II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2185 

To reauthorize certain Bureau of Reclamation programs, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2021 

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

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To reauthorize certain Bureau of Reclamation programs, 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 ‘‘Western Water Infra5 structure Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) GRANDFATHERED PROJECT.—The term 

9 ‘‘grandfathered project’’ means a project that has 

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1 retary that was commenced, including at the ap2 praisal level, on or before January 1, 2021, in an3 ticipation of Federal funding or recommended by the 

4 Secretary and approved by an Act of Congress prior 

5 to the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to— 

6 (A) section 4007 of the WIIN Act (43 

7 U.S.C. 390b note; Public Law 114–322); 

8 (B) section 4(a)(2) of the Water Desalina9 tion Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public 

10 Law 104–298); or 

11 (C) section 1602(e) of the Reclamation 

12 Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facili13 ties Act (43 U.S.C. 390h(e)). 

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

15 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 

16 Commissioner of Reclamation. 

17 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN RECLAMATION 

18 PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) WATER STORAGE PROGRAM.—Section 4007 of 

20 the WIIN Act (43 U.S.C. 390b note; Public Law 114– 

21 322) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (h)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1) 

24 $335,000,000’’ and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—$1,600,000,000’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (B), a project may only receive funding 

6 under this section if the project has been in7 cluded in an Act of Congress that specifically 

8 approves a project recommendation in an an9 nual report issued in accordance with section 5 

10 of the Western Water Infrastructure Act of 

11 2021. 

12 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A) 

13 shall not apply to a grandfathered project (as 

14 defined in section 2 of the Western Water In15 frastructure Act of 2021).’’; 

16 (2) by striking subsection (i); and 

17 (3) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as 

18 subsections (i) and (j), respectively. 

19 (b) ELIGIBLE DESALINATION PROJECTS.—Section 

20 4(a) of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 

21 10301 note; Public Law 104–298) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating the second paragraph (1) 

23 (relating to eligible desalination projects) as para24 graph (2); and 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2) (as 

2 so redesignated)— 

3 (A) in clause (i)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘(i) $30,000,000’’ and 

5 inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—$125,000,000’’; 

7 and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and at the end 

9 and inserting a period; and 

10 (B) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

14 subclause (II), a project may only re15 ceive funding under this section if the 

16 project has been included in an Act of 

17 Congress that specifically approves a 

18 project recommendation in an annual 

19 report issued in accordance with sec20 tion 5 of the Western Water Infra21 structure Act of 2021. 

22 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—Subclause 

23 (I) shall not apply to a grandfathered 

24 project (as defined in section 2 of the 


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1 Western Water Infrastructure Act of 

2 2021).’’. 

3 (c) RECLAMATION AND REUSE OF WASTEWATER AND

4 GROUNDWATER.—Section 1602(g) of the Reclamation 

5 Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act 

6 (43 U.S.C. 390h(g)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (A) by striking the paragraph designation 

9 and all that follows through ‘‘There is’’ and in10 serting the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘$375,000,000’’; and 

14 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara18 graph (B), a project may only receive funding 

19 under this section if the project has been in20 cluded in an Act of Congress that specifically 

21 approves a project recommendation in an an22 nual report issued in accordance with section 5 

23 of the Western Water Infrastructure Act of 

24 2021. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A) 

2 shall not apply to a grandfathered project (as 

3 defined in section 2 of the Western Water In4 frastructure Act of 2021).’’. 

5 (d) DURATION OF CERTAIN RECLAMATION

6 PROJECTS.—Section 4013 of the WIIN Act (43 U.S.C. 

7 390b note; Public Law 114–322) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

11 the end the following and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(2) sections 4006, 4007 (other than a project 

14 under construction under that section that is covered 

15 by paragraph (2)), 4008, 4009 (other than a project 

16 under construction under the amendment made by 

17 subsection (a) or (c) of section 4009 that is covered 

18 by paragraph (2)), and 4011 (including any amend19 ments made by those sections), which shall expire 5 

20 years after the date of enactment of the Western 

21 Water Infrastructure Act of 2021.’’. 

22 (e) APPLICABLE LAW.—A grandfathered project 

23 shall continue to be subject to the applicable requirements 

24 of the following: 


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1 (1) Section 4007 of the WIIN Act (43 U.S.C. 

