II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2807 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the heads 

of relevant Federal agencies, to carry out watershed pilots, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 21), 2021 

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

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination 

with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, to carry 

out watershed pilots, 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 ‘‘Watershed Results 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADVANCE WATERSHED ANALYTICS.—The 

2 term ‘‘advance watershed analytics’’ means the tech3 nical analysis that is— 

4 (A) conducted before making funding 

5 available for a watershed pilot; and 

6 (B) necessary— 

7 (i) to identify specific high-impact 

8 outcome projects across an entire water9 shed; 

10 (ii) to identify project costs and imple11 mentation feasibility constraints; 

12 (iii) to identify how different groups 

13 of projects impact overall watershed tar14 gets; and 

15 (iv) to develop scenarios that— 

16 (I) maximize outcomes; and 

17 (II) are feasible to quickly imple18 ment at scale. 

19 (2) FEDERAL FINANCIAL SOURCE.—The term 

20 ‘‘Federal financial source’’ means an award, grant, 

21 loan, guarantee, incentive, or credit enhancement 

22 funding available to Federal agencies participating 

23 in watershed pilots. 

24 (3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means an Envi25 ronmental Outcomes Fund established by the head 


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1 of a Federal department or agency under section 

2 4(c)(1). 

3 (4) MANAGEMENT TEAM.—The term ‘‘manage4 ment team’’ means the management team for a wa5 tershed pilot designated under section 3(c)(2). 

6 (5) OUTCOME.—The term ‘‘outcome’’ means— 

7 (A) a quantifiable reduction in nutrient or 

8 sediment runoff; 

9 (B) a quantifiable reduction in thermal 

10 load; 

11 (C) a quantifiable increase in dissolved ox12 ygen; 

13 (D) a quantifiable increase in surface 

14 water or groundwater that functionally benefits 

15 fish and wildlife species; or 

16 (E) any other quantifiable benefit identi17 fied by the management team as being desirable 

18 in the applicable watershed. 

19 (6) PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE CONTRACT.—The 

20 term ‘‘pay-for-performance contract’’ means a con21 tract to purchase successfully implemented outcomes 

22 at a negotiated per-unit price. 

23 (7) PLAN.—The term ‘‘plan’’ means an action24 able implementation and funding plan developed for 

25 a watershed pilot under section 3(d)(1). 


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1 (8) QUALIFYING PROJECT.—The term ‘‘quali2 fying project’’ means a project that efficiently 

3 achieves 1 or more outcomes in pursuit of a plan, as 

4 prioritized through advance watershed analytics. 

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

6 the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 (10) WATERSHED PILOT.—The term ‘‘water8 shed pilot’’ means a watershed pilot established 

9 under section 3(a). 

10 SEC. 3. WATERSHED PILOTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act and subject to subsection 

13 (i), the Secretary, acting in coordination with the Sec14 retary of Agriculture and the Administrator of the Envi15 ronmental Protection Agency, shall establish a total of not 

16 less than 2 and not more than 5 watershed pilots. 

17 (b) CONSULTATION.—In establishing a watershed 

18 pilot under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

19 (1) consult with the Chair of the Council on 

20 Environmental Quality in implementing the water21 shed pilot; and 

22 (2) regularly submit to the Chair of the Council 

23 on Environmental Quality reports describing the sta24 tus and implementation of the watershed pilot. 

25 (c) MANAGEMENT OF WATERSHED PILOTS.— 


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1 (1) MANAGEMENT BY SECRETARY.—Manage2 ment and responsibility for each watershed pilot 

3 shall be led by the Secretary. 

4 (2) MANAGEMENT TEAM.—The Secretary shall 

5 designate a management team for the watershed 

6 pilot, which shall be composed of— 

7 (A) representatives appointed by the Sec8 retary; and 

9 (B) representatives from 1 or more other 

10 Federal departments or agencies participating 

11 in the watershed pilot. 

12 (3) CONSULTATION.—In establishing and car13 rying out a watershed pilot, the Secretary and the 

14 management team shall consult with— 

15 (A) State, local, and Tribal representa16 tives; 

17 (B) nongovernmental organizations; 

18 (C) private sector representatives; and 

19 (D) such other individuals or entities as 

20 the Secretary and the management team deter21 mine to be appropriate. 

