costs, construction costs, or 

10 other capitalized costs incurred after the date of the 

11 enactment of this Act, or to other contractors; and 

12 (2) specific requirements for the disposition of 

13 amounts received as repayments by the Secretary 

14 under the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chap15 ter 1093), and Acts supplemental to and amend16 atory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.). 

17 (e) SURFACE WATER STORAGE ENHANCEMENT PRO18 GRAM.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub20 section (d)(2), three years following the date of en21 actment of this Act, 50 percent of receipts generated 

22 from prepayment of contracts under this section be23 yond amounts necessary to cover the amount of re24 ceipts forgone from scheduled payments under cur25 rent law for the 10-year period following the date of 


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1 enactment of this Act shall be directed to the Rec2 lamation Surface Water Storage Account under 

3 paragraph (2). 

4 (2) SURFACE STORAGE ACCOUNT.—The Sec5 retary shall allocate amounts collected under para6 graph (1) into the ‘‘Reclamation Surface Storage 

7 Account’’ to fund the construction of surface water 

8 storage. The Secretary may also enter into coopera9 tive agreements with water users’ associations for 

10 the construction of surface water storage and 

11 amounts within the Surface Storage Account may be 

12 used to fund such construction. Surface water stor13 age projects that are otherwise not federally author14 ized shall not be considered Federal facilities as a 

15 result of any amounts allocated from the Surface 

16 Storage Account for part or all of such facilities. 

17 (3) REPAYMENT.—Amounts used for surface 

18 water storage construction from the Account shall be 

19 fully reimbursed to the Account consistent with the 

20 requirements under Federal reclamation law (the 

21 law (the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chap22 ter 1093))), and Acts supplemental to and amend23 atory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.) except that 

24 all funds reimbursed shall be deposited in the Ac25 count established under paragraph (2). 


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1 (4) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts de2 posited in the Account under this subsection shall— 

3 (A) be made available in accordance with 

4 this section, subject to appropriation; and 

5 (B) be in addition to amounts appropriated 

6 for such purposes under any other provision of 

7 law. 

8 (5) PURPOSES OF SURFACE WATER STORAGE.— 

9 Construction of surface water storage under this sec10 tion shall be made for the following purposes: 

11 (A) Increased municipal and industrial 

12 water supply. 

13 (B) Agricultural floodwater, erosion, and 

14 sedimentation reduction. 

15 (C) Agricultural drainage improvements. 

16 (D) Agricultural irrigation. 

17 (E) Increased recreation opportunities. 

18 (F) Reduced adverse impacts to fish and 

19 wildlife from water storage or diversion projects 

20 within watersheds associated with water storage 

21 projects funded under this section. 

22 (G) Any other purposes consistent with 

23 reclamation laws or other Federal law. 

24 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this title, the 

25 following definitions apply: 


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1 (1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Account’’ means the 

2 Reclamation Surface Water Storage Account estab3 lished under subsection (e)(2). 

4 (2) CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘construction’’ 

5 means the designing, materials engineering and test6 ing, surveying, and building of surface water storage 

7 including additions to existing surface water storage 

8 and construction of new surface water storage facili9 ties, exclusive of any Federal statutory or regulatory 

10 obligations relating to any permit, review, approval, 

11 or other such requirement. 

12 (3) SURFACE WATER STORAGE.—The term 

13 ‘‘surface water storage’’ means any federally owned 

14 facility under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Rec15 lamation or any non-Federal facility used for the 

16 surface storage and supply of water resources. 

17 (4) TREASURY RATE.—The term ‘‘Treasury 

18 rate’’ means the 20-year Constant Maturity Treas19 ury (CMT) rate published by the United States De20 partment of the Treasury existing on the effective 

21 date of the contract. 

22 (5) WATER USERS’ ASSOCIATION.—The term 

23 ‘‘water users’ association’’ means— 

24 (A) an entity organized and recognized 

25 under State laws that is eligible to enter into 


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1 contracts with reclamation to receive contract 

2 water for delivery to and users of the water and 

3 to pay applicable charges; and 

4 (B) includes a variety of entities with dif5 ferent names and differing functions, such as 

6 associations, conservatory district, irrigation 

7 district, municipality, and water project con8 tract unit. 

9 TITLE X—SAFETY OF DAMS 

10 SEC. 1001. AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL PROJECT BEN11 EFITS. 

12 The Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in section 3, by striking ‘‘Construction’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in section 5B, con16 struction’’; and 

17 (2) by inserting after section 5A (43 U.S.C. 

18 509) the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 5B. AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL PROJECT BEN20 EFITS. 

21 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 3, if the Secretary deter22 mines that additional project benefits, including but not 

23 limited to additional conservation storage capacity, are 

24 feasible and not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act, 

25 the Secretary is authorized to develop additional project 


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1 benefits through the construction of new or supplementary 

2 works on a project in conjunction with the Secretary’s ac3 tivities under section 2 of this Act and subject to the con4 ditions described in the feasibility study, provided— 

5 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that developing 

6 additional project benefits through the construction 

7 of new or supplementary works on a project will pro8 mote more efficient management of water and 

9 water-related facilities; 

10 ‘‘(2) the feasibility study pertaining to addi11 tional project benefits has been authorized pursuant 

12 to section 8 of the Federal Water Project Recreation 

13 Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 4601–18); and 

14 ‘‘(3) the costs associated with developing the 

15 additional project benefits are agreed to in writing 

16 between the Secretary and project proponents and 

17 shall be allocated to the authorized purposes of the 

18 structure and repaid consistent with all provisions of 

19 Federal Reclamation law (the Act of June 17, 1902, 

20 43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.) and Acts supplemental to 

21 and amendatory of that Act.’’. 