2 390b note; Public Law 114–322). 

3 (2) Section 4(a)(2) of the Water Desalination 

4 Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 

5 104–298). 

6 (3) Section 1602(e) of the Reclamation Waste7 water and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act (43 

8 U.S.C. 390h(e)). 

9 SEC. 4. INCREASED FUNDING FOR WATER MANAGEMENT 

10 IMPROVEMENT. 

11 Section 9504(e) of the Omnibus Public Land Man12 agement Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364(e)) is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘$700,000,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’. 

15 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FUTURE WEST16 ERN WATER STORAGE PROJECTS. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The term ‘‘annual re19 port’’ means a report required under subsection 

20 (b)(1). 

21 (2) AUTHORIZED RECLAMATION PROJECT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘authorized 

23 Reclamation project’’ means a project author24 ized under— 


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1 (i) section 4007 of the WIIN Act (43 

2 U.S.C. 390b note; Public Law 114–322); 

3 (ii) section 4(a)(2) of the Water De4 salination Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 

5 note; Public Law 104–298); or 

6 (iii) section 1602(e) of the Reclama7 tion Wastewater and Groundwater Study 

8 and Facilities Act (43 U.S.C. 390h(e)). 

9 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘authorized 

10 Reclamation project’’ does not include a grand11 fathered project. 

12 (3) AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES OF CON13 GRESS.—The term ‘‘authorizing committees of Con14 gress’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

16 Resources of the Senate; and 

17 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

18 of the House of Representatives. 

19 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1 

21 of each year, the Secretary shall develop and submit 

22 to the authorizing committees of Congress a report, 

23 to be entitled ‘‘Report to Congress on Future Water 

24 Storage Projects’’, that identifies each authorized 

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1 mined meets the criteria and eligibility requirements 

2 under subsection (a) or (b) of section 4007 of the 

3 WIIN Act (43 U.S.C. 390b note; Public Law 114– 

4 322), section 4(a)(2) of the Water Desalination Act 

5 of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104– 

6 298), or section 1602(e) of the Reclamation Waste7 water and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act (43 

8 U.S.C. 390h(e)), as applicable. 

9 (2) TRANSPARENCY.—For each authorized Rec10 lamation project included in the annual report under 

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include— 

12 (A) the name of the associated non-Fed13 eral entity, including the name of any non-Fed14 eral entity that has contributed, or is expected 

15 to contribute, a non-Federal share of the cost 

16 of the authorized Reclamation project; 

17 (B) a letter or statement of support from 

18 each associated non-Federal entity; and 

19 (C) a summary of the basis for the deter20 mination of the Secretary that the authorized 

21 Reclamation project meets the eligibility re22 quirements referred to in paragraph (1), includ23 ing an estimate, to the maximum extent prac24 ticable, of the monetary and nonmonetary bene25 fits of the authorized Reclamation project. 


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1 SEC. 6. CONTRACTS FOR ENHANCED INSPECTION. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 (1) AGING INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

4 ‘‘aging infrastructure’’ means any infrastructure 

5 subject to an enhanced inspection under this section 

6 that is associated with a facility that— 

7 (A) was constructed by the Bureau of Rec8 lamation (or a precursor to the Bureau of Rec9 lamation), in accordance with the reclamation 

10 laws; and 

11 (B) is greater than 50 years old as of the 

12 date of the enhanced inspection. 

