I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5247 

To provide short-term water supplies to drought-stricken California and provide for long-term investments in drought resiliency throughout the Western United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 16, 2016 

Mr. GARAMENDI (for himself, Mr. COSTA, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, and Mr. PETERS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and 

Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide short-term water supplies to drought-stricken 

California and provide for long-term investments in 

drought resiliency throughout the Western United States. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘California Long-Term Provisions for Water Supply and 

6 Short-Term Provisions for Emergency Drought Relief 

7 Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

TITLE I—LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENTS FOR WESTERN STATES 

SUBJECT TO DROUGHT 

Subtitle A—Assistance for Drought-Stricken Communities 

Sec. 101. Assistance for drought-stricken communities and WaterSMART reauthorization. 

Sec. 102. Utilizing State revolving funds for areas with inadequate water supplies. 

Subtitle B—Storage Provisions 

Sec. 111. Definitions. 

Sec. 112. Water storage project construction. 

Sec. 113. Reservoir operation improvement. 

Sec. 114. Findings. 

Sec. 115. Studies. 

Sec. 116. Losses caused by construction and operation of water storage 

projects. 

Subtitle C—Desalination, Water Reuse and Recycling, and Conservation 

Sec. 121. Water recycling and desalination projects. 

Sec. 122. Reauthorization of Water Desalination Act. 

Sec. 123. New water recycling and reuse projects. 

Sec. 124. Promoting water efficiency with WaterSense. 

Subtitle D—Reclamation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation 

Sec. 131. Purposes. 

Sec. 132. Definitions. 

Sec. 133. Authority to provide assistance. 

Sec. 134. Applications. 

Sec. 135. Eligibility for assistance. 

Sec. 136. Determination of eligibility and project selection. 

Sec. 137. Secured loans. 

Sec. 138. Program administration. 

Sec. 139. State and local permits. 

Sec. 140. Regulations. 

Sec. 141. Funding. 

TITLE II—LISTED SPECIES AND WILDLIFE 

Sec. 201. Actions to benefit endangered fish populations. 

Sec. 202. Actions to benefit refuges. 

Sec. 203. Non-Federal program to protect native anadromous fish in Stanislaus 

River. 

Sec. 204. Pilot projects to implement CALFED invasive species program. 


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TITLE III—CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY DROUGHT RELIEF AND 

OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY 

Sec. 301. Taking into account increased real-time monitoring and updated 

science. 

Sec. 302. Emergency operations. 

Sec. 303. Temporary operational flexibility to capture peak flows from winter 

storms. 

Sec. 304. Emergency environmental reviews. 

Sec. 305. Level of detail required for analysis. 

TITLE IV—WATER RIGHTS 

Sec. 401. Offset for State Water Project. 

Sec. 402. Area of origin and water rights protections. 

Sec. 403. No redirected adverse impacts. 

Sec. 404. Allocations for Sacramento Valley water service contractors. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Authorized service area. 

Sec. 502. Oversight over and public input into Restoration Fund activities. 

Sec. 503. Basin studies. 

Sec. 504. Technical and modeling assistance. 

Sec. 505. Report on results of water usage. 

Sec. 506. Additional storage at New Melones. 

Sec. 507. Contracting authorities. 

Sec. 508. Voluntary open water data system. 

Sec. 509. Single annual report. 

TITLE VI—OFFSETS 

Sec. 601. Deauthorization of inactive projects. 

Sec. 602. Accelerated revenue, repayment, and surface water storage enhancement. 

TITLE VII—DURATION AND EFFECT ON EXISTING OBLIGATIONS 

Sec. 701. Savings clause. 

Sec. 702. Termination. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to help communities most at risk of running 

4 out of clean water; 

5 (2) to provide funding and support for long6 term solutions including water storage, desalination 

7 and recycling; 


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1 (3) to protect threatened and endangered spe2 cies; and 

3 (4) to facilitate the movement of water to com4 munities most in need while adhering to all environ5 mental laws. 

6 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) California is experiencing one of the most 

9 severe droughts on record, with the snowpack at the 

10 lowest levels in 500 years; 

11 (2) Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought 

12 state of emergency on January 17, 2014, and subse13 quently imposed strict water reductions on commu14 nities throughout the State; 

15 (3) the drought constitutes a serious emergency 

16 that poses immediate and severe risks to— 

17 (A) human health and safety; 

18 (B) economic security; and 

19 (C) the environment; 

20 (4) wells that provide households with clean 

21 water have dried up due to 4 consecutive years of 

22 drought, with approximately 2,591 domestic wells 

23 statewide identified as critical or dry, affecting an 

24 estimated 12,955 residents, many in the Central 

25 Valley; 


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1 (5) rural and disadvantaged communities have 

2 been hardest hit, placing great strain on drinking 

3 water supplies in the Southern San Joaquin Val4 ley— 

5 (A) 69 communities in Southern San Joa6 quin Valley have reported significant water sup7 ply and quality issues; and 

8 (B) East Porterville is particularly hard 

9 hit, with 40 percent, or 3,000, of its residents, 

10 without running water; 

11 (6) the State of California’s water supplies are 

12 at record-low levels, as indicated by the fact that 

13 major Central Valley Project reservoir levels were 

14 anywhere from 30 percent to 79 percent of their his15 torical average as of February 8, 2016; 

16 (7) while storage levels are below their histor17 ical averages, snowpack is the deepest it’s been since 

18 2005, the State of California’s Department of Water 

19 Resources found in its survey conducted on Feb20 ruary 2, 2016, that the snow-water equivalent (the 

21 amount of water in the snowpack) was 130 percent 

22 above the February average; 

23 (8) the drought has resulted in many lost jobs 

24 including more than 21,000 seasonal and part-time 

25 agricultural jobs—resulting in a 10.9 percent unemVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 ployment rate in the Central Valley, double the 

2 statewide unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, as of 

3 December 15, 2015; 

4 (9) thousands of families have been affected, 

5 placing ever greater demands on food banks and 

6 other relief organizations, and as of December 21, 

7 2015— 

8 (A) the California Department of Social 

9 Services Drought Food Assistance Program has 

10 provided more than 1,000,000 boxes to food 

11 banks in affected communities with high levels 

12 of unemployment; and 

13 (B) nearly 72 percent of the food distribu14 tions have occurred in the Tulare Basin coun15 ties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, and Tulare; 

16 (10) 2015 statewide economic costs are esti17 mated at $2,700,000,00, including but not limited 

18 to— 

19 (A) the loss of $900,000,000 in crop rev20 enue; 

21 (B) the loss of $350,000,000 in dairy and 

22 other livestock value; and 

23 (C) an increase of $590,000,000 in ground 

24 water pumping costs; 


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1 (11) 1,032,508 acres in California’s Central 

2 Valley were fallowed in 2015, a 626,512 acre in3 crease from 2011; 

4 (12) the drought is imperiling California’s for5 ests, which provide important ecological, economic, 

6 and cultural benefits to the State, and among the ef7 fects of the drought— 

8 (A) loss of 50,000,000 large trees due to 

9 stress from lack of water; 

10 (B) 888,000,000 trees, covering 

11 26,000,000 acres of California forestland, expe12 rienced losses of canopy cover since 2011, 

13 threatening ecosystem destruction and loss of 

14 animal habitat; and 

15 (C) 6,337 fires covering 307,598 acres oc16 curred in 2015; 

17 (13) fish continue to be threatened by the ex18 tended drought, compounding effects on two endan19 gered species, further reducing river flows and in20 creasing water temperatures— 

21 (A) Delta smelt abundance are at a his22 toric low, as evidenced by long-term monitoring 

23 surveys; and 

24 (B) the abundance of the last remaining 

25 population of wild Sacramento River winter run 


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1 Chinook salmon continue to decline, with mor2 tality rates between 95 percent and 97 percent 

3 over the past 2 years, according to the National 

4 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

5 (14) wildlife has also been affected, with Level 

6 2 water deliveries to wildlife refuges under the Cen7 tral Valley Project Improvement Act reduced by 25 

8 percent in the north-of-Delta region and 35 percent 

9 in the south-of-Delta region, and delivery schedules 

10 shortened to only the winter months, and— 

11 (A) these reduced water supplies have con12 tributed to a decline of the Pacific Flyway, a 

13 migratory route for waterfowl that spans from 

14 Alaska to South America; 

15 (B) the reduction in water supplies has led 

16 to a significant decline in flooded rice fields, a 

17 vital habitat for migratory birds. Only one-third 

18 of the usual acres of rice fields were flooded in 

19 2015; and 

20 (C) the reduction of available habitat for 

21 migratory waterfowl contributed to a decreased 

22 food availability in wildlife refuges and an in23 creased risk of disease due to overcrowding of 

24 birds; 


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1 (15) subsidence in California is occurring at 

2 more than 12 inches per year, caused in part by an 

3 increase in ground water pumping of more than 

4 6,000,000 acre feet, some areas in the Central Val5 ley have sunk as much as 2 inches per month, and 

6 the damage from subsidence is wide-ranging— 

7 (A) roads, bridges, building foundations, 

8 pipelines, canals, dams, and other infrastruc9 ture have been damaged; 

10 (B) vital aquifers have been depleted; 

11 (C) vital levees have sustained cracks and 

12 ruptures; and 

13 (D) shallow aquifers have become vulner14 able to contamination as surface water infil15 trates through fissures in the soil; 

16 (16) the California Department of Water Re17 sources identified 21 ground water basins where ex18 cessive ground water pumping has resulted in over19 draft, 11 of which are in the San Joaquin Valley; 

20 (17) California homes, cities, wildlife, busi21 nesses, and farming need more water than is avail22 able today, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley; 

23 (18) Congress recognizes that providing more 

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1 based management of water supplies and fish and 

2 wildlife resources, including— 

3 (A) alternative management strategies, 

4 such as removing nonnative species, enhancing 

5 habitat, monitoring fish movement and location 

6 in real-time, and improving water quality in the 

7 Delta, which could contribute significantly to 

8 protecting and recovering those endangered fish 

9 species, and at potentially lower costs to water 

10 supplies than solely focusing on restrictions on 

11 water exports; and 

12 (B) updated science and improved moni13 toring tools that provide Federal and State 

14 agencies with better information about condi15 tions and operations that may or may not lead 

16 to high salvage events that jeopardize fish pop17 ulations; and 

18 (19) given the dire effects outlined above and 

19 the potential for continued harm, this emergency re20 quires— 

21 (A) immediate and credible action that 

22 takes into account the complexity and impor23 tance of the water system to the State; and 

24 (B) policies that do not position stake25 holders against one another, which in the past 


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1 has led to costly litigation that benefits no one 

2 and prevents any real solutions. 

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR.—The term 

6 ‘‘Assistant Administrator’’ means the Assistant Ad7 ministrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanic 

8 and Atmospheric Administration. 

9 (2) CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT.—The term 

10 ‘‘Central Valley Project’’ has the meaning given the 

11 term in section 3403 of the Central Valley Project 

12 Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 

13 4707). 

14 (3) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis15 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Reclamation. 

16 (4) DELTA.—The term ‘‘Delta’’ means the Sac17 ramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Suisun Marsh 

18 (as defined in section 12220 of the California Water 

19 Code and section 29101 of the California Public Re20 sources Code (as in effect on the date of enactment 

21 of this Act)). 

22 (5) DELTA SMELT.—The term ‘‘Delta smelt’’ 

23 means the fish species with the scientific name 

24 Hypomesus transpacificus. 


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1 (6) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

3 Service. 

4 (7) LISTED FISH SPECIES.—The term ‘‘listed 

5 fish species’’ means— 

6 (A) any natural origin steelhead, natural 

7 origin genetic spring run Chinook, or genetic 

8 winter run Chinook salmon (including any 

9 hatchery steelhead or salmon population within 

10 the evolutionary significant unit or a distinct 

11 population segment); and 

12 (B) Delta smelt. 

13 (8) OMR.—The term ‘‘OMR’’ means the Old 

14 and Middle River in the Delta. 

15 (9) OMR FLOW.—The term ‘‘OMR flow’’ 

16 means Old and Middle River flow of any given meas17 urement, expressed in cubic feet per second, as de18 scribed in— 

19 (A) the smelt biological opinion; and 

20 (B) the salmonid biological opinion. 

21 (10) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec22 lamation State’’ means any of the States of— 

23 (A) Arizona; 

24 (B) California; 

25 (C) Colorado; 


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1 (D) Idaho; 

2 (E) Kansas; 

3 (F) Montana; 

4 (G) Nebraska; 

5 (H) Nevada; 

6 (I) New Mexico; 

7 (J) North Dakota; 

8 (K) Oklahoma; 

9 (L) Oregon; 

10 (M) South Dakota; 

11 (N) Texas; 

12 (O) Utah; 

13 (P) Washington; and 

14 (Q) Wyoming. 

15 (11) SALMONID BIOLOGICAL OPINION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘salmonid bi17 ological opinion’’ means the biological and con18 ference opinion of the National Marine Fish19 eries Service dated June 4, 2009, regarding the 

20 long-term operation of the Central Valley 

21 Project and the State Water Project, and suc22 cessor biological opinions. 

23 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘salmonid bi24 ological opinion’’ includes the operative inciVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 dental take statement of the opinion described 

2 in subparagraph (A). 

3 (12) SMELT BIOLOGICAL OPINION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘smelt bio5 logical opinion’’ means the biological opinion 

6 dated December 15, 2008, regarding the coordi7 nated operation of the Central Valley Project 

8 and the State Water Project, and successor bio9 logical opinions. 

10 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘smelt bio11 logical opinion’’ includes the operative inci12 dental take statement of the opinion described 

13 in subparagraph (A). 

14 (13) STATE WATER PROJECT.—The term 

15 ‘‘State Water Project’’ means the water project de16 scribed in chapter 5 of part 3 of division 6 of the 

17 California Water Code (section 11550 et seq.) (as in 

18 effect on the date of enactment of this Act) and op19 erated by the California Department of Water Re20 sources. 


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1 TITLE I—LONG-TERM IMPROVE2 MENTS FOR WESTERN 

3 STATES SUBJECT TO 

4 DROUGHT 

5 Subtitle A—Assistance for Drought6 Stricken Communities 

7 SEC. 101. ASSISTANCE FOR DROUGHT-STRICKEN COMMU8 NITIES AND WATERSMART REAUTHORIZA9 TION. 

10 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

11 (1) across the United States, more than 90 per12 cent of the community water systems serve popu13 lations of less than 10,000 individuals; 

14 (2) the number of dry wells continues to in15 crease as the State of California entered the fourth 

16 consecutive summer of drought, with approximately 

17 2,591 wells statewide identified as critical or dry, 

18 which affected an estimated 12,955 residents, with 

19 2,444 of the 2,502 of the dry wells concentrated in 

20 the inland regions within the Central Valley; 

21 (3) many areas of the State of California are 

22 disproportionately impacted by drought because the 

23 areas are heavily dependent or completely reliant on 

24 ground water from basins that are in overdraft and 


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1 in which the water table declines year after year or 

2 from basins that are contaminated; and 

3 (4) those communities throughout the State of 

4 California have been impacted by the presence of 

5 naturally occurring arsenic in the ground water 

6 among other contaminants, as a result of higher 

7 concentration of contaminants in the water. 

8 (b) AMENDMENT.—Section 9504 of the Omnibus 

9 Public Land Management Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 

12 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(c) WATER STORAGE, INTEGRATED REGIONAL

16 WATER MANAGEMENT, RECLAMATION, AND RECYCLING

17 PROJECTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte19 rior is authorized to enter into cost-shared financial 

20 assistance and other long-term agreements with non21 Federal participants to advance the planning, de22 sign, and construction of non-Federal permanent 

23 water storage and conveyance facilities, projects for 

24 the reclamation and reuse of municipal, industrial, 

25 domestic and agricultural wastewater, and naturally 


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1 impaired ground and surface waters, ground water 

2 recharge, and other water management improvement 

3 projects for which the Secretary of the Interior is 

4 authorized under this subtitle to assist an applicant 

5 in the planning, design, and construction. 

6 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.— 

7 The Secretary of the Interior may provide financial 

8 assistance under this subtitle to carry out projects 

9 within— 

10 ‘‘(A) any Reclamation State, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) Arizona; 

12 ‘‘(ii) California; 

13 ‘‘(iii) Colorado; 

14 ‘‘(iv) Idaho; 

15 ‘‘(v) Kansas; 

16 ‘‘(vi) Montana; 

17 ‘‘(vii) Nebraska; 

18 ‘‘(viii) Nevada; 

19 ‘‘(ix) New Mexico; 

20 ‘‘(x) North Dakota; 

21 ‘‘(xi) Oklahoma; 

22 ‘‘(xii) Oregon; 

23 ‘‘(xiii) South Dakota; 

24 ‘‘(xiv) Texas; 

25 ‘‘(xv) Utah; 


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1 ‘‘(xvi) Washington; and 

2 ‘‘(xvii) Wyoming; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the States of Alaska and Hawaii. 

4 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In providing financial assist5 ance under this section, the Secretary of the Interior 

6 shall give priority to storage, conveyance, and water 

7 management improvement projects that— 

8 ‘‘(A) ensure the efficient and beneficial use 

9 of water or reuse of recycled water; 

10 ‘‘(B) use integrated and coordinated water 

11 management on a watershed or regional scale; 

12 ‘‘(C) increase the availability of usable 

13 water supplies in a watershed or region to ben14 efit individuals, the economy, and the environ15 ment and include adaptive measures needed to 

16 address climate change and future demands; 

17 ‘‘(D) where practicable, provide flood con18 trol or recreation benefits and include the devel19 opment of incremental hydroelectric power gen20 eration; and 

21 ‘‘(E) generate environmental benefits, such 

22 as benefits to fisheries, wildlife and habitat, 

23 water quality, water-dependent ecological sys24 tems, and water supply benefits to agricultural 

25 and urban water users. 


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1 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The Federal 

2 share of the cost of a project under this subsection 

3 shall be— 

4 ‘‘(A) an amount equal to the lesser of— 

5 ‘‘(i) 25 percent of total costs; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) $20,000,000 (adjusted for infla7 tion); and 

8 ‘‘(B) nonreimbursable. 

9 ‘‘(5) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non-Fed10 eral share of the cost of a project under this sub11 section may include in-kind contributions to the 

12 planning, design, and construction of the project. 

13 ‘‘(6) TITLE; OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

14 COSTS.—The non-Federal entity entering into a fi15 nancial assistance agreement under this subsection 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) hold title in and to all facilities con18 structed under this subsection, and 

19 ‘‘(B) be solely responsible for the costs of 

20 operating and maintaining those facilities.’’; 

21 and 

22 (3) in subsection (f) (as redesignated by para23 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘$350,000,000’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘$500,000,000’’. 


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1 (c) AMENDMENT.—Section 9508 of the Omnibus 

2 Public Land Management Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10368) 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 

5 as subsections (c) through (f), respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITIES

9 WITHOUT ACCESS TO ADEQUATE WATER.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To assist disadvantaged 

11 communities that have experienced a significant de12 cline in quantity or quality of drinking water, and to 

13 obtain or maintain adequate quantities of water that 

14 meet the standards set by the Federal Water Pollu15 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Sec16 retary of the Interior is authorized to provide grants 

17 for communities— 

18 ‘‘(A) that are unable to meet the primary 

19 water quality standards under that Act; or 

20 ‘‘(B) the local private or public water sup21 ply of which has been lost or severely dimin22 ished due to drought conditions. 

