I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1269 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 1, 2017 

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

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take actions to 

support non-Federal investments in water infrastructure 

improvements in the Sacramento Valley, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sacramento Valley 

5 Water Storage and Restoration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The State of California has recently experi2 enced one of the driest periods on record, and in 

3 2017 is experiencing one of the wettest years on 

4 record. New surface water storage infrastructure 

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

6 in dry periods is urgently needed. 

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

8 ‘‘North of Delta Offstream Storage’’) has been iden9 tified by the State of California and the Federal 

10 Government as an important component to inte11 grated water management in the Sacramento Valley 

12 that would advance the co-equal objectives of im13 proving water management and restoring ecological 

14 health for beneficial uses of the Sacramento-San 

15 Joaquin Delta and the Sacramento River watershed. 

16 Further, the Sites Reservoir was found in the 

17 CALFED Record of Decision to be the preferred lo18 cation to provide North of Delta Offstream Storage 

19 and subsequent studies have shown the Sites Res20 ervoir to be technically feasible. 

21 (3) Among other things, the Sites Project 

22 would— 

23 (A) increase surface water storage to en24 hance water management flexibility in the Sac25 ramento Valley; 


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1 (B) improve the operation of the State’s 

2 water system to provide improvements in eco3 system and water quality conditions in the Bay4 Delta while providing a more reliable water sup5 ply for the State of California; 

6 (C) improve conditions for fish, waterfowl, 

7 and wildlife in the Sacramento Valley, including 

8 anadromous fish in the Sacramento River; 

9 (D) provide local flood control benefits; 

10 (E) integrate with renewable energy 

11 sources consistent with applicable Federal and 

12 State of California goals; 

13 (F) create both construction and long-term 

14 jobs to improve both the local and regional 

15 economies in the Sacramento Valley; and 

16 (G) provide additional recreational bene17 fits. 

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

19 approximately 500,000 acre-feet of additional 

20 annualized yield that, when integrated into the oper21 ations of the State and Federal reservoirs upstream 

22 of the Bay-Delta, can improve the system-wide oper23 ational efficiency for both water supply reliability 

24 and the environment. 


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1 (5) Healthy wetlands and wildlife refuges are of 

2 vital importance to wildlife in California and require 

3 a reliable supply of water and additional surface 

4 water storage can help meet water supply goals 

5 under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. 

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

7 for the Federal Government to work with the Sites 

8 Project Authority, which has been established under 

9 laws of the State of California as an independent 

10 joint exercise of powers authority to, among other 

11 things, study, promote, develop, design, finance, ac12 quire, construct, manage, and operate Sites Res13 ervoir and related facilities in order to advance the 

14 Sites Project in the most expeditious and cost-effec15 tive manner possible. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

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

19 the Sites Project Authority that entered into a Joint 

20 Powers Agreement on August 26, 2010, for the pur21 pose of advancing the Sites Project as a non-Federal 

22 facility. The current list of public agencies serving 

23 on the Authority’s 12-member governing board in24 clude Colusa County Water District, Glenn-Colusa 

25 Irrigation District, Maxwell Irrigation District, 


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1 Orland-Artois Water District, Placer County Water 

2 District/City of Roseville, Proberta Water District, 

3 Reclamation District 108, the Tehama-Colusa Canal 

4 Authority, Western Canal Water District, Westside 

5 Water District, the County of Glenn, the County of 

6 Colusa. In addition, agencies from the Bay Area, 

7 San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California are ac8 tively participating to advance the Sites Project. 