13 (2) ENHANCED INSPECTION.—The term ‘‘en14 hanced inspection’’ means an inspection that uses 

15 current or innovative technology, including Light 

16 Detection and Ranging (commonly known as 

17 ‘‘LiDAR’’), ground penetrating radar, subsurface 

18 imaging, or subsurface geophysical techniques, to de19 tect whether the features of aging infrastructure— 

20 (A)(i) are structurally sound; and 

21 (ii) can operate as intended; or 

22 (B) are at risk of failure. 

23 (3) RECLAMATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘reclama24 tion laws’’ means Federal reclamation law (the Act 

25 of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and 


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1 Acts supplemental to and amendatory of that Act 

2 (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.)). 

3 (b) ENHANCED INSPECTION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may carry out 

5 enhanced inspections of aging infrastructure, pursu6 ant to a contract with the owner or operator of the 

7 aging infrastructure. 

8 (2) CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Subject to the 

9 availability of appropriations or funds otherwise 

10 available pursuant to subsection (d), the Secretary 

11 shall enter into a contract described in paragraph 

12 (1), if the owner or operator of the aging infrastruc13 ture requests that the Secretary carry out the en14 hanced inspections. 

15 (3) REIMBURSABILITY.—Any Federal funds 

16 used to carry out the enhanced inspections under 

17 this section are nonreimbursable. 

18 (c) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not require an 

19 owner or operator of a project under the jurisdiction of 

20 another Federal agency to carry out corrective or remedial 

21 actions in response to an enhanced inspection carried out 

22 under this section. 

23 (d) FUNDING.— 

24 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 


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1 this section $50,000,000, to remain available until 

2 expended. 

3 (2) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

4 may— 

5 (A) accept funds from an owner or oper6 ator of aging infrastructure to carry out an en7 hanced inspection of the aging infrastructure 

8 under this section; and 

9 (B) use the funds accepted under subpara10 graph (A) to carry out an enhanced inspection 

11 of the aging infrastructure pursuant to a con12 tract entered into with the owner or operator 

13 under this section. 

14 SEC. 7. RESERVOIR SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT

16 PLAN.—In this section, the term ‘‘sediment management 

17 plan’’ means a plan for— 

18 (1) preventing sediment from reducing water 

19 storage capacity at a reservoir; and 

20 (2) increasing water storage capacity through 

21 sediment removal at a reservoir. 

22 (b) SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.—The Sec23 retary shall carry out a program for the development and 

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1 ervoirs owned by the Secretary, on request by project 

2 beneficiaries. 

3 (c) PLAN ELEMENTS.—A sediment management plan 

4 under subsection (b) shall— 

5 (1) provide opportunities for States, project 

6 beneficiaries, and other stakeholders to participate 

7 in sediment management decisions; 

8 (2) evaluate the volume of sediment in a res9 ervoir and impacts on project purposes, including 

10 storage capacity; 

11 (3) identify sediment management options, in12 cluding sediment dikes and dredging; 

13 (4) identify constraints; 

14 (5) assess technical feasibility, economic jus15 tification, and environmental impacts; 

16 (6) identify beneficial uses for sediment; and 

17 (7) to the maximum extent practicable, use, de18 velop, and demonstrate innovative, cost-saving tech19 nologies, including structural and nonstructural 

20 technologies and designs, to manage sediment. 

21 (d) JUSTIFICATION.—In determining the economic 

22 justification of a sediment management plan under sub23 section (b), the Secretary shall— 

24 (1) measure and include flooding, erosion, and 

25 accretion damages upstream and downstream of the 


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1 reservoir that are likely to occur as a result of sedi2 ment management within the reservoir compared to 

3 the damages that are likely to occur if the sediment 

4 management plan is not implemented; and 

5 (2) include— 

6 (A) lifecycle costs; and 

7 (B) a 100-year period of analysis. 

8 (e) PRIORITIZATION OF SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT

9 PLANS.—In carrying out the program under this section, 

10 the Secretary shall give priority to developing and imple11 menting sediment management plans that affect reservoirs 

12 that cross State lines. 