23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE COMMUNITIES.—To be eligible 

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1 nity shall carry out a project described in paragraph 

2 (3), the service area of which— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall not be located in any city or 

4 town with a population of more than 60,000 

5 residents; and 

6 ‘‘(B) has a median household income of 

7 less than 100 percent of the nonmetropolitan 

8 median household income of the State. 

9 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Projects eligible for 

10 this program may be used for— 

11 ‘‘(A) emergency water supplies; 

12 ‘‘(B) point of use treatment and point of 

13 entry systems; 

14 ‘‘(C) distributed treatment facilities; 

15 ‘‘(D) construction of new water source fa16 cilities including wells and connections to exist17 ing systems; 

18 ‘‘(E) water distribution facilities; 

19 ‘‘(F) connection fees to existing systems; 

20 ‘‘(G) assistance to households to connect to 

21 water facilities; and 

22 ‘‘(H) any combination of activities de23 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (G). 


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1 ‘‘(4) PRIORITIZATION.—In determining prior2 ities for funding projects, the Secretary of the Inte3 rior shall take into consideration— 

4 ‘‘(A) where water outages— 

5 ‘‘(i) are most serious; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) pose the greatest threat to public 

7 health and safety; and 

8 ‘‘(B) whether the applicant has the ability 

9 to qualify for alternative funding sources. 

10 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a 

11 grant provided under this section may be made up 

12 to 100 percent of costs, including— 

13 ‘‘(A) initial operation costs incurred for 

14 start-up and testing of project facilities; 

15 ‘‘(B) components to ensure such facilities 

16 and components are properly operational; and 

17 ‘‘(C) costs of operation or maintenance in18 curred subsequent to placing the facilities or 

19 components into service.’’. 

20 SEC. 102. UTILIZING STATE REVOLVING FUNDS FOR AREAS 

21 WITH INADEQUATE WATER SUPPLIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the 5-year period beginning 

23 on the date of enactment of this Act, in allocating amounts 

24 to California from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund 

25 established under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution 


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1 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) and the Drinking 

2 Water State Revolving Fund established under section 

3 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j– 

4 12) for any project eligible to receive assistance under sec5 tion 603 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

6 U.S.C. 1383) or section 1452(a)(2) of the Safe Drinking 

7 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(a)(2)), respectively, that 

8 the State of California determines will provide additional 

9 water supplies most expeditiously to areas that are at risk 

10 of having an inadequate supply of water for public health 

11 and safety purposes or to improve resiliency to drought, 

12 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen13 cy shall— 

14 (1) require the State of California to review and 

15 prioritize funding; 

16 (2) make a finding on any request for a waiver 

17 received from the State of California by not later 

18 than 30 days after the date of conclusion of the in19 formal public comment period pursuant to section 

20 436(c) of division G of Public Law 113–76 (128 

21 Stat. 347); and 

22 (3) authorize, at the request of the State of 

23 California, 40-year financing for assistance under 

24 section 603(d)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution 

25 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(d)(2)) or section 


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1 1452(f)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 300j–12(f)(2)), as applicable. 

3 (b) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section 

4 authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Pro5 tection Agency to modify any funding allocation, funding 

6 criteria, or other requirement relating to State water pol7 lution control revolving funds established under title VI 

8 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

9 1381 et seq.) or the State drinking water treatment re10 volving loan funds established under section 1452 of the 

11 Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12) for any 

12 State other than California. 

13 Subtitle B—Storage Provisions 

14 SEC. 111. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this subtitle: 

16 (1) FEDERALLY OWNED STORAGE PROJECT.— 

17 The term ‘‘federally owned storage project’’ means 

18 any project involving a surface water storage facility 

19 in a Reclamation State— 

20 (A) to which the United States holds title; 

21 and 

22 (B) that was authorized to be constructed, 

23 operated, and maintained pursuant to the rec24 lamation laws. 


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1 (2) STATE-LED STORAGE PROJECT.—The term 

2 ‘‘State-led storage project’’ means any project in a 

3 Reclamation State that— 

4 (A) involves a ground water or surface 

5 water storage facility constructed, operated, and 

6 maintained by any State, department of a 

7 State, subdivision of a State, or public agency 

8 organized pursuant to State law; and 

9 (B) provides a benefit in meeting any obli10 gation under Federal law (including regula11 tions). 

12 SEC. 112. WATER STORAGE PROJECT CONSTRUCTION. 

13 (a) FEDERALLY OWNED STORAGE PROJECTS.— 

14 (1) AGREEMENTS.—On the request of any 

15 State, any department, agency, or subdivision of a 

16 State, or any public agency organized pursuant to 

17 State law, the Secretary of the Interior may nego18 tiate and enter into an agreement on behalf of the 

19 United States for the design, study, and construc20 tion or expansion of any federally owned storage 

21 project in accordance with this section. 

22 (2) FEDERAL COST SHARE.—Subject to the re23 quirements of this subsection, the Secretary of the 

24 Interior may participate in a federally owned storage 

25 project in an amount equal to not more than 50 perVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 cent of the total cost of the federally owned storage 

2 project. 

3 (3) COMMENCEMENT.—The construction of a 

4 federally owned storage project that is the subject of 

5 an agreement under this subsection shall not com6 mence until the Secretary of the Interior— 

7 (A) determines that the proposed federally 

8 owned storage project is feasible in accordance 

9 with the reclamation laws; 

10 (B) secures an agreement providing up11 front funding as is necessary to pay the non12 Federal share of the capital costs; and 

13 (C) determines that, in return for the Fed14 eral cost-share investment in the federally 

15 owned storage project, at least a proportionate 

16 share of the project benefits are Federal bene17 fits, including water supplies dedicated to spe18 cific purposes such as environmental enhance19 ment and wildlife refuges. 

20 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—In participating 

21 in a federally owned storage project under this sub22 section, the Secretary of the Interior shall comply 

23 with all applicable environmental laws, including the 

24 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

25 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 


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1 (b) STATE-LED STORAGE PROJECTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements 

3 of this subsection, the Secretary of the Interior may 

4 participate in a State-led storage project in an 

5 amount equal to not more than 25 percent of the 

6 total cost of the State-led storage project. 

7 (2) REQUEST BY GOVERNOR.—Participation by 

8 the Secretary of the Interior in a State-led storage 

9 project under this subsection shall not occur un10 less— 

11 (A) the participation has been requested by 

12 the Governor of the State in which the State13 led storage project is located; 

14 (B) the State or local sponsor determines, 

15 and the Secretary of the Interior concurs, 

16 that— 

17 (i) the State-led storage project is 

18 technically and financially feasible; 

19 (ii) sufficient non-Federal funding is 

20 available to complete the State-led storage 

21 project; and 

22 (iii) the State-led storage project 

23 sponsors are financially solvent; 

24 (C) the Secretary of the Interior deter25 mines that, in return for the Federal cost-share 


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1 investment in the State-led storage project, at 

2 least a proportional share of the project benefits 

3 are the Federal benefits, including water sup4 plies dedicated to specific purposes such as en5 vironmental enhancement and wildlife refuges; 

6 and 

7 (D) the Secretary of the Interior submits 

8 to Congress a written notification of these de9 terminations. 

10 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—When partici11 pating in a State-led storage project under this sub12 section, the Secretary shall comply with all applica13 ble environmental laws, including the National Envi14 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

15 seq.). 

16 (4) INFORMATION.—When participating in a 

17 State-led storage project under this subsection, the 

18 Secretary of the Interior— 

19 (A) may rely on reports prepared by the 

20 sponsor of the State-led storage project, includ21 ing feasibility (or equivalent) studies, environ22 mental analyses, and other pertinent reports 

23 and analyses; but 


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1 (B) shall retain responsibility for making 

2 the independent determinations described in 

3 paragraph (2). 

4 (c) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.—The Sec5 retary of the Interior may provide financial assistance 

6 under this subtitle to carry out projects within any Rec7 lamation State, including— 

8 (1) Arizona; 

9 (2) California; 

10 (3) Colorado; 

11 (4) Idaho; 

12 (5) Kansas; 

13 (6) Montana; 

14 (7) Nebraska; 

15 (8) Nevada; 

16 (9) New Mexico; 

17 (10) North Dakota; 

18 (11) Oklahoma; 

19 (12) Oregon; 

20 (13) South Dakota; 

21 (14) Texas; 

22 (15) Utah; 

23 (16) Washington; and 

24 (17) Wyoming. 


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1 (d) RIGHTS TO USE CAPACITY.—Subject to compli2 ance with State water rights laws, the right to use the 

3 capacity of a federally owned storage project or State-led 

4 storage project for which the Secretary of the Interior has 

5 entered into an agreement under this subsection shall be 

6 allocated in such manner as may be mutually agreed to 

7 by the Secretary of the Interior and each other party to 

8 the agreement. 

9 (e) COMPLIANCE WITH CALIFORNIA WATER

10 BOND.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The provision of Federal 

12 funding for construction of a State-led storage 

13 project in the State shall be subject to the condition 

14 that the California Water Commission shall deter15 mine that the State-led storage project is consistent 

16 with the California Water Quality, Supply, and In17 frastructure Improvement Act, approved by Cali18 fornia voters on November 4, 2014. 

19 (2) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection expires 

20 on the date on which State bond funds available 

21 under the Act referred to in paragraph (1) are ex22 pended. 

23 (f) PARTNERSHIP AND AGREEMENTS.—The Sec24 retary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner, 

25 may partner or enter into an agreement regarding the 


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1 water storage projects identified in section 103(d)(1) of 

2 the Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Im3 provement Act (Public Law 108–361; 118 Stat. 1688) 

4 with local joint powers authorities formed pursuant to 

5 State law by irrigation districts and other local water dis6 tricts and local governments within the applicable hydro7 logic region, to advance those projects. 

8 (g) CALFED AUTHORIZATION.—Title I of Public 

9 Law 108–361 (the CALFED Bay-Delta Authorization 

10 Act) (118 Stat. 1681; 123 Stat. 2860; 128 Stat. 164; 128 

11 Stat. 2312) (as amended by section 207 of Public Law 

12 114–113) is amended by striking ‘‘2017’’ each place it ap13 pears and inserting ‘‘2019’’. 

14 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

16 appropriated to carry out this section $600,000,000 

17 to remain available until expended. 

18 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Only a federally owned stor19 age project or State-led storage project that has 

20 been determined by the Secretary of the Interior to 

21 meet the eligibility criteria described in subsections 

22 (a) and (b) shall be eligible to receive funding under 

23 this section. 

24 (i) SUNSET.—This section shall apply only to feder25 ally owned storage projects and State-led storage projects 


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1 that the Secretary of the Interior determines to be feasible 

2 before January 1, 2021. 

3 (j) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE LAW.—Nothing in 

4 this section preempts or modifies any obligation of the 

5 United States to act in conformance with applicable State 

6 law. 

7 SEC. 113. RESERVOIR OPERATION IMPROVEMENT. 

8 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall 

10 submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Environ11 ment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committees 

12 on Appropriations and Transportation and Infrastructure 

13 of the House of Representatives a report describing, with 

14 respect to any State under a gubernatorial drought dec15 laration during water year 2015, the following: 

16 (1) A list of Corps of Engineer projects and 

17 non-Federal projects operated for flood control in 

18 accordance with rules prescribed by the Secretary of 

19 the Army pursuant to section 7 of the Act of De20 cember 22, 1944 (commonly known as the ‘‘Flood 

21 Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 890, chapter 665)). 

22 (2) The year during which the original water 

23 control manual was approved. 


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1 (3) The year during which any subsequent revi2 sions to the water control plan and manual of the 

3 project are proposed to occur. 

4 (4) A list of projects for which operational devi5 ations for drought contingency have been requested, 

6 and the status of the request. 

7 (5) The means by which water conservation and 

8 water quality improvements were addressed. 

9 (6) A list of projects for which permanent or 

10 seasonal changes to storage allocations have been re11 quested, and the status of the request. 

12 (b) PROJECT IDENTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 

13 days after the date of completion of the report under sub14 section (a), the Secretary of the Army shall identify any 

15 projects described in the report that meet the following 

16 criteria: 

17 (1) The project is located in a State in which 

18 a drought emergency has been declared or was in ef19 fect during the 1-year period preceding the date of 

20 final review by the Secretary. 

21 (2) The water control manual and 

22 hydrometeorological information establishing the 

23 flood control rule curves of the project are consid24 ered out of date as a result of not being updated for 

25 a period of 20 years. 


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1 (3) A non-Federal sponsor of a Corps of Engi2 neers project, or owner of a non-Federal project, as 

3 applicable, has submitted to the Secretary a written 

4 request to revise water operations manuals, includ5 ing flood control rule curves, based on the use of im6 proved weather forecasting or run-off forecasting 

7 methods, new watershed data, changes to project op8 erations, or structural improvements. 

9 (c) PILOT PROJECTS.— 

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

11 the date of identification of projects under sub12 section (b), if any, the Secretary of the Army shall 

13 carry out not more than 15 pilot projects, including 

14 not less than 6 non-Federal projects (within the 

15 meaning of subsection (a)(1)), if any are identified 

16 under subsection (b), to implement revisions of 

17 water operations manuals, including flood control 

18 rule curves, based on the best available science, 

19 which may include— 

20 (A) forecast-informed operations; 

21 (B) new watershed data; and 

22 (C) if applicable, in the case of non-Fed23 eral projects, structural improvements. 

24 (2) CONSULTATION.—In implementing the pilot 

25 projects pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary of 


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1 the Army shall consult with all affected interests, in2 cluding— 

3 (A) non-Federal entities responsible for op4 erations and maintenance costs of a Corps of 

5 Engineers facility; 

6 (B) affected water rights holders; 

7 (C) individuals and entities with storage 

8 entitlements; and 

9 (D) local agencies with flood control re10 sponsibilities downstream of a Corps of Engi11 neers facility. 

12 (d) COORDINATION WITH NON-FEDERAL PROJECT

13 ENTITIES.—Before carrying out an activity under this 

14 section, if a project identified under subsection (b) is— 

15 (1) a non-Federal project, the Secretary of the 

16 Army shall— 

17 (A) consult with the non-Federal project 

18 owner; and 

19 (B) enter into a cooperative agreement, 

20 memorandum of understanding, or other agree21 ment with the non-Federal project owner de22 scribing the scope and goals of the activity and 

23 the coordination among the parties; or 

24 (2) owned and operated by the Corps of Engi25 neers, the Secretary of the Army shall— 


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1 (A) consult with each non-Federal entity 

2 (including a municipal water district, irrigation 

3 district, joint powers authority, or other local 

4 governmental entity) that currently— 

5 (i) manages (in whole or in part) a 

6 Corps of Engineers dam or reservoir; or 

7 (ii) is responsible for operations and 

8 maintenance costs; and 

9 (B) enter into a cooperative agreement, 

10 memorandum of understanding, or other agree11 ment with each entity describing the scope and 

12 goals of the activity and the coordination 

13 among the parties. 

14 (e) CONSIDERATION.—In designing and imple15 menting a forecast-informed reservoir operations plan, the 

16 Secretary of the Army shall work closely with the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and may con18 sider— 

19 (1) the relationship between ocean and atmos20 pheric conditions, including the El Nin ̃o and La 

21 Nin ̃a cycles, and the potential for above-normal, nor22 mal, and below-normal rainfall for the coming water 

23 year, including consideration of atmospheric river 

24 forecasts; 


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1 (2) the precipitation and runoff index specific 

2 to the basin and watershed of the relevant dam or 

3 reservoir, including incorporating knowledge of 

4 hydrological and meteorological conditions that influ5 ence the timing and quantity of runoff; 

6 (3) improved hydrologic forecasting for precipi7 tation, snowpack, and soil moisture conditions; 

8 (4) an adjustment of operational flood control 

9 rule curves to optimize water supply storage and re10 liability, hydropower production, environmental bene11 fits for flows and temperature, and other authorized 

12 project benefits, without a reduction in flood safety; 

13 and 

14 (5) proactive management in response to 

15 changes in forecasts. 

16 (f) FUNDING.— 

17 (1) DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL DOCU18 MENT.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘operational 

19 document’’ means— 

20 (A) a water control plan; 

21 (B) a water control manual; 

22 (C) a water control diagram; 

23 (D) a release schedule; 

24 (E) a rule curve; 


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1 (F) an operational agreement with a non2 Federal entity; and 

3 (G) any environmental documentation as4 sociated with a document described in any of 

5 subparagraphs (A) through (F). 

6 (2) ACCEPTANCE AND USE.—The Secretary of 

7 the Army may accept and expend amounts from 

8 non-Federal entities to fund all or a portion of the 

9 cost of carrying out a review or revision of oper10 ational documents for any reservoir that is either op11 erated or maintained by the Secretary, or for which 

12 the Secretary is authorized to prescribe regulations 

13 or otherwise advise or consult concerning the use of 

14 storage allocated for flood risk management or navi15 gation. 

16 (g) EFFECT OF MANUAL REVISIONS AND OTHER

17 PROVISIONS.— 

18 (1) MANUAL REVISIONS.—In accordance with 

19 all applicable laws, a revision of a manual shall not 

20 interfere with— 

21 (A) the authorized purposes of a Corps of 

22 Engineers project; or 

23 (B) the existing purposes of a non-Federal 

24 project that is regulated for flood control by the 

25 Secretary of the Army. 


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1 (2) EFFECT.— 

2 (A) ACT.—Nothing in this Act authorizes 

3 the Secretary of the Army to carry out, at a 

4 Corps of Engineers or non-Federal dam or res5 ervoir, any project or activity for a purpose not 

6 otherwise authorized as of the date of enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 (B) SECTION.—Nothing in this section— 

9 (i) affects or modifies any obligation 

10 of the Secretary of the Army under State 

11 law; or 

12 (ii) authorizes the diversion or use of 

13 water in a manner that is inconsistent with 

14 State water rights law. 

15 (3) BUREAU OF RECLAMATION PROJECTS EX16 CLUDED.—This section shall not apply to any dam 

17 or reservoir owned by the Bureau of Reclamation. 

18 (h) MODIFICATIONS TO MANUALS AND CURVES.— 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of completion of 

20 a modification to an operations manual or flood control 

21 rule curve, the Secretary of the Army shall submit to Con22 gress a report regarding the components of the forecast23 based reservoir operations plan incorporated into the 

24 change. 