22 (d) PLAN.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date on which a watershed pilot is established, 

25 the management team for the applicable watershed 


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1 pilot shall develop and implement a 5-year plan for 

2 carrying out the watershed pilot. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A plan shall incor4 porate— 

5 (A) advance watershed analytics to estab6 lish milestones, outcome targets, an implemen7 tation plan, and a timeline for achieving the 

8 milestones, targets, and full implementation; 

9 (B) a coordinated cross-agency funding 

10 strategy that will— 

11 (i) achieve the milestones and outcome 

12 targets established under subparagraph 

13 (A) in an effective and flexible manner by 

14 efficiently and quickly delivering Federal 

15 financial sources to qualifying projects; 

16 (ii) leverage amounts made available 

17 under sections 4(c)(4) and 7 with existing 

18 Federal financial sources; 

19 (iii) use Federal financial sources and 

20 amounts from the Fund to leverage and 

21 attract investments from private or philan22 thropic sources to accelerate greater out23 comes-based results; and 

24 (iv) concentrate Federal financial 

25 source commitments from multiple agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Sep 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2807.IS S2807

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1 cies in a watershed pilot during the period 

2 of the watershed pilot; 

3 (C) annually updated progress tracking 

4 against milestones and targets; and 

5 (D) such other information as the Sec6 retary determines to be relevant to achieve out7 comes on an accelerated timeline. 

8 (3) CONSULTATION AND REVIEW.—A plan shall 

9 be— 

10 (A) developed in consultation with the 

11 head of each Federal department and agency 

12 participating in the watershed pilot; and 

13 (B) reviewed annually by the management 

14 team. 

15 (e) NOTIFICATION.—On adoption of each plan, the 

16 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Appropria17 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations 

18 of the House of Representatives a notification that the wa19 tershed pilot has been established and the plan has been 

20 adopted. 

21 (f) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS TO QUALIFYING

22 PROJECTS.—Not later than 30 days after the date on 

23 which the management team for a watershed pilot verify 

24 outcomes from the qualifying project, the Secretary and 

25 the management team for the watershed pilot shall disVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Sep 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2807.IS S2807

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1 burse amounts from Federal financial sources, including 

2 amounts made available under sections 4(c)(4) and 7, to 

3 a qualifying project, through pay-for-performance con4 tracts, at agreed upon outcome prices. 

5 (g) MINIMUM OUTCOME PRICES.—Not later than 1 

6 year after the date on which a watershed pilot is estab7 lished, the Secretary and the management team for the 

8 watershed pilot shall set and publish minimum per-unit 

9 outcome prices. 

10 (h) USE OF ADVANCE WATERSHED ANALYTICS.— 

11 The Secretary and the management team for each water12 shed pilot shall use advance watershed analytics through13 out the planning, implementation, measuring, and moni14 toring of outcomes within the watershed pilot. 

15 (i) AUTHORITY FOR ADDITIONAL PILOTS AND AGEN16 CIES.—The Chair of the Council on Environmental Qual17 ity, in consultation with the Committee on Appropriations 

18 of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

19 House of Representatives, shall approve— 

20 (1) the establishment of more than 5 watershed 

21 pilots under this section; and 

22 (2) the participation in watershed pilots under 

23 this section of a Federal department or agency other 

24 than those described in subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 4. FINANCING AND FUNDING OF WATERSHED PILOTS. 

2 (a) USE OF PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS.— 

3 In carrying out a watershed pilot, the head of a Federal 

4 department or agency participating in the watershed pilot 

5 shall enter into a pay-for-performance contract to achieve 

6 outcome-based goals described in the plan developed for 

7 the watershed pilot. 

8 (b) FLEXIBILITY UNDER EXISTING PROGRAMS.— 

9 The head of each Federal department or agency partici10 pating in a watershed pilot shall modify, expand, or 

11 streamline eligibility and verification criteria for existing 

12 Federal financial sources to maximize flexibility, speed, 

13 and use of Federal funds in the most effective manner 

14 to achieve outcomes under the watershed pilot. 

15 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES FUNDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Federal 

17 department or agency participating in a watershed 

18 pilot shall establish an Environmental Outcomes 

19 Fund. 

20 (2) USE OF FUND.—Amounts in a Fund shall 

21 only be expended on pay-for-performance contracts 

22 under a watershed pilot. 

23 (3) CRITERIA.—Amounts in a Fund shall be ex24 pended in accordance with— 

25 (A) this Act, including the plan developed 

26 for the applicable watershed pilot; and 


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1 (B) criteria established by the Secretary 

2 and the management team for the applicable 

3 watershed pilot, which shall include criteria 

4 for— 

5 (i) eligibility of qualifying projects; 

6 (ii) types of qualifying projects; 

7 (iii) the timing of the disbursement of 

8 funds; and 

9 (iv) such other matters as the Sec10 retary and the management team deter11 mine to be appropriate. 

12 (4) MANDATORY FUNDING.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the 

14 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, on Octo15 ber 1, 2022, and on each October 1 thereafter 

16 through October 1, 2027, the Secretary of the 

17 Treasury shall transfer $15,000,000 to the 

18 head of each Federal department or agency to 

19 be deposited in the Fund. 

