I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3237 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the implementation 

of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program First Increment 

Extension for threatened and endangered species in the Central and 

Lower Platte River Basin, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 12, 2019 

Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mr. TIPTON, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. BUCK, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. CROW, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. BACON, 

and Mr. SMITH of Nebraska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate 

in the implementation of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program First Increment Extension for 

threatened and endangered species in the Central and 

Lower Platte River Basin, 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 ‘‘Platte River Recovery 

5 Implementation Program Extension Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to authorize the Secretary 

3 of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Rec4 lamation and in partnership with the States, other Federal 

5 agencies, and other non-Federal entities, to continue the 

6 cooperative effort among the Federal and non-Federal en7 tities through the continued implementation of the Platte 

8 River Recovery Implementation Program First Increment 

9 Extension for threatened and endangered species in the 

10 Central and Lower Platte River Basin without creating 

11 Federal water rights or requiring the grant of water rights 

12 to Federal entities. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 

16 means the Platte River Recovery Implementation 

17 Program Cooperative Agreement entered into by the 

18 Governors of the States and the Secretary, including 

19 an amendment or addendum to the Agreement to ex20 tend the Program. 

21 (2) FIRST INCREMENT.—The term ‘‘First In22 crement’’ means the Program’s first 13 years from 

23 January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2019. 

24 (3) FIRST INCREMENT EXTENSION.—The term 

25 ‘‘First Increment Extension’’ means the extension of 


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1 the Program for 13 years from January 1, 2020, 

2 through December 31, 2032. 

3 (4) GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE.—The term 

4 ‘‘Governance Committee’’ means the governance 

5 committee established under the Agreement and 

6 composed of members from the States, the Federal 

7 Government, environmental interests, and water 

8 users. 

9 (5) INTEREST IN LAND OR WATER.—The term 

10 ‘‘interest in land or water’’ includes fee title, short11 or long-term easement, lease, or other contractual 

12 arrangement that is determined to be necessary by 

13 the Secretary to implement the land and water com14 ponents of the Program. 

15 (6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

16 the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program 

17 established under the Agreement and continued 

18 under an amendment or addendum to the Agree19 ment. 

20 (7) PROJECT OR ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘project 

21 or activity’’ means— 

22 (A) the planning, design, permitting, or 

23 other compliance activity, construction, con24 struction management, operation, maintenance, 

25 and replacement of a facility; 


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1 (B) the acquisition of an interest in land 

2 or water; 

3 (C) habitat restoration; 

4 (D) research and monitoring; 

5 (E) program administration; and 

6 (F) any other activity that is determined to 

7 be necessary by the Secretary to carry out the 

8 Program. 

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

10 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 

11 Commissioner of Reclamation. 

12 (9) STATES.—The term ‘‘States’’ means the 

13 States of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. 

14 SEC. 4. PLATTE RIVER RECOVERY IMPLEMENTATION PRO15 GRAM. 

16 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coopera18 tion with the Governance Committee, may— 

19 (A) participate in the Program; and 

20 (B) carry out any projects and activities 

21 that are designated for implementation during 

22 the First Increment Extension. 

23 (2) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—For the 

24 purposes of carrying out this section, the Secretary, 


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1 in cooperation with the Governance Committee, 

2 may— 

3 (A) enter into agreements and contracts 

4 with Federal and non-Federal entities; 

5 (B) acquire interests in land, water, and 

6 facilities from willing sellers without the use of 

7 eminent domain; 

8 (C) subsequently transfer any interests ac9 quired under subparagraph (B); and 

10 (D) accept or provide grants. 

11 (b) COST-SHARING CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—As provided in the Agree13 ment, the States shall contribute not less than 50 

14 percent of the total contributions necessary to carry 

15 out the Program. 

16 (2) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—The fol17 lowing contributions shall constitute the States’ 

18 share of the Program: 

19 (A) An additional $28,000,000 in non-Fed20 eral funds, with the balance of funds remaining 

21 to be contributed to be adjusted for inflation on 

22 October 1 of the year after the date of enact23 ment of this Act and each October 1 thereafter. 

24 (B) Additional credit for contributions of 

25 water or land for the purposes of implementing 


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1 the Program, as determined to be appropriate 

2 by the Secretary. 

3 (3) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary 

4 or the States may elect to provide a portion of the 

5 Federal share or non-Federal share, respectively, in 

6 the form of in-kind goods or services, if the contribu7 tion of goods or services is approved by the Govern8 ance Committee, as provided in Attachment 1 of the 

9 Agreement. 

10 (c) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY PROGRAM.—The Pro11 gram may be modified or amended before the completion 

12 of the First Increment Extension if the Secretary and the 

13 States determine that the modifications are consistent 

14 with the purposes of the Program. 

15 (d) EFFECT.— 

16 (1) EFFECT ON RECLAMATION LAWS.—No ac17 tion carried out under this section shall, with respect 

18 to the acreage limitation provisions of the reclama19 tion laws— 

20 (A) be considered in determining whether 

21 a district (as the term is defined in section 202 

22 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 

23 U.S.C. 390bb)) has discharged the obligation of 

24 the district to repay the construction cost of 


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1 project facilities used to make irrigation water 

2 available for delivery to land in the district; 

3 (B) serve as the basis for reinstating acre4 age limitation provisions in a district that has 

5 completed payment of the construction obliga6 tions of the district; or 

7 (C) serve as the basis for increasing the 

8 construction repayment obligation of the dis9 trict, which would extend the period during 

10 which the acreage limitation provisions would 

11 apply. 

12 (2) EFFECT ON WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

13 this section— 

14 (A) creates Federal water rights; or 

15 (B) requires the grant of water rights to 

16 Federal entities. 

17 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

19 appropriated to carry out projects and activities 

20 under this section an additional $78,000,000 as ad21 justed under paragraph (3). 

22 (2) NONREIMBURSABLE FEDERAL EXPENDI23 TURES.—Any amounts to be expended under para24 graph (1) shall be considered nonreimbursable Fed25 eral expenditures. 


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1 (3) ADJUSTMENT.—The balance of funds re2 maining to be expended shall be adjusted for infla3 tion on October 1 of the year after the date of enact4 ment of this Act and each October 1 thereafter. 

5 (4) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—At the end of 

6 each fiscal year, any unexpended funds for projects 

7 and activities made available under paragraph (1) 

8 shall be retained for use in future fiscal years to im9 plement projects and activities under the Program. 

10 Any unexpended funds appropriated during the 

11 First Increment shall be retained and carried over 

12 from the First Increment into the First Increment 

13 Extension. 

14 (f) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority 

15 for the Secretary to implement the First Increment Exten16 sion shall terminate on September 30, 2033. 

Æ 


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