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1 SEC. 114. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the record drought conditions being experi4 enced in the State of California as of the date of en5 actment of this Act are— 

6 (A) expected to recur in the future; and 

7 (B) likely to do so with increasing fre8 quency; 

9 (2) water storage is an indispensable and inte10 gral part of any solution to address the long-term 

11 water challenges of the State of California; 

12 (3) Congress has authorized relevant feasibility 

13 studies for 5 water storage projects in the State of 

14 California, including projects for— 

15 (A) enlargement of Shasta Dam in Shasta 

16 County under section 2(a) of Public Law 96– 

17 375 (94 Stat. 1506), as reaffirmed under sec18 tion 103(d)(1)(A)(i)(I) of Public Law 108–361 

19 (118 Stat. 1684); 

20 (B) enlargement of Los Vaqueros Res21 ervoir in Contra Costa County under section 

22 215 of Public Law 108–7 (117 Stat. 147), as 

23 reaffirmed under section 103(d)(1)(A)(i)(II) of 

24 Public Law 108–361 (118 Stat. 1684); 

25 (C) construction of North-of-Delta 

26 Offstream Storage (Sites Reservoir) in Colusa 


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1 County under section 215 of Public Law 108– 

2 7 (117 Stat. 147), as reaffirmed under section 

3 103(d)(1)(A)(ii)(I) of Public Law 108–361 

4 (118 Stat. 1684); 

5 (D) construction of the Upper San Joaquin 

6 River storage (Temperance Flat) in Fresno and 

7 Madera Counties under section 215 of Public 

8 Law 108–7 (117 Stat. 147), as reaffirmed 

9 under section 103(d)(1)(A)(ii)(II) of Public 

10 Law 108–361 (118 Stat. 1684); and 

11 (E) expansion of San Luis Reservoir under 

12 section 103(f)(1)(A) of Public Law 108–361 

13 (118 Stat. 1694); 

14 (4) as of the date of enactment of this Act, 

15 more than 10 years have elapsed since the author16 ization of the feasibility studies referred to in para17 graph (3), but for a variety of reasons the slow pace 

18 of work on completion of the feasibility studies for 

19 those 5 water storage projects is unjustified and of 

20 deep concern; and 

21 (5) there is significant public interest in, and 

22 urgency with respect to, completing all feasibility 

23 studies and environmental reviews for the water 

24 storage projects referred to in paragraph (3), given 

25 the critical need for that infrastructure to address 


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1 current and future water challenges of the State of 

2 California. 

3 SEC. 115. STUDIES. 

4 The Secretary of the Interior, through the Commis5 sioner, shall— 

6 (1) complete the Upper San Joaquin River 

7 (Temperance Flat) feasibility study described in 

8 clause (ii)(II) of section 103(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 

9 108–361 (118 Stat. 1684) and submit the study to 

10 the appropriate committees of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Senate not later than March 

12 31, 2016; 

13 (2) complete the Los Vaqueros Reservoir feasi14 bility study described in clause (i)(II) of section 

15 103(d)(1)(A) of Public Law 108–361 (118 Stat. 

16 1684) and submit the study to the appropriate com17 mittees of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Senate not later than November 30, 2016; 

19 (3) complete the North-of-Delta Offstream 

20 Storage (Sites Reservoir) feasibility study described 

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

22 Law 108–361 (118 Stat. 1684) and submit the 

23 study to the appropriate committees of the House of 

24 Representatives and the Senate not later than No25 vember 30, 2017; 


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1 (4) complete the San Luis Reservoir feasibility 

2 study described in section 103(f)(1)(A) of Public 

3 Law 108–361 (118 Stat. 1694) and submit the 

4 study to the appropriate committees of the House of 

5 Representatives and the Senate not later than De6 cember 31, 2017; 

7 (5) provide a progress report on the status of 

8 the feasibility studies referred to in paragraphs (1) 

9 through (3) to the appropriate committees of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Senate not later 

11 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act 

12 and every 180 days thereafter until December 31, 

13 2017, as applicable, which report shall include 

14 timelines for study completion, draft environmental 

15 impact statements, final environmental impact state16 ments, and records of decision; 

17 (6) document, delineate, and publish costs di18 rectly relating to the engineering and construction of 

19 a water storage project separately from the costs re20 sulting from regulatory compliance or the construc21 tion of auxiliary facilities necessary to achieve regu22 latory compliance if the Secretary of the Interior de23 termines in any feasibility study required under this 

24 subsection, reclamation laws, the Central Valley 

25 Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575; 106 


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1 Stat. 4706), the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 

2 (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act 

3 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and other applica4 ble law, that the project is not feasible; 

5 (7) include information required in paragraph 

6 (7) in the feasibility studies issued pursuant para7 graphs (1) through (5), as applicable; and 

8 (8) communicate, coordinate, and cooperate 

9 with public water agencies that— 

10 (A) contract with the United States for 

11 Central Valley Project water; and 

12 (B) are expected to participate in the cost 

13 pools that will be created for the projects pro14 posed in the feasibility studies under this sec15 tion. 

16 SEC. 116. LOSSES CAUSED BY CONSTRUCTION AND OPER17 ATION OF WATER STORAGE PROJECTS. 

18 The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 

19 other appropriate agencies, shall establish a process to ad20 dress direct and substantial impacts caused by any storage 

21 projects identified under section 115. 


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1 Subtitle C—Desalination, Water 

2 Reuse and Recycling, and Con3 servation 

4 SEC. 121. WATER RECYCLING AND DESALINATION 

5 PROJECTS. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

7 (1) Federal funding to support water recycling 

8 and desalination projects in recent years has been 

9 insufficient to address water supply needs in many 

10 regions across the United States; 

11 (2) climate variability and drought resiliency re12 quire additional water supply projects to cope with 

13 higher probabilities of longer, more intense droughts; 

14 (3) the historic drought in the State of Cali15 fornia highlights the necessity of long-term projects 

16 to address a changing climate; 

17 (4) the California Water Plan and surveys con18 ducted by the National Association of Clean Water 

19 Agencies, the Water Reuse Association, the Associa20 tion of California Water Agencies, the Western Re21 cycled Water Coalition, and the California Associa22 tion of Sanitation Agencies led to the identification 

23 of 137 water recycling and desalination projects ca24 pable of producing 1,412,799 acre-feet of new water 


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1 supplies if sufficient funding or financing tools ex2 isted to facilitate development of the projects; 

3 (5) there exists a Federal interest in the 

4 projects referred to in paragraph (4) to the extent 

5 that the projects can— 

6 (A) diversify water supplies; 

7 (B) reduce conflicts hindering existing 

8 Federal reclamation efforts on the Colorado 

9 River and around the Delta; and 

10 (C) advance technologies which reduce the 

11 cost and improve the efficiency of water desali12 nation projects; and 

13 (6) this Act will enable Federal support for de14 salination projects, including the projects referred to 

15 in paragraph (4) and others by providing Federal 

16 cost-share grants, through the Water Desalination 

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

18 104–298), the Reclamation Wastewater and Ground19 water Study and Facilities Act (43 U.S.C. 390h et 

20 seq.), and the WaterSMART program of the Depart21 ment of the Interior, and by making low-cost loans 

22 or loan guarantees available under subtitle D. 

23 (b) WATER RECYCLING PROJECTS.—On submission 

24 of a completed feasibility report in accordance with Bu25 reau of Reclamation standards, the Secretary of the InteVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 rior shall review requests for water recycling project fund2 ing assistance and, subject to the availability of appropria3 tions, award funding, on a competitive basis, for projects 

4 that meet the eligibility requirements of this title, subject 

5 to the condition that the Secretary shall include among 

6 the projects reviewed watercycling projects sponsored by 

7 any of the following: 

8 (1) Bear Valley Community Services District. 

9 (2) Beaumont Cherry Valley Water District. 

10 (3) Burbank Water and Power. 

11 (4) Cambria Community Services District. 

12 (5) Central Contra Costa Sanitary District. 

13 (6) City of American Canyon. 

14 (7) City of Benicia. 

15 (8) City of Brentwood. 

16 (9) City of Camarillo. 

17 (10) City of Carlsbad (Municipal Water Dis18 trict). 

19 (11) City of Corona Department of Water and 

20 Power. 

21 (12) City of Daly City. 

22 (13) City of Del Mar. 

23 (14) City of Escondido. 

24 (15) City of Fresno. 

25 (16) City of Hayward. 


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1 (17) City of Los Angeles (Bureau of Sanitation 

2 and Department of Water and Power). 

3 (18) City of Modesto. 

4 (19) City of Morro Bay. 

5 (20) City of Mountain View. 

6 (21) City of Oceanside. 

7 (22) City of Palo Alto. 

8 (23) City of Paso Robles. 

9 (24) City of Pismo Beach. 

10 (25) City of Pleasanton. 

11 (26) City of Poway. 

12 (27) City of Redwood City. 

13 (28) City of Riverside. 

14 (29) City of Roseville. 

15 (30) City of Sacramento. 

16 (31) City of San Bernardino. 

17 (32) City of San Diego. 

18 (33) City of San Luis Obispo. 

19 (34) City of Santa Barbara. 

20 (35) City of Santa Rosa. 

21 (36) City of Shasta Lake. 

22 (37) City of Sunnyvale. 

23 (38) City of Turlock. 

24 (39) City of Vacaville. 

25 (40) City of Ventura. 


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1 (41) City of Visalia. 

2 (42) Clear Creek Community Services District. 

3 (43) Coachella Valley Water District. 

4 (44) Cucamonga Valley Water District. 

5 (45) Delta Diablo Sanitation District. 

6 (46) Desert Water Agency. 

7 (47) Dublin San Ramon Services District. 

8 (48) East Bay Municipal Utility District. 

9 (49) East Valley Water District. 

10 (50) Eastern Municipal Water District. 

11 (51) El Dorado Irrigation District. 

12 (52) Fallbrook Public Utility District. 

13 (53) Goleta Water District. 

14 (54) Helendale Community Services District. 

15 (55) Hi-Desert Water District. 

16 (56) Idyllwild Water District. 

17 (57) Inland Empire Utilities Agency. 

18 (58) Ironhouse Sanitary District. 

19 (59) Irvine Ranch Water District. 

20 (60) Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. 

21 (61) Leucadia Wastewater District. 

22 (62) Long Beach Water Department. 

23 (63) Los Carneros Water District. 

24 (64) Marin Municipal Water District. 


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1 (65) Metropolitan Water District/Los Angeles 

2 Sanitation District. 

3 (66) Monterey Regional Water Pollution Con4 trol Agency. 

5 (67) Napa County Department of Public 

6 Works. 

7 (68) North Bay Water Reuse Authority. 

8 (69) North Marin Water District. 

9 (70) Novato Sanitary District. 

10 (71) Olivenhain Municipal Water District. 

11 (72) Orange County Sanitation District. 

12 (73) Orange County Water District. 

13 (74) Otay Water District. 

14 (75) Padre Dam Municipal Water District. 

15 (76) Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency. 

16 (77) Paradise Irrigation District. 

17 (78) Pebble Beach Community Services Dis18 trict. 

19 (79) Rainbow Municipal Water District. 

20 (80) Ramona Municipal Water District. 

21 (81) Rancho California Water District. 

22 (82) Rincon Del Diablo Municipal Water Dis23 trict. 

24 (83) Sacramento Regional County Sanitation 

25 District. 


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1 (84) San Bernardino County Special Districts. 

2 (85) San Francisco Public Utilities Commis3 sion. 

4 (86) San Jose Water Company. 

5 (87) San Luis Obispo County. 

6 (88) Santa Clara Valley Water District. 

7 (89) Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District. 

8 (90) Santa Fe Irrigation District. 

9 (91) Santa Margarita Water District. 

10 (92) Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District. 

11 (93) Sonoma County Water Agency. 

12 (94) South Orange County Wastewater Author13 ity. 

14 (95) South Tahoe Public Utility District. 

15 (96) Sunnyslope County Water District. 

16 (97) Town of Yountville. 

17 (98) Tuolumne Utilities District. 

18 (99) Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water 

19 District. 

20 (100) Valley Center Municipal Water District. 

21 (101) Valley Sanitary District. 

22 (102) Ventura County Waterworks District No. 

23 8. 

24 (103) Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation 

25 Authority. 


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1 (104) Water Replenishment District of South2 ern California. 

3 (105) West Basin Municipal Water District. 

4 (106) West Bay Sanitary District. 

5 (107) West County Wastewater District. 

6 (108) Western Municipal Water District of Riv7 erside County. 

8 (109) Western Riverside County Regional 

9 Wastewater Authority. 

10 (110) Yucaipa Valley Water District. 

11 (c) FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR WATER RECYCLING

12 PROJECTS.—Water recycling and reuse projects described 

13 in subsection (b) may compete for funding authorized 

14 under the following sections of this title if the projects 

15 meet applicable eligibility requirements, subject to the con16 dition that no particular project receive Federal grant 

17 funding from more than one Federal grant program: 

18 (1) Section 101, which amends section 9504 

19 (WaterSMART) of the Omnibus Public Land Man20 agement Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364) and author21 izes $200,000,000 in additional Federal assistance 

22 for water storage and conveyance facilities, inte23 grated regional water management, reclamation and 

24 recycling projects, and ground water recharge. 


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1 (2) Section 123, which amends the Reclamation 

2 Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities 

3 Act (43 U.S.C. 390h) and authorizes $150,000,000 

4 in Federal assistance for water recycling and reuse 

5 projects. 

6 (3) Subtitle D, which authorizes the Secretary 

7 of the Interior to provide Federal assistance to fi8 nance the development of critical water resource in9 frastructure through loans and loan guarantees to 

10 qualified applicants. 

11 (d) FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR DESALINATION

12 PROJECTS.— 

13 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—On submission of a com14 pleted feasibility report in accordance with Bureau 

15 of Reclamation standards, the Secretary of the Inte16 rior shall review requests for water desalination 

17 funding assistance and, subject to the availability of 

18 appropriations, award funding on a competitive basis 

19 for projects that meet the eligibility requirements of 

20 this title, subject to the condition that the Secretary 

21 shall include among the projects reviewed the fol22 lowing desalination projects referred to in the 2013 

23 California Water Plan or in an integrated regional 

24 water management plan accepted by the State of 

25 California: 


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1 (A) Cambria Desalination Project. 

2 (B) Camp Pendleton Seawater Desalina3 tion Project. 

4 (C) Chino Basin Desalter 3. 

5 (D) Doheny Ocean Desalination Project. 

6 (E) GREAT Program Groundwater Desali7 nation Facility Expansion. 

8 (F) Huntington Beach Seawater Desalina9 tion Project. 

10 (G) Irvine Non-Potable Shallow Ground11 water Unit Desalter. 

12 (H) Irvine Ranch Water District Wells 51, 

13 52, 53, 21, and 22 Potable (Non-exempt) 

14 Desalter Plant. 

15 (I) Long Beach Seawater Desalination 

16 Project. 

17 (J) Marina Desalination Facility Expan18 sion. 

19 (K) Mission Valley Brackish Groundwater 

20 Recovery Project. 

21 (L) Monterey Bay Regional Water Project 

22 Desalination Facility (Moss Landing). 

23 (M) Monterey Peninsula Water Supply 

24 Project. 


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1 (N) Monterey Peninsula Water Supply 

2 Project (Ocean Desalination/Groundwater Re3 plenishment). 

4 (O) Moorpark Groundwater Desalter. 

5 (P) North Pleasant Valley Groundwater 

6 Desalter. 

7 (Q) Oceanside Ocean Desalination Project 

8 (San Luis Rey Basin). 

9 (R) Perris II Desalter. 

10 (S) Ramona Desalting Facility. 

11 (T) San Diego Formation/Balboa Park 

12 Groundwater Desalination Facility. 

13 (U) San Elijo Valley Groundwater Project. 

14 (V) Bay Area Regional Desalination 

15 Project. 

16 (W) San Pasqual Brackish Groundwater 

17 Recovery Project. 

18 (X) Santa Cruz/Soquel Creek Water Dis19 trict Desalination Plant. 

20 (Y) South Orange Coastal Ocean Desalina21 tion Project. 

22 (Z) West Basin Seawater Desalination Re23 gional Project. 

24 (AA) West Simi Valley Desalter. 


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1 (2) FUNDING.—Desalination projects described 

2 in subsection (1) may compete for funding author3 ized under the following sections of this title if the 

4 projects meet applicable eligibility requirements, sub5 ject to the condition that no particular project re6 ceive Federal grant funding from more than one 

7 Federal program: 

8 (A) Section 101, which amends section 

9 9504 (WaterSMART) of the Omnibus Public 

10 Land Management Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 

11 10364) and authorizes $200,000,000 in addi12 tional Federal assistance for water storage and 

13 conveyance facilities, integrated regional water 

14 management, reclamation and recycling 

15 projects, and ground water recharge. 

16 (B) Section 122, which reauthorizes the 

17 Water Desalination Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 

18 10301; Public Law 104–298) as amended, and 

19 authorizes $100,000,000 in Federal assistance 

20 for desalination research, demonstration 

21 projects, and desalination project feasibility and 

22 design. 

23 (C) Section 123, which amends the Rec24 lamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study 

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1 thorizes $150,000,000 in Federal assistance for 

2 water recycling and reuse projects. 

3 (D) Subtitle D, which authorizes the Sec4 retary of the Interior to provide Federal assist5 ance to finance the development of critical 

6 water resource infrastructure through loans and 

7 loan guarantees to qualified applicants. 

8 SEC. 122. REAUTHORIZATION OF WATER DESALINATION 

9 ACT. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF RESEARCH AND STUDIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Water De12 salination Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Pub13 lic Law 104–298) is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(e) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out this section, 

16 the Secretary of the Interior shall prioritize funding for 

17 research— 

18 ‘‘(1) to reduce energy consumption and lower 

19 the cost of seawater and brackish water desalination; 

20 ‘‘(2) to reduce the environmental impacts of 

21 seawater desalination, including subsurface intakes 

22 and other technological improvements, and develop 

23 technology and strategies to mitigate those impacts; 

24 ‘‘(3) to improve existing reverse osmosis and 

25 membrane technology; 


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1 ‘‘(4) to carry out basic and applied research on 

2 next generation desalination technologies, including 

3 graphene membranes, forward osmosis, hybrid mem4 brane-thermal desalination, improved energy recov5 ery systems, and renewable energy-powered desalina6 tion systems that could significantly reduce desalina7 tion costs; 

8 ‘‘(5) to develop portable or modular desalina9 tion units capable of providing temporary emergency 

10 water supplies for domestic or military deployment 

11 purposes; and 

12 ‘‘(6) to encourage development of desalination 

13 siting plans, including maps of preferred and pri14 ority locations, by States that consider local and re15 gional water supply needs and sources, potential im16 pacts on coastal and ocean resources and fisheries, 

17 the effects of sea level rise and other factors that af18 fect project siting.’’. 

19 (b) DESALINATION DEMONSTRATION AND DEVELOP20 MENT.—Section 4 of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 

21 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298) is amend22 ed— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

25 (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) FEASIBILITY AND DESIGN.—Award grants 

4 and enter into contracts with non-Federal project 

5 sponsors to provide financial assistance to study the 

6 feasibility and support the design of desalination fa7 cilities (including associated water distribution infra8 structure) that provide usable water.’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out demonstra11 tion and development activities under subsection (a), the 

12 Secretary of the Interior shall prioritize projects— 

13 ‘‘(1) in drought-stricken States and commu14 nities; 

15 ‘‘(2) in States for which funding has been au16 thorized for desalination demonstration and develop17 ment projects; and 

18 ‘‘(3) that can reduce reliance on imported water 

19 supplies that have an impact on species listed under 

20 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

21 1531 et seq.). 