20 (B) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The 

21 head of a Federal department or agency de22 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be entitled to 

23 receive, shall accept, and shall deposit into the 

24 Fund for use in accordance with this subsection 


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1 the funds transferred under subparagraph (A), 

2 without further appropriation. 

3 (5) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—If a watershed 

4 pilot is established as a permanent program, the 

5 Secretary may submit to Congress recommendations 

6 for modifications to funding levels and a permanent 

7 authorization of funding for the permanent program. 

8 (d) COST-SHARE WAIVER.—Any otherwise applicable 

9 cost-share requirements for existing Federal financial re10 sources, including under section 212(a)(1) of the Public 

11 Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1729(a)(1)), shall 

12 be waived for watershed pilots carried out using amounts 

13 made available under this Act. 

14 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

16 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate com17 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

18 (1) of the Senate— 

19 (A) the Committee on Appropriations; 

20 (B) the Committee on Environment and 

21 Public Works; and 

22 (C) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri23 tion, and Forestry; and 

24 (2) of the House of Representatives— 

25 (A) the Committee on Appropriations; 


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1 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources; 

2 (C) the Committee on Agriculture; and 

3 (D) the Select Committee on the Climate 

4 Crisis. 

5 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary shall, not 

6 later than the date on which the budget of the United 

7 States Government is submitted by the President under 

8 section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for each fis9 cal year for which the watershed pilot is being carried out, 

10 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

11 describing the status of each watershed pilot, including 

12 progress towards the milestones described in section 

13 3(d)(2)(A). 

14 (c) 5-YEAR REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of 

15 the fifth fiscal year in which a watershed pilot is carried 

16 out under section 3, the Secretary shall submit to the ap17 propriate committees of Congress a report describing, in 

18 accordance with the plan developed for the applicable wa19 tershed pilot— 

20 (1) a summary of— 

21 (A) the projected results of the watershed 

22 pilot in meeting the milestones described in sec23 tion 3(d)(2)(A); 

24 (B) the projected outcomes of the water25 shed pilot described in that section; 


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1 (C) the total amount of funds made avail2 able under the watershed pilot; 

3 (D) the type of funding expended under 

4 the watershed pilot; and 

5 (E) such other information as the Sec6 retary determines to be appropriate; and 

7 (2) recommendations for continuing, termi8 nating, or making permanent the watershed pilot. 

9 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES FUNDS.— 

10 (1) AGENCY HEADS.—The head of each Federal 

11 department or agency participating in a watershed 

12 pilot shall, not later than the date on which the 

13 budget of the United States Government is sub14 mitted by the President under section 1105 of title 

15 31, United States Code, for each fiscal year for 

16 which the watershed pilot is being carried out, sub17 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re18 port describing the outcomes achieved using 

19 amounts made available from, management of, and 

20 expenditures from, the Fund established by the 

21 agency head. 

22 (2) INSPECTORS GENERAL.— 

23 (A) AUDIT.—The Inspector General of 

24 each Federal department or agency partici25 pating in a watershed pilot shall conduct a biVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Sep 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2807.IS S2807

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1 annual audit of the management of, and fund2 ing (including expenditures) relating to, the 

3 Fund established by the agency head for the 

4 purpose of ensuring proper and effective use of 

5 Federal funding by evaluating the effectiveness 

6 of the watershed pilot in achieving the plan de7 veloped for the watershed pilot, including an 

8 evaluation of the outcomes achieved and the 

9 Federal financial sources used to achieve those 

10 outcomes. 

11 (B) REPORTS.—The Inspector General of 

12 each Federal department or agency partici13 pating in a watershed pilot shall, not later than 

14 the date on which the budget of the United 

15 States Government is submitted by the Presi16 dent under section 1105 of title 31, United 

17 States Code, for each fiscal year for which the 

18 watershed pilot is being carried out, submit to 

19 the appropriate committees of Congress a re20 port describing the 2 audits most recently con21 ducted under subparagraph (A). 

22 SEC. 6. DURATION. 

23 Each watershed pilot shall terminate on the date that 

24 is 5 years after the date on which the notification is subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Sep 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2807.IS S2807

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1 mitted under section 3(e) with respect to that watershed 

2 pilot. 

3 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

5 (1) for each watershed pilot, $15,000,000 for 

6 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027, which shall 

7 be in addition to the amounts made available under 

8 section 4(c)(4); and 

9 (2) to carry out advance watershed analytics for 

10 each watershed pilot, $2,000,000 for each of fiscal 

11 years 2022 through 2024. 

Æ 


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