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

10 Bureau of Reclamation. 

11 (3) CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT.—The term 

12 ‘‘Central Valley Project’’ means all Federal reclama13 tion projects located within or diverting water from 

14 or to the watershed of the Sacramento and San Joa15 quin rivers and their tributaries as authorized by the 

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

17 amendatory or supplemental thereto, including— 

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

19 1198, 1199); 

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

21 Stat. 887); 

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

23 852); 

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

25 Stat. 1036); 


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

2 879); 

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

4 719); 

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

6 156); 

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

8 1173); 

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

10 615); 

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

12 167); 

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

14 173); 

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

16 1097); 

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

18 Stat. 1324); and 

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

20 Stat. 3050). 

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

23 Reclamation. 

24 (5) REPAYMENT AND WATER SERVICE CON25 TRACTS.—The terms ‘‘repayment contract’’ and 


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

2 given those terms in sections 9(d) and 9(e), respec3 tively, of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 

4 Stat. 1187, 1195). 

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

6 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

8 Project’’— 

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

10 project identified in the CALFED Record of 

11 Decision, dated 2000 Aug. 28; and 

12 (B) means the Sites Reservoir in Glenn 

13 and Colusa Counties, California, and related fa14 cilities, including associated water conveyance 

15 and hydropower generation and transmission 

16 facilities. 

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

18 of California. 

19 SEC. 4. FEASIBILITY STUDY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

20 STATEMENTS. 

21 (a) COMPLETION OF FINAL FEASIBILITY STUDY.— 

22 The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, shall— 

23 (1) complete the final feasibility study described 

24 in clause (ii)(I) of section 103(d)(1)(A) of Public 

25 Law 108–361; and 


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1 (2) submit that study to the appropriate com2 mittees of the House of Representatives and the 

3 Senate together with the joint environmental impact 

4 statement and environmental impact report required 

5 under subsection (d). 

6 (b) EVALUATION OF NON-FEDERAL PROJECT.—The 

7 feasibility study shall evaluate the development of the 

8 Sites Project as a non-Federal project whereby the De9 partment of the Interior may be a participant in the locally 

10 preferred project in a manner that is consistent with the 

11 recommendations identified in the final feasibility study. 

12 (c) LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—If the 

13 Sites Project is developed as a non-Federal project and 

14 the Authority’s locally preferred alternative be determined 

15 in the feasibility study to be the alternative producing the 

16 highest Regional Economic Development Account benefits, 

17 the locally preferred alternative shall be the preferred 

18 project. 

19 (d) FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

20 AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT.—No later than 

21 16 months after the date that the California Water Com22 mission establishes a Maximum Conditional Eligibility De23 termination for State participation in the Sites Project, 

24 as required before the Sites Project can be deemed to be 

25 consistent with and eligible for support from funds derived 


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1 from the California Water Quality, Supply, and Infra2 structure Improvement Act, approved by California voters 

3 on November 4, 2014, or November 30, 2019, whichever 

4 occurs later, the Secretary shall work with the Secretary 

5 of Commerce, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Envi6 ronmental Protection Agency Administrator to coordinate 

7 the efforts of the relevant agencies and work with the 

8 State, the Authority, and other stakeholders to complete 

9 and issue the final joint environmental impact statement 

10 and environmental impact report on the Sites Project. 

11 (e) REQUIREMENTS OF EXISTING LAW.—Nothing in 

12 the section affects the requirements of Federal law. 

13 SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION. 

14 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 

15 103(d)(1)(B) of the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act 

16 (Public Law 108–361) is amended— 

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

18 clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; 

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

20 ‘‘(ii) CONSTRUCTION AUTHORIZA21 TION.—If the Secretary determines that 

22 the project described in subparagraph 

23 (A)(ii)(I) is feasible, the Secretary, in co24 operation with the Authority, may partici25 pate in the design, planning, and construcVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 Mar 06, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1269.IH H1269

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1 tion of the Sites Project in a manner that 

2 is substantially in accordance with the rec3 ommended plan, subject to the conditions 

4 described in the feasibility study. 