22 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY.—In carrying out 

23 this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish 

24 criteria to determine projects eligible for grant funding 


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1 based on the ability of the projects to provide regional 

2 water supply benefits, including— 

3 ‘‘(1) improving water supply reliability in re4 gions subject to frequent and severe drought; 

5 ‘‘(2) enhancement of public health, safety, eco6 systems, and watershed sustainability; 

7 ‘‘(3) preservation of groundwater through re8 duction of withdrawals from aquifers; 

9 ‘‘(4) offsetting demand for water conveyed from 

10 environmentally sensitive areas outside service area 

11 of the project; and 

12 ‘‘(5) mitigation of saltwater intrusion to 

13 aquifers.’’. 

14 (c) COST SHARING.—Section 7 of the Water Desali15 nation Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 

16 104–298) is amended— 

17 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Fed18 eral share’’ and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) MAXIMUM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2) and subsection (b) and limited to the 5 

22 years following the date of enactment of the Cali23 fornia Emergency Drought Relief Act, the Federal 

24 share’’; 


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1 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘A Fed2 eral’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(b) FEASIBILITY DETERMINATION.—A Federal’’; 

4 (3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec5 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary’’; 

7 (4) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘Costs’’ 

8 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, AND RE10 HABILITATION.—The costs’’; and 

11 (5) in subsection (a) (as designated by para12 graph (1)), by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The Federal share of the 

14 cost of project design under section 4 shall not ex15 ceed 25 percent of the total cost of the project de16 sign.’’. 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In order 

18 to advance water desalination research and project devel19 opment, section 8 of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 

20 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘$10,000,000’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘2020’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$3,000,000 

4 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2013’’ and in5 serting ‘‘$50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 

6 2016 through 2020’’. 

7 (e) CONSULTATION.—Section 9 of the Water Desali8 nation Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 

9 104–298) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking the section designation and 

11 heading and all that follows through ‘‘In carrying 

12 out the provisions of’’ in the first sentence and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 9. CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION. 

15 ‘‘(a) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out’’; 

16 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The au17 thorization’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(b) OTHER DESALINATION PROGRAMS.—The au19 thorization’’; and 

20 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) (as so des21 ignated) the following: 

22 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL DESALINATION

23 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—For the effective period 

24 of the California Emergency Drought Relief Act, the 


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1 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 

2 develop a coordinated strategic plan that— 

3 ‘‘(1) establishes priorities for future Federal in4 vestments in desalination; and 

5 ‘‘(2) coordinates the activities of Federal agen6 cies involved in desalination, including the Bureau of 

7 Reclamation, the National Science Foundation, the 

8 Office of Naval Research of the Department of De9 fense, the National Laboratories of the Department 

10 of Energy, the United States Geological Survey, the 

11 Environmental Protection Agency, and the National 

12 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.’’. 

13 SEC. 123. NEW WATER RECYCLING AND REUSE PROJECTS. 

14 Section 1602 of the Reclamation Wastewater and 

15 Groundwater Study and Facilities Act (43 U.S.C. 390h) 

16 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF NEW WATER RECYCLING

18 AND REUSE PROJECTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A non-Federal interest may 

20 submit to the Secretary of the Interior proposals for 

21 eligible projects in the form of completed feasibility 

22 studies. 

23 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.— 

24 The Secretary of the Interior may provide financial 


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1 assistance under this subtitle to carry out projects 

2 within— 

3 ‘‘(A) any Reclamation State, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) Arizona; 

5 ‘‘(ii) California; 

6 ‘‘(iii) Colorado; 

7 ‘‘(iv) Idaho; 

8 ‘‘(v) Kansas; 

9 ‘‘(vi) Montana; 

10 ‘‘(vii) Nebraska; 

11 ‘‘(viii) Nevada; 

12 ‘‘(ix) New Mexico; 

13 ‘‘(x) North Dakota; 

14 ‘‘(xi) Oklahoma; 

15 ‘‘(xii) Oregon; 

16 ‘‘(xiii) South Dakota; 

17 ‘‘(xiv) Texas; 

18 ‘‘(xv) Utah; 

19 ‘‘(xvi) Washington; and 

20 ‘‘(xvii) Wyoming; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the States of Alaska and Hawaii. 

22 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A project shall be 

23 considered to be eligible for consideration under this 

24 subsection if the project reclaims and reuses— 


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1 ‘‘(A) municipal, industrial, domestic, or ag2 ricultural wastewater; or 

3 ‘‘(B) impaired groundwater or surface 

4 water. 

5 ‘‘(4) GUIDELINES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

7 days after the date of enactment of this sub8 section, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue 

9 water recycling project solicitation and evalua10 tion guidelines that include the criteria de11 scribed in subsection (f)(3). 

12 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—In accordance with the 

13 priorities and criteria described in subsection 

14 (f), the Secretary of the Interior shall review 

15 each feasibility study received under paragraph 

16 (1) to determine whether the study, and the 

17 process under which the study was developed, 

18 comply with Federal laws (including regula19 tions) applicable to feasibility studies of water 

20 recycling and reuse projects. 

21 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE GRANT FUNDING OF WATER RE22 CYCLING AND REUSE PROJECTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte24 rior shall administer a competitive grant program 

25 under which the non-Federal project sponsor of any 


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1 project determined by the Secretary of the Interior 

2 to be feasible under subsection (e)(2) shall be eligi3 ble to apply for funding for the planning, design, 

4 and construction of the project. 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec7 retary of the Interior to carry out this subsection 

8 $200,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 

9 SEC. 124. PROMOTING WATER EFFICIENCY WITH 

10 WATERSENSE. 

11 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Administrator of the En12 vironmental Protection Agency (referred to in this section 

13 as the ‘‘Administrator’’) is authorized to continue to carry 

14 out the voluntary program, known as the ‘‘WaterSense 

15 Program’’, to identify and promote water efficient prod16 ucts, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and serv17 ices so as— 

18 (1) to reduce water use; 

19 (2) to reduce the strain on water, wastewater, 

20 and stormwater infrastructure; 

21 (3) to conserve energy used to pump, heat, 

22 transport, and treat water; and 

23 (4) to preserve water resources for future gen24 erations, through voluntary labeling of, or other 

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1 ings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services 

2 that meet the highest water efficiency and perform3 ance criteria. 

4 (b) REVIEW.—Not less frequently than once every 4 

5 years, the Administrator shall regularly review and, if ap6 propriate, update WaterSense criteria that have been 

7 adopted for the voluntary labeling of categories of prod8 ucts, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and serv9 ices. 

10 (c) TRANSPARENCY.—The Administrator shall, to the 

11 maximum extent practicable, regularly estimate and make 

12 available to the public the production and relative market 

13 shares of, and the savings of water, energy, and capital 

14 costs of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure 

15 attributable to the use of WaterSense-labeled products, 

16 buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services, at 

17 least annually. 

18 (d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Prior to establishing or re19 vising a WaterSense category, specification, installation 

20 criterion, or other criterion, the Administrator shall— 

21 (1) solicit comments from interested parties and 

22 the public; and 

23 (2) provide reasonable notice to interested par24 ties and the public of any changes (including effec25 tive dates), on the adoption of a new or revised catVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 egory, specification, installation criterion, or other 

2 criterion. 

3 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out the WaterSense 

5 program of the Environmental Protection Agency 

6 $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019. 

7 Subtitle D—Reclamation Infra8 structure Finance and Innova9 tion 

10 SEC. 131. PURPOSES. 

11 The purposes of this subtitle are— 

12 (1) to promote increased development of critical 

13 water resources infrastructure by establishing addi14 tional opportunities for financing water resources 

15 projects; 

16 (2) to attract new investment capital to infra17 structure projects that are capable of generating rev18 enue streams through user fees or other dedicated 

19 funding sources; 

20 (3) to complement existing Federal funding 

21 sources and address budgetary constraints on Bu22 reau of Reclamation programs; and 

23 (4) to leverage private investment in water re24 sources infrastructure. 


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1 SEC. 132. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this subtitle: 

3 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti4 ty’’ means— 

5 (A) a corporation; 

6 (B) a partnership; 

7 (C) a joint venture; 

8 (D) a trust; 

9 (E) a State, or local governmental entity, 

10 agency, or instrumentality; and 

11 (F) a conservancy district, irrigation dis12 trict, canal company, mutual water company, 

13 water users’ association, Indian tribe, agency 

14 created by interstate compact, or any other en15 tity that has the capacity to contract with the 

16 United States under the reclamation laws. 

17 (2) FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The term 

18 ‘‘Federal credit instrument’’ means a secured loan 

19 or loan guarantee authorized to be made available 

20 under this title with respect to a project. 

21 (3) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING.—The term 

22 ‘‘investment-grade rating’’ means a rating of BBB 

23 minus, Baa3, bbb minus, BBB (low), or higher as 

24 assigned by a rating agency to project obligations. 

25 (4) LENDER.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘lender’’ 

2 means any non-Federal qualified institutional 

3 buyer (as defined in section 230.144A(a) of 

4 title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (or a suc5 cessor regulation) (commonly known as ‘‘Rule 

6 144A(a) of the Securities and Exchange Com7 mission’’ and issued under the Securities Act of 

8 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.))). 

9 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘lender’’ in10 cludes— 

11 (i) a qualified retirement plan (as de12 fined in section 4974 of the Internal Rev13 enue Code of 1986) that is a qualified in14 stitutional buyer; and 

15 (ii) a governmental plan (as defined in 

16 section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code 

17 of 1986) that is a qualified institutional 

18 buyer. 

19 (5) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar20 antee’’ means any guarantee or other pledge by the 

21 Secretary of the Interior to pay all or part of the 

22 principal of, and interest on, a loan or other debt ob23 ligation issued by an obligor and funded by a lender. 

24 (6) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘‘obligor’’ means an 

25 eligible entity that is primarily liable for payment of 


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1 the principal of, or interest on, a Federal credit in2 strument. 

3 (7) PROJECT OBLIGATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘project obli5 gation’’ means any note, bond, debenture, or 

6 other debt obligation issued by an obligor in 

7 connection with the financing of a project. 

8 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘project obli9 gation’’ does not include a Federal credit in10 strument. 

11 (8) RATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rating agen12 cy’’ means a credit rating agency registered with the 

13 Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally 

14 recognized statistical rating organization (as defined 

15 in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

16 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)). 

17 (9) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec18 lamation State’’ means any of the States of— 

19 (A) Arizona; 

20 (B) California; 

21 (C) Colorado; 

22 (D) Idaho; 

23 (E) Kansas; 

24 (F) Montana; 

25 (G) Nebraska; 


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1 (H) Nevada; 

2 (I) New Mexico; 

3 (J) North Dakota; 

4 (K) Oklahoma; 

5 (L) Oregon; 

6 (M) South Dakota; 

7 (N) Texas; 

8 (O) Utah; 

9 (P) Washington; and 

10 (Q) Wyoming. 

11 (10) SECURED LOAN.—The term ‘‘secured 

12 loan’’ means a direct loan or other debt obligation 

13 issued by an obligor and funded by the Secretary in 

14 connection with the financing of a project under sub15 title A. 

16 (11) SUBSIDY AMOUNT.—The term ‘‘subsidy 

17 amount’’ means the amount of budget authority suf18 ficient to cover the estimated long-term cost to the 

19 Federal Government of a Federal credit instrument, 

20 as calculated on a net present value basis, excluding 

21 administrative costs and any incidental effects on 

22 governmental receipts or outlays in accordance with 

23 the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

24 661 et seq.). 


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1 (12) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—The term 

2 ‘‘substantial completion’’, with respect to a project, 

3 means the earliest date on which a project is consid4 ered to perform the functions for which the project 

5 is designed. 

6 SEC. 133. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE. 

7 The Secretary of the Interior may provide financial 

8 assistance under this subtitle to carry out projects with9 in— 

10 (1) any Reclamation State; 

11 (2) any other State in which the Bureau of 

12 Reclamation is authorized to provide project assist13 ance; and 

14 (3) the States of Alaska and Hawaii. 

15 SEC. 134. APPLICATIONS. 

16 To be eligible to receive assistance under this subtitle, 

17 an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary of the Inte18 rior an application at such time, in such manner, and con19 taining such information as the Secretary of the Interior 

20 may require. 

21 SEC. 135. ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE. 

22 (a) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The following non-feder23 ally owned projects that contribute to a safe, adequate 

24 water supply for domestic, agricultural, environmental, or 


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1 municipal and industrial use may be carried out using as2 sistance made available under this subtitle: 

3 (1) A project for the reclamation and reuse of 

4 wastewater, and naturally impaired ground and sur5 face waters, which has a completed feasibility study 

6 that complies with Reclamation standards. 

7 (2) A new water infrastructure facility project, 

8 including a water conduit, pipeline, canal, pumping, 

9 power, and associated facilities or a water efficiency 

10 project. 

11 (3) A project for accelerated repair and replace12 ment of an aging water distribution facility. 

13 (4) A brackish or sea water desalination 

14 project. 

15 (5) A project for ground water replenishment, 

16 ground water storage, or surface storage. 

17 (6) A combination of projects, each of which is 

18 eligible under paragraphs (1) through (5), for which 

19 an eligible entity or group of eligible entities submits 

20 a single application. 

21 (b) ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.—For 

22 purposes of this subtitle, an eligible activity with respect 

23 to an eligible project under subsection (a) includes the cost 

24 of— 


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1 (1) development-phase activities, including plan2 ning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, envi3 ronmental review, permitting, preliminary engineer4 ing and design work, and other preconstruction ac5 tivities; 

6 (2) construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, 

7 and replacement activities; 

8 (3) the acquisition of real property (including 

9 water rights, land relating to the project, and im10 provements to land), environmental mitigation, con11 struction contingencies, and acquisition of equipment 

12 subject to subsection (c); 

13 (4) capitalized interest necessary to meet mar14 ket requirements, reasonably required reserve funds, 

15 capital issuance expenses, and other carrying costs 

16 during construction; and 

17 (5) refinancing interim construction funding, 

18 existing long-term project obligations, or a secured 

19 loan or loan guarantee made under this subtitle. 

20 (c) LIMITATION ON USE.—The proceeds from Fed21 eral credit instruments made available under this subtitle 

22 may only be used to acquire non-Federal land or interest 

23 in land from a willing seller, when the seller does not con24 test the purchase or price paid. 


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1 SEC. 136. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY AND PROJECT 

2 SELECTION. 

3 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to 

4 receive financial assistance under this subtitle, a project 

5 shall meet the following criteria, as determined by the Sec6 retary of the Interior: 

7 (1) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), the project shall be creditworthy, as 

10 determined by the Secretary of the Interior, 

11 who shall ensure that any financing for the 

12 project has appropriate security features, such 

13 as a rate covenant, to ensure repayment. 

14 (B) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION LET15 TER.—The Secretary of the Interior shall re16 quire each applicant to provide a preliminary 

17 rating opinion letter from at least 1 rating 

18 agency indicating that the senior obligations of 

19 the project (which may be the Federal credit in20 strument) have the potential to achieve an in21 vestment-grade rating. 

22 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.—The eligible 

23 project costs of a project shall be reasonably antici24 pated to be not less than $20,000,000. 

25 (3) DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCES.—The Fed26 eral credit instrument for the project shall be repayVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 able, in whole or in part, from dedicated revenue 

2 sources that also secure the project obligations. 

3 (4) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP OF PRIVATE ENTI4 TIES.—A project carried out by a private entity shall 

5 be sponsored by a State, department of a State, sub6 division of a State, or a public agency organized pur7 suant to State law. 

8 (b) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the In10 terior shall establish criteria for the selection of 

11 projects that meet the eligibility requirements of 

12 subsection (a), in accordance with paragraph (2). 

13 (2) CRITERIA.—The selection criteria shall in14 clude the following: 

15 (A) The extent to which a project serves a 

16 region with significant water resources chal17 lenges. 

18 (B) The extent to which the project is na19 tionally or regionally significant. 

20 (C) The extent to which assistance under 

21 this section would foster innovative public-pri22 vate partnerships and attract private debt or 

23 equity investment. 

24 (D) The extent to which the project fos25 ters— 


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1 (i) collaborative partnerships between 

2 cities, counties, water districts, and State 

3 and Federal agencies; and 

4 (ii) innovative recycling programs that 

5 augment a combination of industrial, com6 mercial, residential, and agricultural uses. 

7 (E) The likelihood that assistance under 

8 this section would enable the project to proceed 

9 at an earlier date than the project would other10 wise be able to proceed. 

11 (F) The amount of budget authority re12 quired to fund the Federal credit instrument 

13 made available under this subtitle. 

14 (G) The extent to which the project helps 

15 maintain or protect the environment. 

16 (3) CONSISTENCY OF CRITERIA.—Not later 

17 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue eligi19 bility requirements under this title for water recy20 cling projects that reclaim and reuse municipal, in21 dustrial, domestic, or agricultural wastewater or im22 paired ground or surface waters. 

23 (c) RECEIPT OF OTHER FEDERAL FUNDING.—Re24 ceipt of a Federal grant or contract or other Federal fund25 ing to support an eligible project shall not preclude the 


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1 project from being eligible for assistance under this sub2 title. Assistance under this subtitle shall not be counted 

3 as Federal funding under cost-sharing requirements other4 wise applicable to a project eligible for assistance under 

5 this subtitle. 

6 SEC. 137. SECURED LOANS. 

7 (a) AGREEMENTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

9 through (4), the Secretary of the Interior may enter 

10 into agreements with 1 or more obligors to make se11 cured loans, the proceeds of which shall be used— 

12 (A) to finance eligible project costs of any 

13 project selected under section 136; 

14 (B) to refinance interim construction fi15 nancing of eligible project costs of any project 

16 selected under section 136; or 

17 (C) to refinance long-term project obliga18 tions or Federal credit instruments, if that refi19 nancing provides additional funding capacity for 

20 the completion, enhancement, or expansion of 

21 any project that— 

22 (i) is selected under section 136; or 

23 (ii) otherwise meets the requirements 

24 of section 136. 


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1 (2) LIMITATION ON REFINANCING OF INTERIM

2 CONSTRUCTION FINANCING.—A secured loan under 

3 paragraph (1) shall not be used to refinance interim 

4 construction financing under paragraph (1)(B) later 

5 than 1 year after the date of substantial completion 

6 of the applicable project. 

7 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into 

8 an agreement under this subsection for a secured 

9 loan, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 

10 with the Director of the Office of Management and 

11 Budget and each rating agency providing a prelimi12 nary rating opinion letter under section 

13 136(a)(1)(B), shall determine an appropriate capital 

14 reserve subsidy amount for the secured loan, taking 

15 into account each such preliminary rating opinion 

16 letter. 

17 (4) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING REQUIRE18 MENT.—The execution of a secured loan under this 

19 section shall be contingent on receipt by the senior 

20 obligations of the project of an investment-grade rat21 ing. 