13 (f) COST SHARE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The beneficiaries requesting 

15 a sediment management plan shall share in the cost 

16 of development and implementation of the sediment 

17 management plan. 

18 (2) ALLOCATION.—There shall be allocated— 

19 (A) among the beneficiaries described in 

20 paragraph (1) the reimbursable costs of devel21 oping and implementing the sediment manage22 ment plan; and 

23 (B) to the Secretary the nonreimbursable 

24 costs of any other public benefits identified in 

25 the sediment management plan. 


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1 (g) CONTRIBUTED FUNDS.—The Secretary may ac2 cept funds from non-Federal entities and other Federal 

3 agencies to develop and implement a sediment manage4 ment plan under this section. 

5 (h) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall use the knowl6 edge gained through the development and implementation 

7 of sediment management plans under subsection (b) to de8 velop guidance for sediment management at other res9 ervoirs. 

10 (i) PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CHIEF OF ENGI11 NEERS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

13 out the program established under this section in 

14 partnership with the Secretary of the Army, acting 

15 through the Chief of Engineers, which shall apply to 

16 reservoirs managed or owned by the Corps of Engi17 neers. 

18 (2) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—For sedi19 ment management plans that apply to a reservoir 

20 managed or owned by the Corps of Engineers under 

21 paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Secretary of 

22 the Army shall execute a memorandum of agreement 

23 establishing— 

24 (A) the framework for a partnership; and 


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1 (B) the terms and conditions for sharing 

2 expertise and resources. 

3 (3) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary may accept and 

4 expend funds from the Secretary of the Army any 

5 work under this subsection at a reservoir managed 

6 or owned by Corps of Engineers. 

7 (4) LEAD AGENCY.—The Secretary or the Sec8 retary of the Army, as applicable, based on who has 

9 primary jurisdiction over a reservoir, shall take the 

10 lead in developing and implementing a sediment 

11 management plan for the reservoir. 

12 (j) OTHER AUTHORITIES NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing 

13 in this section affects— 

14 (1) sediment management; or 

15 (2) the share of costs paid by Federal and non16 Federal entities relating to sediment management 

17 under any other provision of law (including regula18 tions). 

19 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $100,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

22 SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF BUREAU OF RECLAMATION MAIN23 TENANCE BACKLOG. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use amounts 

25 made available under subsection (b)— 


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1 (1) to carry out activities to reduce or eliminate 

2 all major rehabilitation and replacement needs of the 

3 Bureau of Reclamation, as identified in an Asset 

4 Management Report (as defined in section 8601 of 

5 the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, 

6 and Recreation Act (43 U.S.C. 505a)); or 

7 (2) to support the rehabilitation, reconstruction, 

8 or replacement of any dam— 

9 (A) the construction of which began on or 

10 after January 1, 1905; 

11 (B) that was developed pursuant to section 

12 4 of the Act of August 18, 1894 (commonly 

13 known as the ‘‘Carey Act’’) (28 Stat. 422, 

14 chapter 301; 43 U.S.C. 641); 

15 (C) that the Governor of the State in 

16 which the dam is located has— 

17 (i) determined reached the useful life 

18 of the dam; 

19 (ii) determined poses significant 

20 health and safety concerns; and 

21 (iii) requested Federal support; and 

22 (D) for which the estimated rehabilitation, 

23 reconstruction, or replacement, engineering, and 

24 permitting costs would exceed $50,000,000. 

25 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this sec3 tion $5,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 

4 2022 through 2026. 

5 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.—Amounts 

6 made available to the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

7 for maintenance activities at reserved works and 

8 transferred works identified in the report described 

9 in subsection (a)(1) that are considered to be reim10 bursable costs under existing contracts shall be af11 forded the repayment terms provided under section 

12 9603 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act 

13 of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 510b). 

Æ 


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