5 ‘‘(iii) FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN A

6 NON-FEDERAL SITES PROJECT.—The Sec7 retary shall take such steps as are nec8 essary to ensure that, in return for any 

9 Federal investment in a non-Federal Sites 

10 Project, a proportionate share of the 

11 project’s public benefits are Federal bene12 fits, including water supplies dedicated to 

13 specific purposes such as environmental 

14 enhancement and those purposes referred 

15 to in section 6(c) and 6(d) of the Sac16 ramento Valley Water Storage and Res17 toration Act.’’; and 

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

19 inserting ‘‘a project described in subparagraph 

20 (A)(ii)(I)’’. 

21 (b) PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.—At the 

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

23 project partnership agreement with the Authority for the 

24 Authority to provide full project management control for 

25 construction of the Sites Project, or a separable element 


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

2 Secretary. 

3 (c) DETAILED PROJECT SCHEDULE.—Not later than 

4 180 days after entering into a Project Partnership agree5 ment under subsection (b), the Authority, to the maximum 

6 extent practicable, shall submit to the Secretary a detailed 

7 project schedule based on estimated funding levels that 

8 lists all deadlines for each milestone in the construction 

9 of the project. 

10 SEC. 6. NON-FEDERAL PROJECT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi12 sion of this Act, if at any time the Commissioner deter13 mines and the Secretary concurs that the Sites Project 

14 can be expedited by the Authority as a non-Federal 

15 project, and that there is a demonstrable Federal interest 

16 for the Sites Project to be constructed and operated as 

17 a non-Federal project, the Commissioner shall take any 

18 and all actions possible to advance the Sites Project as 

19 a non-Federal project, including entering into cost-shared 

20 financial assistance agreements with the Authority to sup21 port the design, planning, and construction of the Sites 

22 Project as a non-Federal project. 

23 (b) TITLE; OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.—The 

24 Authority shall hold title to all new facilities constructed 


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1 under this section, and shall be solely responsible for the 

2 operation and maintenance costs of such facilities. 

3 (c) COORDINATED OPERATIONS.—The Secretary 

4 shall execute and implement a long-term agreement be5 tween the United States and the Authority to provide for 

6 the coordination of operations of the Central Valley 

7 Project and the Sites Project to— 

8 (1) satisfy any contracts or cooperative agree9 ments entered into under subsection (d); 

10 (2) help meet any unmet needs for Sacramento 

11 Valley in-basin water uses; 

12 (3) help meet any unmet needs of existing Cen13 tral Valley Project repayment and water service con14 tracts; and 

15 (4) ensure that any surplus water supplies from 

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

17 (d) CONTRACTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

18 The Secretary is authorized to enter into long-term con19 tracts and cooperative agreements with the Authority to 

20 acquire water supplies made available from the Sites 

21 Project for the purposes of meeting the requirements 

22 under section 3406(b)(3) and section 3408(j) of the Cen23 tral Valley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102– 

24 575) and such other purposes as the Secretary may deem 

25 appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING. 

2 With respect to the Sites Project, the Bureau shall— 

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

4 of all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, state5 ments, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci6 sions required under Federal law to allow either the 

7 Bureau or the Authority to construct the Sites 

8 Project, including all requirements under— 

9 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

11 (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

12 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 

13 (C) any other Federal law applicable to the 

14 construction of the Sites Project facilities by 

15 the Bureau or the Authority; and 

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

17 that all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, state18 ments, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci19 sions required under Federal law to allow either the 

20 Bureau or the Authority to construct and operate 

21 the Sites Project are completed on an expeditious 

22 basis and use the shortest applicable process, and, to 

23 the maximum extent practicable, are completed not 

24 later than January 1, 2022, as required by the Cali25 fornia Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure 

26 Improvement Act, approved by California voters on 


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1 November 4, 2014, as a condition of State financial 

2 participation in a project deemed eligible for assist3 ance under the aforementioned Act. 

4 SEC. 8. COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS. 

5 Nothing in this Act modifies or alters any obligations 

6 or requirements under any Federal environmental law, in7 cluding— 

8 (1) the National Environmental Policy Act of 

9 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 

10 (2) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

11 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 9. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt any 

14 existing State law, including area of origin and other 

15 water rights protections. 

Æ 


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