22 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A secured loan provided for 

24 a project under this section shall be subject to such 

25 terms and conditions, and contain such covenants, 


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1 representations, warranties, and requirements (in2 cluding requirements for audits), as the Secretary of 

3 the Interior determines to be appropriate. 

4 (2) NONSUBORDINATION.—A secured loan 

5 under this section shall not be subordinated to the 

6 claims of any holder of project obligations in the 

7 event of bankruptcy, insolvency, or liquidation of the 

8 obligor of the project. 

9 (3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a se10 cured loan under this section shall not exceed the 

11 lesser of— 

12 (A) an amount equal to 49 percent of the 

13 reasonably anticipated eligible project costs; and 

14 (B) if the secured loan does not receive an 

15 investment-grade rating, an amount equal to 

16 other project obligations that have received an 

17 investment-grade rating. 

18 (4) PAYMENT.—A secured loan under this sec19 tion— 

20 (A) shall be payable, in whole or in part, 

21 from State or local taxes, user fees, or other 

22 dedicated revenue sources that also secure the 

23 senior project obligations of the relevant 

24 project; 


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1 (B) shall include a rate covenant, coverage 

2 requirement, or similar security feature sup3 porting the project obligations; and 

4 (C) may have a lien on revenues described 

5 in subparagraph (A), subject to any lien secur6 ing project obligations. 

7 (5) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate on a 

8 secured loan under this section shall be not less than 

9 the yield on United States Treasury securities of a 

10 similar maturity to the maturity of the secured loan 

11 on the date of execution of the loan agreement. 

12 (6) MATURITY DATE.—The final maturity date 

13 of a secured loan under this section shall be not 

14 later than 35 years after the date of substantial 

15 completion of the relevant project. 

16 (7) FEES.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

17 establish fees, in accordance with section 138(b)(2) 

18 at a level sufficient to cover all or a portion of the 

19 costs to the Federal Government of making a se20 cured loan under this section. 

21 (8) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The proceeds of a 

22 secured loan under this section may be used to pay 

23 any non-Federal share of project costs required if 

24 the loan is repayable from non-Federal funds. 


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1 (9) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.—The 

2 total amount of Federal assistance provided for a 

3 project for which assistance is provided under this 

4 subtitle from all sources (including this subtitle) 

5 shall not exceed 80 percent of the total cost of the 

6 project. 

7 (c) REPAYMENT.— 

8 (1) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary of the Interior 

9 shall establish a repayment schedule for each se10 cured loan provided under this section, based on the 

11 projected cash flow from project revenues and other 

12 repayment sources. 

13 (2) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan repay14 ment of principal or interest on a secured loan under 

15 this section shall commence not later than 5 years 

16 after the date of substantial completion of the 

17 project, with interest accruing during those 5 years 

18 and during construction. 

19 (3) DEFERRED PAYMENTS.— 

20 (A) AUTHORIZATION.—If, at any time 

21 after the date of substantial completion of a 

22 project for which a secured loan is provided 

23 under this section, the project is unable to gen24 erate sufficient revenues to pay the scheduled 

25 loan repayments of principal and interest on the 


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1 secured loan, the Secretary of the Interior may 

2 allow the obligor, subject to subparagraph (C), 

3 to add unpaid principal and interest to the out4 standing balance of the secured loan. 

5 (B) INTEREST.—Any payment deferred 

6 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

7 (i) continue to accrue interest in ac8 cordance with subsection (b)(5) until fully 

9 repaid; and 

10 (ii) be scheduled to be amortized over 

11 the remaining term of the secured loan. 

12 (C) CRITERIA.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any payment defer14 ral under subparagraph (A) shall be con15 tingent on the project meeting such cri16 teria as the Secretary of the Interior may 

17 establish. 

18 (ii) REPAYMENT STANDARDS.—The 

19 criteria established under clause (i) shall 

20 include standards for reasonable assurance 

21 of repayment. 

22 (4) PREPAYMENT.— 

23 (A) USE OF EXCESS REVENUES.—Any ex24 cess revenues that remain after satisfying 

25 scheduled debt service requirements on the 


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1 project obligations and secured loan and all de2 posit requirements under the terms of any trust 

3 agreement, bond resolution, or similar agree4 ment securing project obligations may be ap5 plied annually to prepay a secured loan under 

6 this section without penalty. 

7 (B) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI8 NANCING.—A secured loan under this section 

9 may be prepaid at any time without penalty 

10 from the proceeds of refinancing from non-Fed11 eral funding sources. 

12 (d) SALE OF SECURED LOANS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), as 

14 soon as practicable after the date of substantial 

15 completion of a project and after providing a notice 

16 to the obligor, the Secretary of the Interior may sell 

17 to another entity or reoffer into the capital markets 

18 a secured loan for a project under this section, if the 

19 Secretary of the Interior determines that the sale or 

20 reoffering can be made on favorable terms. 

21 (2) CONSENT OF OBLIGOR.—In making a sale 

22 or reoffering under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 

23 the Interior may not change the original terms and 

24 conditions of the secured loan without the written 

25 consent of the obligor. 


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1 (e) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte3 rior may provide a loan guarantee to a lender in lieu 

4 of making a secured loan under this section, if the 

5 Secretary of the Interior determines that the budg6 etary cost of the loan guarantee is substantially the 

7 same as that of a secured loan. 

8 (2) TERMS.—The terms of a loan guarantee 

9 provided under this subsection shall be consistent 

10 with the terms established in this section for a se11 cured loan, except that the rate on the guaranteed 

12 loan and any prepayment features shall be nego13 tiated between the obligor and the lender, with the 

14 consent of the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 SEC. 138. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

17 shall establish a uniform system to service the Federal 

18 credit instruments made available under this subtitle. 

19 (b) RECLAMATION LOAN FINANCE CAPITAL RE20 SERVE FUND.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 

23 the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be 

24 known as the ‘‘Reclamation Loan Finance Cap25 ital Reserve Fund’’. 


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1 (B) DEPOSITS TO FUND.—The Secretary 

2 of the Treasury shall deposit in the fund estab3 lished by subparagraph (A) an amount equal to 

4 the amount of capital reserve fees collected 

5 under paragraph (2) for each applicable fiscal 

6 year. 

7 (C) TREATMENT.—The amounts deposited 

8 in the fund under subparagraph (B) shall be 

9 credited as offsetting collections. 

10 (2) CAPITAL RESERVE FEES.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent required 

12 by appropriations Acts, the Secretary of the In13 terior may assess, collect, and spend capital re14 serve fees at a level that is sufficient to cover 

15 all or a portion of the costs to the Federal Gov16 ernment of servicing the Federal credit instru17 ments provided under this subtitle, including all 

18 or a portion of the outlays associated with the 

19 provision of the Federal credit instruments 

20 under this subtitle. 

21 (B) AMOUNT.—The capital reserve fees 

22 under this paragraph shall be established at 

23 amounts that will result in the collection, dur24 ing each fiscal year, of an amount that can be 

25 reasonably expected to equal the outlays associVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 ated with the provision of the Federal credit in2 struments under this subtitle. 

3 (c) SERVICER.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte5 rior may appoint a financial entity to assist the Sec6 retary in servicing the Federal credit instruments 

7 provided under this subtitle. 

8 (2) DUTIES.—A servicer appointed under para9 graph (1) shall act as the agent for the Secretary of 

10 the Interior. 

11 (3) FEE.—A servicer appointed under para12 graph (1) shall receive a servicing fee, subject to ap13 proval by the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 SEC. 139. STATE AND LOCAL PERMITS. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITY.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provi18 sions of the pilot program established by this 

19 section, the Secretary of the Interior and a 

20 State identified pursuant to subsection (b) may 

21 enter into a written agreement, which may be 

22 in the form of a memorandum of under23 standing, under which the Secretary of the In24 terior may designate the State as lead agency 


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1 for purposes of the National Environmental 

2 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

3 (B) PROCEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIVE RE4 QUIREMENTS.—If designated as the lead agency 

5 under subparagraph (A), the State shall assume 

6 responsibility under this section, subject to the 

7 same procedural and substantive requirements 

8 that would apply if that responsibility were car9 ried out by the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (2) PRESERVATION OF FEDERAL RESPONSI11 BILITY AND AUTHORITY.— 

12 (A) FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Any re13 sponsibility of the Secretary of the Interior not 

14 explicitly assumed by the State by written 

15 agreement under this section shall remain the 

16 responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (B) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

18 in this section preempts or interferes with any 

19 power, jurisdiction, responsibility, or authority 

20 of an agency, other than the Department of the 

21 Interior, under applicable law (including regula22 tions) with respect to a project. 

23 (3) PRESERVATION OF FLEXIBILITY.—The Sec24 retary of the Interior may not require a State, as a 

25 condition of participation and assuming lead agency 


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1 status in the pilot program under this section, to 

2 forego project delivery methods that are otherwise 

3 permissible for projects. 

4 (b) STATE PARTICIPATION.— 

5 (1) PARTICIPATING STATES.—The Secretary of 

6 the Interior shall permit the State of California, and 

7 not more than 4 additional States, to participate in 

8 the pilot program under this section, subject to the 

9 limitations described in paragraph (4). 

10 (2) APPLICATION.—Not later than 270 days 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary of the Interior shall amend, as appropriate, 

13 regulations that establish requirements relating to 

14 information required to be contained in an applica15 tion of a State to participate in the pilot program 

16 under this section and to assume lead agency status, 

17 including, at a minimum— 

18 (A) the projects or classes of projects for 

19 which the State anticipates exercising the au20 thority that may be granted under the pilot 

21 program under this section; 

22 (B) verification of the financial, regulatory, 

23 and enforcement resources necessary to carry 

24 out the authority that may be granted under 

25 the pilot program under this section; and 


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1 (C) evidence of the notice and solicitation 

2 of public comment by the State relating to par3 ticipation of the State in the pilot program 

4 under this section, including copies of com5 ments received from that solicitation. 

6 (3) PUBLIC NOTICE.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State that submits 

8 an application under this subsection shall give 

9 notice of the intent of the State to participate 

10 in the pilot program under this section not later 

11 than 30 days before the date of submission of 

12 the application. 

13 (B) METHOD OF NOTICE AND SOLICITA14 TION.—A State shall provide notice and solicit 

15 public comment under this paragraph by pub16 lishing the complete application of the State in 

17 accordance with the appropriate public notice 

18 State law. 

19 (4) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary of 

20 the Interior may approve the application of a State 

21 under this section only if— 

22 (A) the regulatory requirements of para23 graph (2) have been met; 

24 (B) the Secretary of the Interior deter25 mines that the State has the capability, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 ing financial, regulatory, and enforcement capa2 bility and personnel, to assume the responsi3 bility of a lead agency for the project; and 

4 (C) the head of the State agency with pri5 mary jurisdiction over water infrastructure mat6 ters enters into a written agreement with the 

7 Secretary of the Interior described in subsection 

8 (c). 

9 (c) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—A written agreement 

10 under this section shall— 

11 (1) be executed by the Governor or the top 

12 ranking water infrastructure official in the State 

13 who is charged with responsibility for water infra14 structure construction; 

15 (2) be in such form as the Secretary of the In16 terior may prescribe; 

17 (3) provide that the State— 

18 (A) agrees to assume all or part of the re19 sponsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior de20 scribed in subsection (a), including all respon21 sibilities as a lead agency; 

22 (B) expressly consents, on behalf of the 

23 State, to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal 

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1 forcement of any responsibility of the Secretary 

2 of the Interior assumed by the State; 

3 (C) certifies that State laws (including reg4 ulations) are in effect that authorize the State 

5 to take the actions necessary to carry out the 

6 responsibilities being assumed; and 

7 (D) agrees to maintain the financial re8 sources necessary to carry out the responsibil9 ities being assumed; 

10 (4) require the State to provide to the Secretary 

11 of the Interior any information that the Secretary of 

12 the Interior considers necessary to ensure that the 

13 State is adequately carrying out the responsibilities 

14 assigned to the State; 

15 (5) have a term of not more than 5 years; and 

16 (6) be renewable. 

17 (d) JURISDICTION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States district 

19 courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any civil 

20 action against a State for failure to carry out any 

21 responsibility of the State under this section. 

22 (2) LEGAL STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 A civil action under paragraph (1) shall be governed 

24 by the legal standards and requirements that would 

25 apply in such a civil action against the Secretary of 


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1 the Interior if the Secretary of the Interior had 

2 taken the actions in question. 

3 (3) INTERVENTION.—The Secretary of the Inte4 rior shall have the right to intervene in any action 

5 described in paragraph (1). 

6 (e) EFFECT OF ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITY.— 

7 A State that assumes responsibility under subsection 

8 (a)(2) shall be solely responsible and solely liable for car9 rying out, in lieu of the Secretary of the Interior, the re10 sponsibilities assumed under subsection (a), until the pilot 

11 program is terminated as provided in subsection (h). 

12 (f) AUDITS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance by a 

14 State with any agreement of the State under sub15 section (c) (including compliance by the State with 

16 all Federal laws for which responsibility is assumed 

17 under subsection (a)(2)), for each State partici18 pating in the pilot program under this section, the 

19 Secretary of the Interior shall conduct— 

20 (A) semiannual audits during each of the 

21 first 2 years of State participation; and 

22 (B) annual audits during of the third and 

23 fourth years of State participation. 

24 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND COMMENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—An audit conducted 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be made available to 

3 the public for comment. 

4 (B) RESPONSE.—Not later than 60 days 

5 after the date on which the period for public 

6 comment ends, the Secretary of the Interior 

7 shall respond to public comments received 

8 under subparagraph (A). 

9 (g) MONITORING.—After the fourth year of the par10 ticipation of a State in the pilot program, the Secretary 

11 of the Interior shall monitor compliance by the State with 

12 the written agreement, including the provision by the 

13 State of financial resources to carry out the written agree14 ment. 

15 (h) TERMINATION.— 

16 (1) TERMINATION BY SECRETARY OF THE IN17 TERIOR.—The Secretary of the Interior may termi18 nate the participation of any State in the pilot pro19 gram if— 

20 (A) the Secretary of the Interior deter21 mines that the State is not adequately carrying 

22 out the responsibilities assigned to the State; 

23 (B) the Secretary of the Interior provides 

24 to the State— 


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1 (i) notification of the determination of 

2 noncompliance; and 

3 (ii) a period of at least 30 days during 

4 which to take such corrective action as the 

5 Secretary of the Interior determines is nec6 essary to comply with the applicable agree7 ment; and 

8 (C) the State, after the notification and 

9 period provided under subparagraph (B), fails 

10 to take satisfactory corrective action, as deter11 mined by Secretary of the Interior. 

12 (2) TERMINATION BY STATE.—The State may 

13 terminate the participation of the State in the pilot 

14 program at any time by providing to the Secretary 

15 of the Interior a notice by not later than the date 

16 that is 90 days before the date of termination, and 

17 subject to such terms and conditions as the Sec18 retary of the Interior may provide. 

19 (i) LIMITATIONS ON AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in this 

20 section or pilot program— 

21 (1) authorizes a State to assume any rule22 making authority of the Secretary of the Interior 

23 under any Federal law; 


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1 (2) relieves any recipient of the assistance of 

2 any obligation to obtain any other required State or 

3 local permit or approval with respect to the project; 

4 (3) limits the right of any unit of State or local 

5 government to approve or regulate any rate of re6 turn on private equity invested in the project; or 

7 (4) otherwise supersedes any State or local law 

8 (including any regulation) applicable to the construc9 tion or operation of the project. 

10 SEC. 140. REGULATIONS. 

11 The Secretary of the Interior may promulgate such 

12 regulations as the Secretary of the Interior determines to 

13 be appropriate to carry out this subtitle. 

14 SEC. 141. FUNDING. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro16 priated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this 

17 subtitle $200,000,000. 

18 (b) OFFSET REQUIRED.—No funds made available 

19 under this section may be used to provide financial assist20 ance under this subtitle unless sufficient funds have been 

21 appropriated to offset any decrease in Federal revenue re22 sulting from the use by any unit of State or local govern23 ment of proceeds of any obligation— 


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1 (1) the interest on which is exempt from the 

2 tax imposed under chapter 1 of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986; or 

4 (2) with respect to which credit is allowable 

5 under subpart I or J of part IV of subchapter A of 

6 chapter 1 of that Code. 

7 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the funds made 

8 available to carry out this subtitle, the Secretary of the 

9 Interior may use for the administration of this subtitle not 

10 more than $2,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

11 through 2020. 

12 (d) LIMITATION.—Neither the Secretary of the Inte13 rior nor the Secretary of Commerce shall enter into a con14 tract with, or provide Federal funds or other financial as15 sistance in the form of a loan, loan guarantee, annual pay16 ment, or any other form of credit enhancement to a recipi17 ent under this Act without first obtaining adequate assur18 ance from the contractor or recipient that the require19 ments of section 513 of the Federal Water Pollution Con20 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1372) shall be applied in the same 

21 manner they are applied to construction of treatment 

22 works carried out in whole or in part with assistance made 

23 available by a State water pollution control revolving fund 

24 as authorized by title VI of that Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et 


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1 seq.) under title II of division E of Public Law 112–74 

2 (125 Stat. 1020). 

3 TITLE II—LISTED SPECIES AND 

4 WILDLIFE 

5 SEC. 201. ACTIONS TO BENEFIT ENDANGERED FISH POPU6 LATIONS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) minimizing or eliminating stressors to fish 

9 populations and their habitat in an efficient and 

10 structured manner is a key aspect of a fish recovery 

11 strategy; 

12 (2) functioning, diverse, and interconnected 

13 habitats are necessary for a species to be viable; and 

14 (3) providing for increased fish habitat may not 

15 only allow for a more robust fish recovery, but also 

16 reduce impacts to water supplies. 

17 (b) ACTIONS FOR BENEFIT OF ENDANGERED SPE18 CIES.—There is authorized to be appropriated the fol19 lowing amounts: 

20 (1) $35,000,000 for the Secretary of Com21 merce, through the Administrator of the National 

22 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to carry 

23 out the following activities in accordance with the 

24 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

25 seq.): 


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1 (A) Gravel and rearing area additions and 

2 habitat restoration to the Sacramento River to 

3 benefit Chinook salmon and steelhead trout. 

4 (B) Scientifically improved and increased 

5 real-time monitoring to inform real-time oper6 ations of Shasta and related Central Valley 

7 Project facilities, and alternative methods, mod8 els, and equipment to improve temperature 

9 modeling and related forecasted information for 

10 purposes of predicting impacts to salmon and 

11 salmon habitat as a result of water manage12 ment at Shasta. 

13 (C) Methods to improve the Delta salvage 

14 systems, including alternative methods to rede15 posit salvaged salmon smolts and other fish 

16 from the Delta in a manner that reduces preda17 tion losses. 

18 (2) $6,000,000 for the Secretary of the Interior 

19 to conduct the Delta smelt distribution study ref20 erenced in section 301. 