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1 TITLE XI—WATER RIGHTS 

2 PROTECTION 

3 SEC. 1101. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Water Rights Protec5 tion Act’’. 

6 SEC. 1102. DEFINITION OF WATER RIGHT. 

7 In this title, the term ‘‘water right’’ means any sur8 face or groundwater right filed, permitted, certified, con9 firmed, decreed, adjudicated, or otherwise recognized by 

10 a judicial proceeding or by the State in which the user 

11 acquires possession of the water or puts the water to bene12 ficial use, including water rights for federally recognized 

13 Indian tribes. 

14 SEC. 1103. TREATMENT OF WATER RIGHTS. 

15 The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

16 Agriculture shall not— 

17 (1) condition or withhold, in whole or in part, 

18 the issuance, renewal, amendment, or extension of 

19 any permit, approval, license, lease, allotment, ease20 ment, right-of-way, or other land use or occupancy 

21 agreement on— 

22 (A) limitation or encumbrance of any 

23 water right, or the transfer of any water right 

24 (including joint and sole ownership), directly or 


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1 indirectly to the United States or any other des2 ignee; or 

3 (B) any other impairment of any water 

4 right, in whole or in part, granted or otherwise 

5 recognized under State law, by Federal or State 

6 adjudication, decree, or other judgment, or pur7 suant to any interstate water compact; 

8 (2) require any water user (including any feder9 ally recognized Indian tribe) to apply for or acquire 

10 a water right in the name of the United States 

11 under State law as a condition of the issuance, re12 newal, amendment, or extension of any permit, ap13 proval, license, lease, allotment, easement, right-of14 way, or other land use or occupancy agreement; 

15 (3) assert jurisdiction over groundwater with16 drawals or impacts on groundwater resources, unless 

17 jurisdiction is asserted, and any regulatory or policy 

18 actions taken pursuant to such assertion are, con19 sistent with, and impose no greater restrictions or 

20 regulatory requirements than, applicable State laws 

21 (including regulations) and policies governing the 

22 protection and use of groundwater resources; or 

23 (4) infringe on the rights and obligations of a 

24 State in evaluating, allocating, and adjudicating the 

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1 ing from, land owned or managed by the Federal 

2 Government. 

3 SEC. 1104. RECOGNITION OF STATE AUTHORITY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out section 1103, the 

5 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 

6 shall— 

7 (1) recognize the longstanding authority of the 

8 States relating to evaluating, protecting, allocating, 

9 regulating, and adjudicating groundwater by any 

10 means, including a rulemaking, permitting, directive, 

11 water court adjudication, resource management 

12 planning, regional authority, or other policy; and 

13 (2) coordinate with the States in the adoption 

14 and implementation by the Secretary of the Interior 

15 or the Secretary of Agriculture of any rulemaking, 

16 policy, directive, management plan, or other similar 

17 Federal action so as to ensure that such actions are 

18 consistent with, and impose no greater restrictions 

19 or regulatory requirements than, State groundwater 

20 laws and programs. 

21 (b) EFFECT ON STATE WATER RIGHTS.—In carrying 

22 out this title, the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec23 retary of Agriculture shall not take any action that ad24 versely affects— 

25 (1) any water rights granted by a State; 


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1 (2) the authority of a State in adjudicating 

2 water rights; 

3 (3) definitions established by a State with re4 spect to the term ‘‘beneficial use’’, ‘‘priority of water 

5 rights’’, or ‘‘terms of use’’; 

6 (4) terms and conditions of groundwater with7 drawal, guidance and reporting procedures, and con8 servation and source protection measures established 

9 by a State; 

10 (5) the use of groundwater in accordance with 

11 State law; or 

12 (6) any other rights and obligations of a State 

13 established under State law. 

14 SEC. 1105. EFFECT OF TITLE. 

15 (a) EFFECT ON EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

16 this title limits or expands any existing legally recognized 

17 authority of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 

18 of Agriculture to issue, grant, or condition any permit, ap19 proval, license, lease, allotment, easement, right-of-way, or 

20 other land use or occupancy agreement on Federal land 

21 subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior 

22 or the Secretary of Agriculture, respectively. 

23 (b) EFFECT ON RECLAMATION CONTRACTS.—Noth24 ing in this title interferes with Bureau of Reclamation con25 tracts entered into pursuant to the reclamation laws. 


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1 (c) EFFECT ON ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.—Noth2 ing in this title affects the implementation of the Endan3 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

4 (d) EFFECT ON FEDERAL RESERVED WATER

5 RIGHTS.—Nothing in this title limits or expands any exist6 ing or claimed reserved water rights of the Federal Gov7 ernment on land administered by the Secretary of the In8 terior or the Secretary of Agriculture. 

9 (e) EFFECT ON FEDERAL POWER ACT.—Nothing in 

10 this title limits or expands authorities under sections 4(e), 

11 10(j), or 18 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 797(e), 

12 803(j), 811). 

13 (f) EFFECT ON INDIAN WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

14 this title limits or expands any water right or treaty right 

15 of any federally recognized Indian tribe. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 16, 2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS