II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1533 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to coordinate Federal and State 

permitting processes related to the construction of new surface water 

storage projects on lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 

the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture and to designate the Bureau 

of Reclamation as the lead agency for permit processing, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 9, 2015 

Mr. BARRASSO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to coordinate 

Federal and State permitting processes related to the 

construction of new surface water storage projects on 

lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture and to designate 

the Bureau of Reclamation as the lead agency for permit 

processing, 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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Supply Permit3 ting Coordination Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

9 Bureau of Reclamation. 

10 (3) QUALIFYING PROJECTS.—The term ‘‘quali11 fying projects’’ means new surface water storage 

12 projects constructed on lands administered by the 

13 Department of the Interior or the Department of 

14 Agriculture, exclusive of any easement, right-of-way, 

15 lease, or any private holding. 

16 (4) COOPERATING AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘co17 operating agency’’ means a Federal agency with ju18 risdiction over a review, analysis, opinion, statement, 

19 permit, license, or other approval or decision re20 quired for a qualifying project under applicable Fed21 eral laws and regulations, or a State agency subject 

22 to section 3(c). 

23 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF LEAD AGENCY AND COOPER24 ATING AGENCIES. 

25 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF LEAD AGENCY.—The Bu26 reau of Reclamation is established as the lead agency for 


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1 purposes of coordinating all reviews, analyses, opinions, 

2 statements, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci3 sions required under Federal law to construct qualifying 

4 projects. 

5 (b) IDENTIFICATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF CO6 OPERATING AGENCIES.—The Commissioner of the Bureau 

7 shall— 

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

9 of an application for a qualifying project, any Fed10 eral agency that may have jurisdiction over a review, 

11 analysis, opinion, statement, permit, license, ap12 proval, or decision required for a qualifying project 

13 under applicable Federal laws and regulations; and 

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

15 timeframe, that the agency has been designated as 

16 a cooperating agency in regards to the qualifying 

17 project unless that agency responds to the Bureau in 

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

19 notifying the Bureau that the agency— 

20 (A) has no jurisdiction or authority with 

21 respect to the qualifying project; 

22 (B) has no expertise or information rel23 evant to the qualifying project or any review, 

24 analysis, opinion, statement, permit, license, or 


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1 other approval or decision associated therewith; 

2 or 

3 (C) does not intend to submit comments 

4 on the qualifying project or conduct any review 

5 of such a project or make any decision with re6 spect to such project in a manner other than in 

7 cooperation with the Bureau. 

8 (c) STATE AUTHORITY.—A State in which a quali9 fying project is being considered may choose, consistent 

10 with State law— 

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

12 (2) to make subject to the processes of this Act 

13 all State agencies that— 

14 (A) have jurisdiction over the qualifying 

15 project; 

16 (B) are required to conduct or issue a re17 view, analysis, or opinion for the qualifying 

18 project; or 

19 (C) are required to make a determination 

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

21 water resource project. 

22 SEC. 4. BUREAU RESPONSIBILITIES. 

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

24 the Bureau under this Act are to— 


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

2 State agencies, Indian tribes, and others regarding 

3 proposed projects; 

4 (2) coordinate preparation of unified environ5 mental documentation that will serve as the basis for 

6 all Federal decisions necessary to authorize the use 

7 of Federal lands for qualifying projects; and 

8 (3) coordinate all Federal agency reviews nec9 essary for project development and construction of 

10 qualifying projects. 

11 (b) COORDINATION PROCESS.—The Bureau shall 

12 have the following coordination responsibilities: 

13 (1) PRE-APPLICATION COORDINATION.—Notify 

14 cooperating agencies of proposed qualifying projects 

15 not later than 30 days after receipt of a proposal 

16 and facilitate a preapplication meeting for prospec17 tive applicants, relevant Federal and State agencies, 

18 and Indian tribes to— 

19 (A) explain applicable processes, data re20 quirements, and applicant submissions nec21 essary to complete the required Federal agency 

22 reviews within the timeframe established; and 

23 (B) establish the schedule for the quali24 fying project. 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION WITH COOPERATING AGEN2 CIES.—Consult with the cooperating agencies 

3 throughout the Federal agency review process, iden4 tify and obtain relevant data in a timely manner, 

5 and set necessary deadlines for cooperating agencies. 

6 (3) SCHEDULE.—Work with the qualifying 

7 project applicant and cooperating agencies to estab8 lish a project schedule. In establishing the schedule, 

9 the Bureau shall consider, among other factors— 

10 (A) the responsibilities of cooperating 

11 agencies under applicable laws and regulations; 

12 (B) the resources available to the cooper13 ating agencies and the non-Federal qualifying 

14 project sponsor, as applicable; 

15 (C) the overall size and complexity of the 

16 qualifying project; 

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

18 qualifying project; and 

19 (E) the sensitivity of the natural and his20 toric resources that may be affected by the 

21 qualifying project. 