21 (c) COMMENCEMENT.—If the Administrator of the 

22 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration deter23 mines that a proposed activity is feasible and beneficial 

24 for protecting and recovering a fish population, the Ad25 ministrator shall commence implementation of the activity 


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1 by not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (d) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall take 

4 such steps as are necessary to partner with, and coordi5 nate the efforts of, the Department of the Interior, the 

6 Department of Commerce, and other relevant Federal de7 partments and agencies to ensure that all Federal reviews, 

8 analyses, opinions, statements, permits, licenses, and 

9 other approvals or decisions required under Federal law 

10 are completed on an expeditious basis, consistent with 

11 Federal law. 

12 (e) TRAP AND BARGE PILOT PROGRAM.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Com14 merce, in collaboration with the Department of the 

15 Interior, the California Department of Fish and 

16 Wildlife, applicable water agencies, and other inter17 ested parties, shall design, permit, implement, and 

18 evaluate a pilot program to test the efficacy of an 

19 experimental trap and barge program to improve 

20 survival of juvenile salmonids emigrating from the 

21 San Joaquin watershed though the Delta. 

22 (2) PLAN.— 

23 (A) WORKING GROUP.—Not later than 30 

24 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

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1 sioner shall convene a working group, to be 

2 comprised of representatives of relevant agen3 cies and other interested parties, to develop and 

4 execute a plan for the design, budgeting, imple5 mentation, and evaluation of the pilot program 

6 under this subsection, using such existing ex7 pertise regarding trap and barge programs as 

8 may be available. 

9 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan under this 

10 paragraph shall— 

11 (i) include a schedule and budget for 

12 the pilot program; and 

13 (ii) identify the responsible parties for 

14 each element of the program. 

15 (3) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Assistant Admin16 istrator and the Commissioner shall seek to com17 mence implementation of the pilot program under 

18 this subsection during calendar year 2016, if prac19 ticable. 

20 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

22 this subsection $4,000,000. 

23 (f) CONSERVATION FISH HATCHERIES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries of 


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1 the Interior and Commerce, in coordination with the 

2 Director of the California Department of Fish and 

3 Wildlife, shall develop and implement as necessary 

4 the expanded use of conservation hatchery programs 

5 to enhance, supplement, and rebuild Delta smelt and 

6 Endangered Species Act-listed fish species under the 

7 smelt and salmonid biological opinions. 

8 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The conservation hatch9 ery programs established under paragraph (1) and 

10 the associated hatchery and genetic management 

11 plans shall be designed— 

12 (A) to benefit, enhance, support, and oth13 erwise recover naturally spawning fish species 

14 to the point where the measures provided under 

15 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

16 1531 et seq.) are no longer necessary; and 

17 (B) to minimize adverse effects to Central 

18 Valley Project and State Water Project oper19 ations. 

20 (3) PRIORITY; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—In 

21 implementing this section, the Secretaries of the In22 terior and Commerce— 

23 (A) shall give priority to existing and pro24 spective hatchery programs and facilities within 


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1 the Delta and the riverine tributaries thereto; 

2 and 

3 (B) may enter into cooperative agreements 

4 for the operation of conservation hatchery pro5 grams with States, Indian tribes, and other 

6 nongovernmental entities for the benefit, en7 hancement, and support of naturally spawning 

8 fish species. 

9 (g) ACQUISITION OF LAND, WATER, OR INTERESTS

10 FROM WILLING SELLERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PUR11 POSES IN CALIFORNIA.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte13 rior is authorized to acquire by purchase, lease, do14 nation, or otherwise, land, water, or interests in land 

15 or water from willing sellers in California— 

16 (A) to benefit listed or candidate species 

17 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

18 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or the California Endan19 gered Species Act (California Fish and Game 

20 Code sections 2050 through 2116); 

21 (B) to meet requirements of, or otherwise 

22 provide water quality benefits under, the Fed23 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

24 1251 et seq.) or the Porter Cologne Water 


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1 Quality Control Act (division 7 of the California 

2 Water Code); or 

3 (C) for protection and enhancement of the 

4 environment, as determined by the Secretary of 

5 the Interior. 

6 (2) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—In implementing 

7 this section, the Secretary of the Interior is author8 ized to provide financial assistance to the State of 

9 California or otherwise hold such interests in joint 

10 ownership with the State of California based on a 

11 cost share deemed appropriate by the Secretary. 

12 (3) TREATMENT.—Any expenditures under this 

13 subsection shall be nonreimbursable and nonreturn14 able to the United States. 

15 SEC. 202. ACTIONS TO BENEFIT REFUGES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to funding under sec17 tion 3407 of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act 

18 (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4726), there is author19 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior 

20 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 

21 for the acceleration and completion of water infrastructure 

22 and conveyance facilities necessary to achieve full water 

23 deliveries to Central Valley wildlife refuges and habitat 

24 areas pursuant to section 3406(d) of that Act (Public Law 

25 102–575; 106 Stat. 4722). 


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1 (b) COST-SHARING.— 

2 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

3 the cost of carrying out an activity described in this 

4 section shall be not more than 50 percent. 

5 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

6 share of the cost of carrying out an activity de7 scribed in this section— 

8 (A) shall be not less than 50 percent; and 

9 (B) may be provided in cash or in-kind. 

10 SEC. 203. NON-FEDERAL PROGRAM TO PROTECT NATIVE 

11 ANADROMOUS FISH IN STANISLAUS RIVER. 

12 (a) DEFINITION OF DISTRICT.—In this section, the 

13 term ‘‘district’’ means— 

14 (1) the Oakdale Irrigation District of the State 

15 of California; and 

16 (2) the South San Joaquin Irrigation District 

17 of the State of California. 

18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Commerce, 

19 acting through the Assistant Administrator of the Na20 tional Marine Fisheries Service, and the districts, in con21 sultation with the Director of the California Department 

22 of Fish and Wildlife, shall jointly establish and conduct 

23 a nonnative predator research and pilot fish removal pro24 gram to study the effects of removing from the Stanislaus 

25 River— 


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1 (1) nonnative striped bass, smallmouth bass, 

2 largemouth bass, black bass; and 

3 (2) other nonnative predator fish species. 

4 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The program under this sec5 tion shall— 

6 (1) be scientifically based, with research ques7 tions determined jointly by— 

8 (A) National Marine Fisheries Service sci9 entists; and 

10 (B) technical experts of the districts; 

11 (2) include methods to quantify by, among 

12 other things, evaluating the number of juvenile 

13 anadromous fish that migrate past the rotary screw 

14 trap located at Caswell— 

15 (A) the number and size of predator fish 

16 removed each year; and 

17 (B) the impact of the removal on— 

18 (i) the overall abundance of predator 

19 fish in the Stanislaus River; and 

20 (ii) the populations of juvenile anad21 romous fish in the Stanislaus River; 

22 (3) among other methods, consider using wire 

23 fyke trapping, portable resistance board weirs, and 

24 boat electrofishing; and 


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1 (4) be implemented as quickly as practicable 

2 after the date of issuance of all necessary scientific 

3 research permits. 

4 (d) MANAGEMENT.—The management of the pro5 gram shall be the joint responsibility of the Assistant Ad6 ministrator and the districts, which shall— 

7 (1) work collaboratively to ensure the perform8 ance of the program; and 

9 (2) discuss and agree on, among other things— 

10 (A) qualified scientists to lead the pro11 gram; 

12 (B) research questions; 

13 (C) experimental design; 

14 (D) changes in the structure, management, 

15 personnel, techniques, strategy, data collection 

16 and access, reporting, and conduct of the pro17 gram; and 

18 (E) the need for independent peer review. 

19 (e) CONDUCT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each applicable calendar 

21 year, the districts, on agreement of the Assistant 

22 Administrator, may elect to conduct the program 

23 under this section using— 

24 (A) the personnel of the Assistant Admin25 istrator or districts; 


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1 (B) qualified private contractors hired by 

2 the districts; 

3 (C) personnel of, on loan to, or otherwise 

4 assigned to the National Marine Fisheries Serv5 ice; or 

6 (D) a combination of the individuals de7 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

8 (2) PARTICIPATION BY NATIONAL MARINE

9 FISHERIES SERVICE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the districts elect to 

11 conduct the program using district personnel or 

12 qualified private contractors hired under sub13 paragraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the As14 sistant Administrator may assign an employee 

15 of, on loan to, or otherwise assigned to the Na16 tional Marine Fisheries Service, to be present 

17 for all activities performed in the field to ensure 

18 compliance with subsection (d). 

19 (B) COSTS.—The districts shall pay the 

20 cost of participation by the employee under sub21 paragraph (A), in accordance with subsection 

22 (f). 

23 (3) TIMING OF ELECTION.—The districts shall 

24 notify the Assistant Administrator of an election 

25 under paragraph (1) by not later than October 15 


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1 of the calendar year preceding the calendar year for 

2 which the election applies. 

3 (f) FUNDING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The districts shall be re5 sponsible for 100 percent of the cost of the program. 

6 (2) CONTRIBUTED FUNDS.—The Secretary of 

7 Commerce may accept and use contributions of 

8 funds from the districts to carry out activities under 

9 the program. 

10 (3) ESTIMATION OF COST.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Decem12 ber 1 of each year of the program, the Sec13 retary of Commerce shall submit to the districts 

14 an estimate of the cost to be incurred by the 

15 National Marine Fisheries Service for the pro16 gram during the following calendar year, if any, 

17 including the cost of any data collection and 

18 posting under subsection (g). 

19 (B) FAILURE TO FUND.—If an amount 

20 equal to the estimate of the Secretary of Com21 merce is not provided through contributions 

22 pursuant to paragraph (2) before December 31 

23 of that calendar year— 

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1 erwise scheduled for the following calendar 

2 year until the amount is contributed by the 

3 districts; and 

4 (ii) the districts may not conduct any 

5 aspect of the program until the amount is 

6 contributed by the districts. 

7 (4) ACCOUNTING.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep9 tember 1 of each year, the Secretary of Com10 merce shall provide to the districts an account11 ing of the costs incurred by the Secretary for 

12 the program during the preceding calendar 

13 year. 

14 (B) EXCESS AMOUNTS.—If the amount 

15 contributed by the districts pursuant to para16 graph (2) for a calendar year was greater than 

17 the costs incurred by the Secretary of Com18 merce during that year, the Secretary shall— 

19 (i) apply the excess amounts to the 

20 cost of activities to be performed by the 

21 Secretary under the program, if any, dur22 ing the following calendar year; or 

23 (ii) if no such activities are to be per24 formed, repay the excess amounts to the 

25 districts. 


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1 (g) PUBLICATION AND EVALUATION OF DATA.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—All data generated through 

3 the program, including by any private consultants, 

4 shall be routinely provided to the Assistant Adminis5 trator. 

6 (2) INTERNET.—Not later than the 15th day of 

7 each month of the program, the Assistant Adminis8 trator shall publish on the Internet website of the 

9 National Marine Fisheries Service a tabular sum10 mary of the raw data collected under the program 

11 during the preceding month. 

12 (3) REPORT.—On completion of the program, 

13 the Assistant Administrator shall prepare a final re14 port evaluating the effectiveness of the program, in15 cluding recommendations for future research and re16 moval work. 

17 (h) CONSISTENCY WITH LAW.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The programs in this section 

19 and section 204 are found to be consistent with the 

20 requirements of the Central Valley Project Improve21 ment Act (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4706). 

22 (2) LIMITATION.—No provision, plan, or defini23 tion under that Act, including section 3406(b)(1) of 

24 that Act (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4714), 

25 shall be used— 


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1 (A) to prohibit the implementation of the 

2 programs in this section and section 204; or 

3 (B) to prevent the accomplishment of the 

4 goals of the programs. 

5 (3) STATE LAW.—The Secretary of the Interior, 

6 the Secretary of Commerce, and the participating 

7 districts shall comply with applicable requirements 

8 of State law with respect to the program under this 

9 subsection. 

10 SEC. 204. PILOT PROJECTS TO IMPLEMENT CALFED 

11 INVASIVE SPECIES PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2017, 

13 the Secretary of the Interior, in collaboration with the Sec14 retary of Commerce, the Director of the California De15 partment of Fish and Wildlife, and other relevant agencies 

16 and interested parties, shall establish and carry out pilot 

17 projects to implement the invasive species control program 

18 under section 103(d)(6)(A)(iv) of Public Law 108–361 

19 (118 Stat. 1690). 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The pilot projects under this 

21 section shall— 

22 (1) seek to reduce invasive aquatic vegetation 

23 (such as water hyacinth), predators, and other com24 petitors that contribute to the decline of native listed 

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1 ramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tribu2 taries and the Delta; and 

3 (2) remove, reduce, or control the effects of spe4 cies including Asiatic clams, silversides, gobies, Bra5 zilian water weed, largemouth bass, smallmouth 

6 bass, striped bass, crappie, bluegill, white and chan7 nel catfish, zebra and quagga mussels, and brown 

8 bullheads. 

9 (c) EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.—To 

10 expedite environmentally beneficial programs in this title 

11 for the conservation of threatened and endangered species, 

12 the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall consult 

13 with the Council on Environmental Quality in accordance 

14 with section 1506.11 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula15 tions (or successor regulations), to develop alternative ar16 rangements to comply with the National Environmental 

17 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for those pro18 grams. 


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1 TITLE III—CALIFORNIA EMER2 GENCY DROUGHT RELIEF 

3 AND OPERATIONAL FLEXI4 BILITY 

5 SEC. 301. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT INCREASED REAL-TIME 

6 MONITORING AND UPDATED SCIENCE. 

7 (a) SMELT BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The Director 

8 shall use the best scientific and commercial data available 

9 to implement, continuously evaluate, and refine or amend, 

10 as appropriate, the reasonable and prudent alternative de11 scribed in the smelt biological opinion. 

12 (b) INCREASED MONITORING TO INFORM REAL13 TIME OPERATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte15 rior shall conduct additional surveys, on an annual 

16 basis at the appropriate time of year based on envi17 ronmental conditions, in collaboration with inter18 ested stakeholders regarding the science of the Delta 

19 in general, and to enhance real-time decisionmaking 

20 in particular, working in close coordination with rel21 evant State authorities. 

22 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this sub23 section, the Secretary of the Interior shall use— 

24 (A) the most appropriate and accurate sur25 vey methods available for the detection of Delta 


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1 smelt to determine the extent to which adult 

2 Delta smelt are distributed in relation to cer3 tain levels of turbidity or other environmental 

4 factors that may influence salvage rate; 

5 (B) results from appropriate surveys for 

6 the detection of Delta smelt to determine how 

7 the Central Valley Project and State Water 

8 Project may be operated more efficiently to 

9 maximize fish and water supply benefits; and 

10 (C) science-based recommendations devel11 oped by any of the persons or entities described 

12 in subsection (d)(2) to inform the agencies’ 

13 real-time decisions. 

14 (3) WINTER MONITORING.—During the period 

15 between December 1 and March 31, if suspended 

16 sediment loads enter the Delta from the Sacramento 

17 River, and the suspended sediment loads appear 

18 likely to raise turbidity levels in the Old River north 

19 of the export pumps from values below 12 

20 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTUs) to values 

21 above 12 NTUs, the Secretary of the Interior 

22 shall— 

23 (A) conduct daily monitoring using appro24 priate survey methods at locations including the 

25 vicinity of Station 902 to determine the extent 


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1 to which adult Delta smelt are moving with tur2 bidity toward the export pumps; and 

3 (B) use results from the monitoring under 

4 subparagraph (A) to determine how increased 

5 trawling can inform daily real-time Central Val6 ley Project and State Water Project operations 

7 to maximize fish and water supply benefits. 

8 (c) PERIODIC REVIEW OF MONITORING.—Not later 

9 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

10 Secretary of the Interior shall— 

11 (1) evaluate whether the monitoring program 

12 under subsection (b), combined with other moni13 toring programs for the Delta, is providing sufficient 

14 data to inform Central Valley Project and State 

15 Water Project operations to maximize the water sup16 ply for fish and water supply benefits; and 

17 (2) determine whether the monitoring efforts 

18 should be changed in the short or long term to pro19 vide more useful data. 

20 (d) DELTA SMELT DISTRIBUTION STUDY.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 15, 

22 2021, the Secretary of the Interior shall— 

23 (A) complete studies, to be initiated by not 

24 later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, designed— 


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1 (i) to understand the location and de2 termine the abundance and distribution of 

3 Delta smelt throughout the range of the 

4 Delta smelt; and 

5 (ii) to determine potential methods to 

6 minimize the effects of Central Valley 

7 Project and State Water Project oper8 ations on the Delta smelt; 

9 (B) based on the best available science, if 

10 appropriate and practicable, implement new tar11 geted sampling and monitoring of Delta smelt 

12 in order to maximize fish and water supply ben13 efits prior to completion of the study under sub14 paragraph (A); 

15 (C) to the maximum extent practicable, 

16 use new technologies to allow for better track17 ing of Delta smelt, such as acoustic tagging, op18 tical recognition during trawls, and fish detec19 tion using residual deoxyribonucleic acid 

20 (DNA); and 

21 (D) if new sampling and monitoring is not 

22 implemented under subparagraph (B), provide a 

23 detailed explanation of the determination of the 

24 Secretary of the Interior that no change is war25 ranted. 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION.—In determining the scope 

2 of the studies under this subsection, the Secretary of 

3 the Interior shall consult with— 

4 (A) Central Valley Project and State 

5 Water Project water contractors and public 

6 water agencies; 

7 (B) other public water agencies; 

8 (C) the California Department of Fish and 

9 Wildlife and the California Department of 

10 Water Resources; and 

11 (D) nongovernmental organizations. 

12 (e) SCIENTIFICALLY SUPPORTED IMPLEMENTATION

13 OF OMR FLOW REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MANDATE.— 

15 The Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall 

16 take no action pursuant to this Act that would cause 

17 additional adverse effects on the listed fish species 

18 beyond the range of effects anticipated to occur to 

19 the listed fish species for the duration of the applica20 ble biological opinion, using the best scientific and 

21 commercial data available. 

22 (2) REAL-TIME MANAGEMENT TO ACHIEVE

23 MULTIPLE GOALS.—Building upon previous drought 

24 operations in calendar years 2014 and 2015, the 

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1 itor in real time to determine the location and den2 sities of listed fish species relative to the pumps, 

3 Delta conditions, and other relevant factors, in order 

4 to identify— 

5 (A) opportunities to increase water pump6 ing without violating the standard in paragraph 

7 (1) or other applicable environmental laws and 

8 regulations; and 

9 (B) circumstances where it is necessary to 

10 decrease water pumping to protect listed fish 

11 species. 

12 (3) MANAGEMENT.—In implementing the smelt 

13 biological opinion and the salmonid biological opin14 ion, the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce 

15 shall manage the OMR in accordance with those 

16 opinions to maximize water supplies for the Central 

17 Valley Project and State Water Project, to the ex18 tent consistent with paragraph (1). 

19 (4) REVERSE FLOW.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the 

21 management of reverse flow in the OMR under 

22 the smelt biological opinion, the Secretary of 

23 the Interior shall implement the relevant provi24 sions of the smelt biological opinion to maxi25 mize Central Valley Project and State Water 


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1 Project water supplies, to the extent consistent 

2 with paragraph (1). 

3 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary de4 termines to manage rates of pumping at the 

5 C.W. ‘‘Bill’’ Jones and the Harvey O. Banks 

6 pumping plants in the southern Delta to 

7 achieve a reverse OMR flow rate less negative 

8 than ¥5,000 cubic feet per second, the Sec9 retary shall— 

10 (i) document in writing any signifi11 cant facts regarding real-time conditions 

12 relevant to the determinations of OMR re13 verse flow rates, including— 

14 (I) targeted real-time fish moni15 toring in the Old River pursuant to 

16 this section, including monitoring in 

17 the vicinity of Station 902; and 

18 (II) near-term forecasts with 

19 available salvage models under pre20 vailing conditions of the effects on 

21 Delta smelt of OMR flow of ¥5,000 

22 cubic feet per second; and 

23 (ii) explain in writing why any deci24 sion to manage OMR reverse flow at rates 

25 less negative than ¥5,000 cubic feet per 


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1 second is necessary to comply with the en2 vironmental standard in subparagraph 

3 (e)(1), after considering relevant factors 

4 such as— 

5 (I) the distribution of Delta 

6 smelt throughout the Delta; 

7 (II) the potential effects of high 

8 entrainment risk on subsequent Delta 

9 smelt abundance; 

10 (III) the water temperature; 

11 (IV) other significant factors rel12 evant to the determination, as re13 quired by applicable Federal or State 

14 laws; 

15 (V) turbidity; and 

16 (VI) whether any alternative 

17 measures could have a substantially 

18 lesser water supply impact. 

19 (5) IMMEDIATE ACTION.—Nothing in this sec20 tion shall prevent the Secretaries of the Interior or 

21 Commerce from taking immediate action to reduce 

22 pumping if necessary to do so to comply with the 

23 Endangered Species Act, its implementing regula24 tions, or to avoid additional adverse effects on the 

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1 pated to occur to the listed fish species for the dura2 tion of the applicable biological opinion. 

3 (f) FIRST SEDIMENT FLUSH.—During the first flush 

4 of sediment out of the Delta in each water year, based 

5 on objective evidence and notwithstanding subsection (e), 

6 the Secretary of the Interior shall manage OMR flow pur7 suant to the portion of the smelt biological opinion that 

8 protects adult Delta smelt from the first flush if required 

9 to do so by the smelt biological opinion. 

10 (g) CONSTRUCTION.—The Secretaries of the Interior 

11 and Commerce may— 

12 (1) implement subsection (e) building on, and 

13 taking into account the effects of, previous oper14 ations in the 2014 and 2015 water years; and 

15 (2) use the results of monitoring through early 

16 warning surveys to make real-time operational deci17 sions under the applicable biological opinion. 

18 (h) CALCULATION OF REVERSE FLOW IN OMR.— 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

20 this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the California 

21 Department of Water Resources, consistent with the smelt 

22 biological opinion and the salmonid biological opinion, 

23 shall— 

24 (1) review, including seeking public comment 

25 regarding, whether any revision to the method used 


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1 to calculate reverse flow in the OMR for implemen2 tation of the reasonable and prudent alternatives in 

3 the smelt biological opinion and the salmonid biologi4 cal opinion for the purpose of using the best avail5 able science and monitoring to maximize fish and 

6 water supply benefits is warranted; and 

7 (2) implement the revised method to calculate 

8 reverse flow in the OMR pursuant to paragraph (1). 

9 (i) SUCCESSOR BIOLOGICAL OPINIONS.—The Secre10 taries of the Interior and Commerce shall apply the provi11 sions of this Act to successor biological opinions to the 

12 salmonid biological opinion and the smelt biological opin13 ion, to the extent that the Secretaries of the Interior and 

14 Commerce determine to be consistent with— 

15 (1) section 701(a)(3); and 

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

17 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the regulations imple18 menting that Act. 

19 SEC. 302. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS. 

20 (a) WATER SUPPLIES.—The Secretaries of the Inte21 rior and Commerce shall provide the maximum quantity 

22 of water supplies practicable to Central Valley Project ag23 ricultural, municipal, and industrial contractors, water 

24 service or repayment contractors, water rights settlement 

25 contractors, exchange contractors, refuge contractors, and 


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1 State Water Project contractors, by approving, in accord2 ance with applicable Federal and State laws (including 

3 regulations), operations or temporary projects to provide 

4 additional water supplies as quickly as practicable, based 

5 on available information, to address the emergency condi6 tions. 

7 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out subsection 

8 (a), the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall, 

9 in accordance with applicable laws (including regula10 tions)— 

11 (1)(A) in close coordination with the California 

12 Department of Water Resources and the California 

13 Department of Fish and Wildlife, implement a pilot 

14 project to test and evaluate the ability to operate the 

15 Delta cross-channel gates daily or as otherwise may 

16 be appropriate to keep the gates open to the max17 imum extent practicable to protect out-migrating 

18 salmonids, manage salinities in the interior Delta 

19 and any other water quality issues, and maximize 

20 Central Valley Project and State Water Project 

21 pumping, subject to the condition that the pilot 

22 project shall be designed and implemented consistent 

23 with operational criteria and monitoring criteria re24 quired by the California State Water Resources Con25 trol Board, including its order, ‘‘Order Approving a 


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1 Temporary Urgency Change in License and Permit 

2 Terms in Response to Drought Conditions’’, effec3 tive on January 31, 2014 (or a successor order); and 

4 (B) design, implement, and evaluate those real5 time monitoring capabilities to enable effective real6 time operations of the cross-channel in order effi7 ciently to meet the objectives described in subpara8 graph (A); 

9 (2) with respect to the operation of the Delta 

10 cross-channel gates described in paragraph (1), col11 lect data on the impact of that operation on— 

12 (A) species listed as threatened or endan13 gered under the Endangered Species Act of 

14 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

15 (B) water quality; and 

16 (C) water supply benefits; 

17 (3) collaborate with the California Department 

18 of Water Resources to install a deflection barrier at 

19 Georgiana Slough and the Delta cross-channel gate 

20 to protect migrating salmonids, consistent with 

21 knowledge gained from related activities carried out 

22 during 2014 and 2015; 

23 (4) not later than May 15, 2016, submit to the 

24 Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and 

25 Environment and Public Works of the Senate and 


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1 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

2 of Representatives a notice and explanation regard3 ing the extent to which the gates are able to remain 

4 open pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (3); 

5 (5) implement turbidity control strategies that 

6 may allow for increased water deliveries while avoid7 ing jeopardy to adult Delta smelt due consistent 

8 with the smelt biological opinion; 

9 (6) adopt a 1:1 inflow-to-export ratio for the in10 crement of increased flow, as measured as a 3-day 

11 running average at Vernalis during the period begin12 ning on April 1 and ending on May 31, that results 

13 from the voluntary sale, transfer, or exchange, un14 less the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce 

15 determine in writing that the ratio will cause addi16 tional adverse effects on any salmonid listed fish 

17 species beyond the range of effects anticipated to 

18 occur to the listed fish species for the duration of 

19 the salmonid biological opinion using the best sci20 entific and commercial data available and subject to 

21 the condition that any individual sale, transfer, or 

22 exchange using that ratio may only proceed if— 

23 (A) the Secretary of the Interior deter24 mines that the environmental effects of the pro25 posed sale, transfer, or exchange are consistent 


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1 with effects permitted under applicable law (in2 cluding the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 

3 1531 et seq.), the Federal Water Pollution Con4 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), and the Por5 ter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Cali6 fornia Water Code 13000 et seq.)); 

7 (B) Delta conditions are suitable to allow 

8 movement of the acquired, transferred, or ex9 changed water through the Delta, in accordance 

10 with existing Central Valley Project and State 

11 Water Project permitted water rights and the 

12 requirements of section 3405(a)(1)(H) of the 

13 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Public 

14 Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4711); and 

15 (C) the voluntary sale, transfer, or ex16 change of water results in flow that is in addi17 tion to flow that otherwise would occur in the 

18 absence of the voluntary sale, transfer, or ex19 change; 

20 (7)(A) issue all necessary permit decisions 

21 under the authority of the Secretaries of the Interior 

22 and Commerce by not later than 60 days after the 

23 date of receipt of a completed application by the 

24 State of California to place and use temporary bar25 riers or operable gates in Delta channels to improve 


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1 water quantity and quality for State Water Project 

2 and Central Valley Project south-of-Delta water con3 tractors and other water users, which barriers or 

4 gates shall provide benefits for species protection 

5 and in-Delta water user water quality, subject to the 

6 condition that the barriers or gates shall be designed 

7 so that, if practicable, formal consultations under 

8 section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

9 U.S.C. 1536) are not necessary; or 

10 (B) take a longer period to issue the permit de11 cisions described in subparagraph (A) only if the 

12 Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce determine 

13 in writing that an environmental impact statement is 

14 needed for the proposal to comply with the National 

15 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

16 et seq.); 

17 (8) allow and facilitate, consistent with existing 

18 priorities, water transfers through the C.W. ‘‘Bill’’ 

19 Jones Pumping Plant or the Harvey O. Banks 

20 Pumping Plant during the period beginning on April 

21 1 and ending on November 30, subject to the condi22 tion that the transfers— 

23 (A) are consistent with applicable Federal 

24 and State laws (including regulations), includ25 ing the California Environmental Quality Act 


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1 (California Public Resources Code 21000– 

2 21177); and 

3 (B) are consistent with the smelt biological 

4 opinion and the salmonid biological opinion; 

5 (9) require the Director and the Commis6 sioner— 

7 (A)(i) to determine whether a written 

8 transfer proposal is complete by not later than 

9 30 days after the date of submission of the pro10 posal; and 

11 (ii) if the proposal is determined to be in12 complete, to State with specificity what shall be 

13 supplemented or revised to complete the pro14 posal; and 

15 (B)(i) complete all requirements under the 

16 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

17 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Endangered Spe18 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) nec19 essary to make final permit decisions on water 

20 transfer requests in the State of California 

21 by— 

22 (I) not later than 30 days after deem23 ing the application complete pursuant to 

24 subparagraph (A); or 


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1 (II) such later date as the Director or 

2 the Commissioner determines to be nec3 essary, only if the Director or the Commis4 sioner determines in writing that an envi5 ronmental impact statement is needed for 

6 the proposal to comply with the National 

7 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

8 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 

9 (ii) approve any water transfer request de10 scribed in clause (i) to maximize the quantity of 

11 water supplies, subject to the condition that ac12 tions associated with the water transfer comply 

13 with applicable Federal and State laws (includ14 ing regulations) and are consistent with— 

15 (I) existing permitted water rights; 

16 and 

17 (II) the requirements of section 

18 3405(a)(1)(H) of the Central Valley 

19 Project Improvement Act (Public Law 

20 102–575; 106 Stat. 4711); 

21 (10) in coordination with the Secretary of Agri22 culture, enter into an agreement with the National 

23 Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive 

24 study, to be completed not later than 1 year after 

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1 ness and environmental impacts of saltcedar biologi2 cal control efforts on increasing water supplies and 

3 improving riparian habitats of the Colorado River 

4 and its principal tributaries, in the State of Cali5 fornia and elsewhere; 

6 (11) pursuant to the research and adaptive 

7 management provisions of the smelt biological opin8 ion and the salmonid biological opinion— 

9 (A) use all available scientific tools to iden10 tify any changes to real-time operations of Bu11 reau of Reclamation, State of California, or 

12 local water projects that could result in the 

13 availability of additional water supplies; and 

14 (B) determine whether alternative oper15 ational or other management measures would 

16 meet applicable regulatory requirements for list17 ed species while maximizing water supplies and 

18 water supply reliability; and 

19 (12) continue to vary the averaging period of 

20 the maximum percent of Delta Inflow Diverted 

21 (Delta export-inflow ratio), to the extent consistent 

22 with any applicable California Water Resources Con23 trol Board orders under decision D–1641 (which 

24 sets water quality objectives for the San Francisco 


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1 Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary) to op2 erate— 

3 (A) to a ratio using a 3-day averaging pe4 riod on the rising limb of a Delta inflow 

5 hydrograph; and 

6 (B) to a 14-day averaging period on the 

7 falling limb of the Delta inflow hydrograph. 

8 (c) OTHER AGENCIES.—To the extent that a Federal 

9 department or agency other than the Department of the 

10 Interior or the Department of Commerce has a role in ap11 proving a project described in subsection (a) or (b), this 

12 section shall apply to the Federal department or agency. 

13 (d) ACCELERATED PROJECT DECISION AND ELE14 VATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—On request of the Governor 

16 of California, the Secretaries of the Interior and 

17 Commerce shall use the expedited procedures under 

18 this subsection to make final decisions relating to 

19 Federal or federally approved projects or operational 

20 changes proposed pursuant to subsections (a) and 

21 (b) to provide additional water supplies or otherwise 

22 address emergency drought conditions. 

23 (2) REQUEST FOR RESOLUTION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—On request of the Gov25 ernor of California, the Secretaries of the InteVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00133 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 rior and Commerce or the head of another Fed2 eral department or agency responsible for car3 rying out a review of a project, as applicable, 

4 shall convene a final project decision meeting 

5 with the heads of all relevant Federal agencies 

6 to decide whether to approve a project to pro7 vide emergency water supplies or otherwise ad8 dress emergency drought conditions. 

9 (B) MEETING.—A meeting under subpara10 graph (A) shall convene not later than 7 days 

11 after the date of receipt of the meeting request. 

12 (3) NOTIFICATION.—On receipt of a request for 

13 a meeting under this subsection, the Secretary of the 

14 Interior shall notify the heads of all relevant Federal 

15 departments and agencies of the request, including 

16 a description of— 

17 (A) the project to be reviewed; and 

18 (B) the date for the meeting. 

19 (4) DECISION.—Not later than 10 days after 

20 the date on which a meeting is requested under 

21 paragraph (2), the head of the relevant Federal 

22 agency shall issue a final decision on the project. 

23 (5) MEETING CONVENED BY SECRETARY.—The 

24 Secretary of the Interior may convene a final project 

25 decision meeting under this subsection at any time, 


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1 at the discretion of the Secretary, regardless of 

2 whether a meeting is requested under paragraph (2). 

3 (6) LIMITATION.—The expedited procedures 

4 under this subsection apply only— 

5 (A) to proposed new Federal projects or 

6 operational changes pursuant to subsection (a) 

7 or (b); and 

8 (B) to the extent the procedures are con9 sistent with applicable laws (including regula10 tions). 

11 (e) DROUGHT PLAN.—For any year during which 

12 this section is in effect, the Secretaries of the Interior and 

13 Commerce, in consultation with appropriate State offi14 cials, shall develop a drought operations plan that is con15 sistent with this Act and other applicable Federal and 

16 State laws, including provisions intended to provide addi17 tional water supplies that could be of assistance during 

18 the drought in existence on the date of enactment of this 

19 Act. 

20 SEC. 303. TEMPORARY OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY TO CAP21 TURE PEAK FLOWS FROM WINTER STORMS. 

22 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MANDATE.—The 

23 Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall take no 

24 action pursuant to this Act that would cause additional 

25 adverse effects on the listed fish species beyond the range 


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1 of effects anticipated to occur to the listed fish species for 

2 the duration of the applicable biological opinion, using the 

3 best scientific and commercial data available. 

4 (b) REAL-TIME MANAGEMENT TO ACHIEVE MUL5 TIPLE GOALS.—Pursuant to the adaptive management 

6 provisions of the smelt biological opinion and the salmonid 

7 biological opinion, the Secretaries of the Interior and Com8 merce shall monitor in real time to determine the location 

9 and densities of listed fish species relative to the pumps 

10 and Delta conditions, in order to identify— 

11 (1) opportunities to increase water pumping 

12 without violating the standard in subsection (a) or 

13 other environmental laws and regulations; and 

14 (2) circumstances where it is necessary to de15 crease water pumping to protect listed fish species. 

16 (c) REQUIREMENT.—When consistent with the envi17 ronmental protection mandate in subsection (a) and other 

18 environmental protections under subsection (f), the Secre19 taries of the Interior and Commerce, through the drought 

20 contingency plans, shall evaluate and may authorize the 

21 Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, com22 bined, to operate at levels that result in daily average 

23 OMR flows more negative than ¥5,000 cubic feet per sec24 ond (based on United States Geological Survey gauges on 


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1 OMR) to capture peak flows during storm-related events, 

2 in accordance with subsections (d), (e), and (f). 

3 (d) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In determining 

4 additional adverse effects on any listed fish species beyond 

5 the range of effects anticipated to occur to the listed fish 

6 species for the duration of the smelt biological opinion or 

7 salmonid biological opinion, using the best scientific and 

8 commercial data available, the Secretaries of the Interior 

9 and Commerce may consider the following factors: 

10 (1) The real-time distribution of listed species. 

11 (2) Relevant physical parameters including pro12 jected inflows, turbidity, salinities, and tidal cycles. 

13 (3) Any other factor under the relevant biologi14 cal opinion. 

15 (e) OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS.— 

16 (1) STATE LAW.—The actions of the Secre17 taries of the Interior and Commerce pursuant to this 

18 section shall be consistent with applicable regulatory 

19 requirements under State law. 

20 (2) FIRST SEDIMENT FLUSH.—During the first 

21 flush of sediment out of the Delta during each water 

22 year, based on objective evidence and notwith23 standing the other provisions of this subsection, the 

24 Secretary of the Interior shall manage OMR flow 

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1 ion that protects adult Delta smelt from the first 

2 flush if required to do so by the smelt biological 

3 opinion. 

4 (3) APPLICABILITY.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—This section on cap6 turing peak flows from winter storms shall not 

7 affect the application of the salmonid biological 

8 opinion during the period beginning on April 1 

9 and ending on May 31, unless the Secretary of 

10 Commerce determines that this section can be 

11 applied during part or all of that time period to 

12 provide emergency water supply relief without 

13 resulting in additional adverse effects beyond 

14 those anticipated to occur for the duration the 

15 salmonid biological opinion. 

16 (B) THROUGH-DELTA WATER TRANS17 FERS.—In addition to any other actions to ben18 efit water supply, the Secretaries of the Interior 

19 and Commerce shall consider allowing through20 Delta water transfers to occur during the pe21 riod referred to in subparagraph (A), in accord22 ance with section 302(b)(8). 

23 (4) MONITORING.—In implementing this sec24 tion, the Commissioner, in coordination with the Di25 rector, the Assistant Administrator, and the CaliVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 May 18, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00138 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 fornia Department of Fish and Wildlife, shall carry 

2 out a monitoring program and other data gathering 

3 activities— 

4 (A) to ensure incidental take levels are not 

5 exceeded; and 

6 (B) to identify potential negative impacts, 

7 if any. 

8 (f) EFFECT OF HIGH OUTFLOWS.—When exercising 

9 their authorities pursuant to drought contingency plans 

10 to capture peak flows pursuant to subsection (c), the Sec11 retaries of the Interior and Commerce shall not count any 

12 day during that period toward the 5-day or 14-day run13 ning averages of tidally filtered daily OMR flow require14 ments under the smelt biological opinion or the salmonid 

15 biological opinion unless doing so is required to avoid addi16 tional adverse effects on listed fish species beyond the 

17 range of effects anticipated to occur to the listed fish spe18 cies for the duration of the biological opinions, using the 

19 best scientific and commercial data available. 