22 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.—Prepare a 

23 unified environmental review document for each 

24 qualifying project application, incorporating a single 

25 environmental record on which all cooperating agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Jun 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1533.IS S1533

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1 cies with authority to issue approvals for a given 

2 qualifying project shall base project approval deci3 sions. Help ensure that cooperating agencies make 

4 necessary decisions, within their respective authori5 ties, regarding Federal approvals in accordance with 

6 the following timelines: 

7 (A) Not later than one year after accept8 ance of a completed project application when an 

9 environmental assessment and finding of no sig10 nificant impact is determined to be the appro11 priate level of review under the National Envi12 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

13 et seq.). 

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

15 after the close of the public comment period for 

16 a draft environmental impact statement under 

17 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

18 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), when an environ19 mental impact statement is required under the 

20 same. 

21 (5) CONSOLIDATED ADMINISTRATIVE

22 RECORD.—Maintain a consolidated administrative 

23 record of the information assembled and used by the 

24 cooperating agencies as the basis for agency deci25 sions. 


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

2 practicable and consistent with Federal law, ensure 

3 that all project data is submitted and maintained in 

4 generally accessible electronic format, compile, and 

5 where authorized under existing law, make available 

6 such project data to cooperating agencies, the quali7 fying project applicant, and to the public. 

8 (7) PROJECT MANAGER.—Appoint a project 

9 manager for each qualifying project. The project 

10 manager shall have authority to oversee the project 

11 and to facilitate the issuance of the relevant final 

12 authorizing documents, and shall be responsible for 

13 ensuring fulfillment of all Bureau responsibilities set 

14 forth in this section and all cooperating agency re15 sponsibilities under section 5. 

16 SEC. 5. COOPERATING AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES. 

17 (a) ADHERENCE TO BUREAU SCHEDULE.—Upon no18 tification of an application for a qualifying project, all co19 operating agencies shall submit to the Bureau a timeframe 

20 under which the cooperating agency reasonably considers 

21 it will be able to complete its authorizing responsibilities. 

22 The Bureau shall use the timeframe submitted under this 

23 subsection to establish the project schedule under section 

24 4, and the cooperating agencies shall adhere to the project 

25 schedule established by the Bureau. 


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1 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD.—Cooperating agen2 cies shall submit to the Bureau all environmental review 

3 material produced or compiled in the course of carrying 

4 out activities required under Federal law consistent with 

5 the project schedule established by the Bureau. 

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

7 and consistent with Federal law, the cooperating agencies 

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

9 generally accessible electronic format subject to the project 

10 schedule set forth by the Bureau. 

11 SEC. 6. FUNDING TO PROCESS PERMITS. 

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

13 in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act (5 

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

15 a non-Federal public entity to expedite the evaluation of 

16 a permit of that entity related to a qualifying project or 

17 activity for a public purpose under the jurisdiction of the 

18 Department of the Interior. 

19 (b) EFFECT ON PERMITTING.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

21 the Secretary shall ensure that the use of funds ac22 cepted under subsection (a) will not impact impartial 

23 decisionmaking with respect to permits, either sub24 stantively or procedurally. 


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1 (2) EVALUATION OF PERMITS.—In carrying out 

2 this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the eval3 uation of permits carried out using funds accepted 

4 under this section shall— 

5 (A) be reviewed by the Regional Director 

6 of the Bureau of Reclamation, or the Regional 

7 Director’s designee, of the region in which the 

8 qualifying project or activity is located; and 

9 (B) use the same procedures for decisions 

10 that would otherwise be required for the evalua11 tion of permits for similar projects or activities 

12 not carried out using funds authorized under 

13 this section. 

14 (3) IMPARTIAL DECISIONMAKING.—In carrying 

15 out this section, the Secretary and the cooperating 

16 agencies receiving funds under this section for quali17 fying projects shall ensure that the use of the funds 

18 accepted under this section for such projects shall 

19 not— 

20 (A) impact impartial decisionmaking with 

21 respect to the issuance of permits, either sub22 stantively or procedurally; or 

23 (B) diminish, modify, or otherwise affect 

24 the statutory or regulatory authorities of such 

25 agencies. 


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1 (c) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—None of the 

2 funds accepted under this section shall be used to carry 

3 out a review of the evaluation of permits required under 

4 subsection (b)(2)(A). 

5 (d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall en6 sure that all final permit decisions carried out using funds 

7 authorized under this section are made available to the 

8 public, including on the Internet. 

Æ 


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