20 SEC. 304. EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS. 

21 To minimize the time spent carrying out environ22 mental reviews and quickly to deliver water that is needed 

23 to address emergency drought conditions in the State of 

24 California, the head of each applicable Federal department 

25 or agency shall, in carrying out this title, consult with the 


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1 Council on Environmental Quality in accordance with sec2 tion 1506.11 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

3 successor regulations), to develop alternative arrange4 ments to comply with the National Environmental Policy 

5 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) during the emer6 gency. The Council on Environmental Quality shall exer7 cise its authority in a timely manner and with an outcome 

8 consistent with the need to address the emergency drought 

9 conditions in the State of California. 

10 SEC. 305. LEVEL OF DETAIL REQUIRED FOR ANALYSIS. 

11 In articulating the determinations and demonstra12 tions required under this title and title I, the Secretaries 

13 of the Interior and Commerce shall— 

14 (1) fully satisfy the requirements of this title 

15 addressing both supporting and countervailing evi16 dence using such quantity of written supporting de17 tail as is reasonable within the timeframe permitted 

18 for timely decisionmaking in response to changing 

19 conditions in the Delta; and 

20 (2) make the decision document available on a 

21 publicly accessible Internet website. 

22 TITLE IV—WATER RIGHTS 

23 SEC. 401. OFFSET FOR STATE WATER PROJECT. 

24 (a) IMPLEMENTATION IMPACTS.—The Secretary of 

25 the Interior shall confer with the California Department 


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1 of Fish and Wildlife in connection with the implementa2 tion of this Act regarding potential impacts to any consist3 ency determination for operations of the State Water 

4 Project issued pursuant to section 2080.1 of the California 

5 Fish and Game Code. 

6 (b) ADDITIONAL YIELD.—If, as a result of the appli7 cation of this Act, the California Department of Fish and 

8 Wildlife— 

9 (1) determines that operations of the State 

10 Water Project are inconsistent with the consistency 

11 determinations issued pursuant to California Fish 

12 and Game Code section 2080.1 for operations of the 

13 State Water Project; or 

14 (2) requires take authorization under California 

15 Fish and Game Code section 2081 for operation of 

16 the State Water Project, 

17 in a manner that directly or indirectly results in reduced 

18 water supply to the State Water Project as compared with 

19 the water supply available under the smelt biological opin20 ion and the salmonid biological opinion, and as a result, 

21 Central Valley Project yield is greater than it otherwise 

22 would have been, then that additional yield shall be made 

23 available to the State Water Project for delivery to State 

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1 plies for any Central Valley Project authorized uses or 

2 contractors to make available to the State Water Project 

3 that additional yield, such reductions shall be applied pro4 portionately to those uses or contractors that benefit from 

5 that increased yield. 

6 (c) NOTIFICATION RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL

7 PROTECTIONS.—The Secretaries of the Interior and Com8 merce shall— 

9 (1) notify the Director of the California Depart10 ment of Fish and Wildlife regarding any changes in 

11 the manner in which the smelt biological opinion or 

12 the salmonid biological opinion is implemented; and 

13 (2) confirm that those changes are consistent 

14 with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

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

16 (d) SAVINGS.—Nothing in this section shall have any 

17 effect on the application of the California Endangered 

18 Species Act (California Fish and Game Code sections 

19 2050 through 2116). 

20 SEC. 402. AREA OF ORIGIN AND WATER RIGHTS PROTEC21 TIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this Act, the Sec23 retaries of the Interior and Commerce shall not take any 

24 action that— 


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1 (1) diminishes, impairs, or otherwise affects in 

2 any manner any area of origin, watershed of origin, 

3 county of origin, or any other water rights protec4 tion, including rights to water appropriated before 

5 December 19, 1914, provided under California law; 

6 (2) limits, expands, or otherwise affects the ap7 plication of section 10505, 10505.5, 11128, 11460, 

8 11461, 11462, 11463, or 12200 through 12220 of 

9 the California Water Code or any other provision of 

10 California water rights law, without respect to 

11 whether such a provision is specifically referred to in 

12 this Act; or 

13 (3) diminishes, impairs, or otherwise affects in 

14 any manner any water rights or water rights prior15 ities under applicable law. 

16 (b) EFFECT OF ACT.—Nothing in this Act— 

17 (1) affects or modifies any obligation of the 

18 Secretary of the Interior under section 8 of the Act 

19 of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 390, chapter 1093); or 

20 (2) diminishes, impairs, or otherwise affects in 

21 any manner any project purposes or priorities for 

22 the allocation, delivery, or use of water under appli23 cable law, including the project purposes and prior24 ities established under sections 3402 and section 


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1 3406 of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act 

2 (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4706). 

3 SEC. 403. NO REDIRECTED ADVERSE IMPACTS. 

4 (a) APPLICABILITY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the Inte6 rior and Commerce shall not carry out any specific 

7 action pursuant to this Act that will directly or, 

8 through State agency action, indirectly result in the 

9 involuntary reduction of water supply to an indi10 vidual, district, or agency that has in effect a con11 tract for water with the State Water Project or the 

12 Central Valley Project, including settlement and ex13 change contracts, operating contracts, refuge con14 tracts, and Friant Division contracts, as compared 

15 to the water supply that would be provided in the 

16 absence of action under this Act. 

17 (2) EFFECT OF ACT.—Nothing in this Act 

18 modifies, amends, or affects any right or obligation 

19 of any party to a contract described in paragraph 

20 (1). 

21 (b) ACTION ON DETERMINATION.—If, after exploring 

22 all options, the Secretary makes a final determination that 

23 a proposed action under this Act cannot be carried out 

24 in accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary— 


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1 (1) shall document that determination in writ2 ing with regard to that action, including a statement 

3 of the facts relied on, and an explanation of the 

4 basis, for the decision; and 

5 (2) is subject to applicable law, including the 

6 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

7 seq.). 

8 SEC. 404. ALLOCATIONS FOR SACRAMENTO VALLEY WATER 

9 SERVICE CONTRACTORS. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) EXISTING CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT AGRI12 CULTURAL WATER SERVICE CONTRACTOR WITHIN

13 SACRAMENTO RIVER WATERSHED.—The term ‘‘exist14 ing Central Valley Project agricultural water service 

15 contractor within the Sacramento River Watershed’’ 

16 means any water service contractor within the Shas17 ta, Trinity, or Sacramento River Division of the 

18 Central Valley Project that has in effect a water 

19 service contract on the date of enactment of this Act 

20 that provides water for irrigation. 

21 (2) YEAR TERMS.—The terms ‘‘Above Normal’’, 

22 ‘‘Below Normal’’, ‘‘Dry’’, and ‘‘Wet’’, with respect to 

23 a year, have the meanings given those terms in the 

24 Sacramento Valley Water Year Type (40–30–30) 

25 Index. 


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1 (b) ALLOCATIONS OF WATER.— 

2 (1) ALLOCATIONS.—Subject to subsection (c), 

3 the Secretary of the Interior shall make every rea4 sonable effort in the operation of the Central Valley 

5 Project to allocate water provided for irrigation pur6 poses to each existing Central Valley Project agricul7 tural water service contractor within the Sacramento 

8 River Watershed in accordance with the following: 

9 (A) Not less than 100 percent of the con10 tract quantity shall be allocated to the Central 

11 Valley Project agricultural water service con12 tractor within the Sacramento River Watershed 

13 in a Wet year. 

14 (B) Not less than 100 percent of the con15 tract quantity shall be allocated to the Central 

16 Valley Project agricultural water service con17 tractor within the Sacramento River Watershed 

18 in an Above Normal year. 

19 (C) Not less than 100 percent of the con20 tract quantity shall be allocated to the Central 

21 Valley Project agricultural water service con22 tractor within the Sacramento River Watershed 

23 in a Below Normal year that is preceded by an 

24 Above Normal or Wet year. 


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1 (D) Not less than 50 percent of the con2 tract quantity shall be allocated to the existing 

3 Central Valley Project agricultural water service 

4 contractor within the Sacramento River Water5 shed in a Dry year that is preceded by a Below 

6 Normal, Above Normal, or Wet year. 

7 (E) Subject to paragraph (2), in any other 

8 year not identified in any of subparagraphs (A) 

9 through (D), the Secretary shall allocate not 

10 less than twice the allocation percentage to 

11 south-of-Delta Central Valley Project agricul12 tural water service contractors, up to 100 per13 cent. 

14 (2) EFFECT OF SUBPARAGRAPH.—In the event 

15 of anomalous circumstances, nothing in paragraph 

16 (1)(E) precludes an allocation to an existing Central 

17 Valley Project agricultural water service contractor 

18 within the Sacramento River Watershed that is 

19 greater than twice the allocation percentage to a 

20 south-of-Delta Central Valley Project agricultural 

21 water service contractor. 

22 (c) PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT, MUNICIPAL, 

23 AND INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES AND OTHER CONTRAC24 TORS.— 


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1 (1) ENVIRONMENT.—Nothing in subsection (b) 

2 shall adversely affect any protections for the envi3 ronment, including— 

4 (A) the cold water pool behind Shasta 

5 Dam or any other Central Valley Project res6 ervoir; 

7 (B) the obligation of the Secretary of the 

8 Interior to make water available to managed 

9 wetlands pursuant to section 3406(d) of the 

10 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Public 

11 Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4722); or 

12 (C) any obligation— 

13 (i) of the Secretaries of the Interior 

14 and Commerce under the smelt biological 

15 opinion, the salmonid biological opinion, or 

16 any other applicable biological opinion; or 

17 (ii) under the Endangered Species Act 

18 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Cen19 tral Valley Project Improvement Act (Pub20 lic Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4706), or any 

21 other applicable State or Federal law (in22 cluding regulations). 

23 (2) MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES.— 

24 Nothing in subsection (b) shall— 


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1 (A) modify any provision of a water service 

2 contract that addresses municipal or industrial 

3 water shortage policies of the Secretaries of the 

4 Interior and Commerce; 

5 (B) affect or limit the authority of the Sec6 retaries of the Interior and Commerce— 

7 (i) to adopt or modify municipal and 

8 industrial water shortage policies; or 

9 (ii) to implement a municipal or in10 dustrial water shortage policy; 

11 (C) constrain, govern, or affect, directly or 

12 indirectly, the operations of the American River 

13 Division of the Central Valley Project or any 

14 deliveries from that Division or a unit or facility 

15 of that Division; or 

16 (D) affect any allocation to a Central Val17 ley Project municipal or industrial water service 

18 contractor by increasing or decreasing alloca19 tions to the contractor, as compared to the allo20 cation the contractor would have received ab21 sent subsection (b). 

22 (3) OTHER CONTRACTORS.—Nothing in sub23 section (b) shall— 

24 (A) affect the priority of any individual or 

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1 tract over water service or repayment contrac2 tors; 

3 (B) affect the obligation of the United 

4 States to make a substitute supply of water 

5 available to the San Joaquin River exchange 

6 contractors; 

7 (C) result in the involuntary reduction in 

8 water allocations to refuge contractors; 

9 (D) affect the allocation of water to Friant 

10 Division contractors of the Central Valley 

11 Project; 

12 (E) result in the involuntary reduction in 

13 contract water allocations to individuals or enti14 ties with contracts to receive water from the 

15 Friant Division; or 

16 (F) authorize any actions inconsistent with 

17 State water rights law. 

18 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

19 PROVISIONS 

20 SEC. 501. AUTHORIZED SERVICE AREA. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The service area of the Central 

22 Valley Project, as authorized by the Central Valley Project 

23 Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4706), 

24 shall include the area within the boundaries of the 


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1 Kettleman City Community Services District of California, 

2 as in existence on the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) LONG-TERM CONTRACT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Central 

5 Valley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102– 

6 575; 106 Stat. 4706) and subject to paragraph (2), 

7 the Secretary of the Interior, in accordance with the 

8 reclamation laws, shall enter into a long-term con9 tract with the Kettleman City Community Services 

10 District of California, under terms and conditions 

11 mutually agreeable to the parties, for the delivery of 

12 up to 900 acre-feet of Central Valley Project water 

13 for municipal and industrial use. 

14 (2) LIMITATION.—A Central Valley Project 

15 water delivery under the contract entered into under 

16 paragraph (1) shall be limited to the minimal quan17 tity necessary to meet the immediate needs of the 

18 Kettleman City Community Services District, in the 

19 event that local supplies or State Water Project allo20 cations are insufficient to meet those needs. 

21 (c) PERMIT.—The Secretary shall apply to the State 

22 of California for a permit for a joint place of use for water 

23 deliveries under the contract entered into under subsection 

24 (b) with respect to the expanded service area under sub25 section (a), in accordance with State law. 


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1 (d) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—The applicable non-Fed2 eral entity shall pay the costs of any additional infrastruc3 ture, water treatment, or related costs are needed to carry 

4 out this section. 

5 SEC. 502. OVERSIGHT OVER AND PUBLIC INPUT INTO RES6 TORATION FUND ACTIVITIES. 

7 Section 3407 of the Central Valley Project Improve8 ment Act (Public Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4726) is 

9 amended by striking subsection (f) and inserting the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(f) RESTORATION FUND FINANCIAL REPORTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) TRANSPARENCY IN EXPENDITURES.—For 

13 the effective period of the California Emergency 

14 Drought Relief Act, the Secretary shall make avail15 able, on a publicly accessible Internet website, a re16 port describing a detailed work plan for the expendi17 ture of all amounts deposited in the Restoration 

18 Fund during the preceding fiscal year, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) a description of all receipts to, and 

20 uses of, funds deposited in the Restoration 

21 Fund and the Restoration Account during the 

22 preceding fiscal year; 

23 ‘‘(B) a projection of the expected receipts 

24 to the Restoration Fund and Restoration Ac25 count for the following fiscal year; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) an analysis of the effectiveness of 

2 each expenditure included in the report covering 

3 the preceding fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FOR PLANNED EX5 PENDITURES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, 

7 the Secretary shall make available on a publicly 

8 accessible Internet website a proposed draft 

9 work plan for the following fiscal year regarding 

10 priorities and spending levels for projects and 

11 programs to be carried out under this title. 

12 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The draft work 

13 plan under this paragraph shall be made avail14 able for public comment for a period not less 

15 than 30 days.’’. 

16 SEC. 503. BASIN STUDIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior 

18 shall— 

19 (1) expand opportunities and expedite comple20 tion of assessments under the Secure Water Act 

21 (section 9503(b) of Public Law 111–11 (42 U.S.C. 

22 10363(b)), together with non-Federal partners, of 

23 individual sub-basins and watersheds within major 

24 Reclamation river basins; and 


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1 (2) ensure prompt decisionmaking regarding, 

2 and expedited implementation of, adaptation and 

3 mitigation strategies developed through the special 

4 study process. 

5 (b) CONTRIBUTED FUNDS.—The Secretary may ac6 cept and use contributions of funds from the non-Federal 

7 partners to carry out activities under the special studies 

8 consistent with the administration of basin studies pro9 gram criteria. 

10 SEC. 504. TECHNICAL AND MODELING ASSISTANCE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the Interior 

12 and Commerce may provide technical and modeling assist13 ance on request to the State Water Resources Control 

14 Board during the drought emergency in effect on the date 

15 of enactment of this Act. 

16 (b) DATA AVAILABILITY.—The Secretaries of the In17 terior and Commerce shall make publicly available on re18 quest any modeling and data provided under subsection 

19 (a). 

20 SEC. 505. REPORT ON RESULTS OF WATER USAGE. 

21 The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 

22 Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Natural Re23 sources of the State of California, shall publish an annual 

24 report describing, with respect to the period covered by 

25 the report— 


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1 (1) instream flow releases from the Central Val2 ley Project and State Water Project; 

3 (2) the explicit purpose and authority of those 

4 releases; and 

5 (3) all measured environmental benefits as a re6 sult of the releases. 

7 SEC. 506. ADDITIONAL STORAGE AT NEW MELONES. 

8 (a) COORDINATION.—The Commissioner shall coordi9 nate with local water and irrigation districts in the 

10 Stanislaus River Basin to identify the quantity of water 

11 storage made available by the draft plan of operations in 

12 New Melones Reservoir (referred to in this section as the 

13 ‘‘draft plan’’) for— 

14 (1) water conservation programs; 

15 (2) conjunctive use projects; 

16 (3) water transfers; 

17 (4) rescheduled project water; and 

18 (5) other projects to maximize water storage 

19 and ensure the beneficial use of the water resources 

20 in the Stanislaus River Basin. 

21 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The programs and projects de22 scribed in subsection (a) shall be implemented in accord23 ance with applicable laws (including regulations). 

24 (c) SOURCE OF WATER.—The source of water for any 

25 storage program carried out under this section at New 


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1 Melones Reservoir shall be made available under a valid 

2 water right, in accordance with— 

3 (1) the water transfer guidelines of the State of 

4 California; and 

5 (2) any other applicable State water law. 

6 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

7 date of identification of the quantity of storage made 

8 available under the draft plan that has been allocated 

9 under this section, the Commissioner shall submit to Con10 gress a report describing the implementation of this sec11 tion, including proposals received by the Commissioner 

12 from interested parties for purposes of this section. 

13 SEC. 507. CONTRACTING AUTHORITIES. 

14 (a) DELTA RESEARCH STATION LEASES.—Notwith15 standing section 585 of title 40, United States Code, the 

16 Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce may enter di17 rectly into any lease of real property for the Delta Re18 search Station. 

19 (b) COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES.—Notwithstanding 

20 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and 

21 applicable Federal acquisitions and contracting authori22 ties, the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce may 

23 use the collaborative processes under the Collaborative 

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1 tracts with specific individuals or organizations directly or 

2 in conjunction with appropriate State agencies. 

3 SEC. 508. VOLUNTARY OPEN WATER DATA SYSTEM. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.—The term 

6 ‘‘educational institution’’ means— 

7 (A) a public or private elementary or sec8 ondary school; 

9 (B) an institution of vocational, profes10 sional, or higher education (including a junior 

11 college or teachers’ college); and 

12 (C) an association of schools or institutions 

13 described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

14 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

15 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

16 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

17 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

18 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di20 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 

21 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

22 (A) a State; 

23 (B) the District of Columbia; 

24 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

25 and 


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1 (D) any other territory or possession of the 

2 United States. 

3 (5) SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘system’’ means the 

4 open water data system established under subsection 

5 (b). 

6 (b) SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall establish and 

7 maintain an open water data system within the United 

8 States Geological Survey to advance the availability, time9 ly distribution, and widespread use of water data and in10 formation for water management, education, research, as11 sessment, and monitoring purposes. 

12 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the system are— 

13 (1) to promote the voluntary sharing of water 

14 data and information among State, local, and tribal 

15 governments, communities, educational institutions, 

16 and the private sector; 

17 (2) to advance the quantification of the avail18 ability, use of, and risks to, water resources through19 out the United States; 

20 (3) to increase accessibility to, and expand the 

21 use of, water data and information in a standard, 

22 easy-to-use format by Federal, State, local, and trib23 al governments, communities, educational institu24 tions, and the private sector; and 


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1 (4) to facilitate the open exchange of water in2 formation particularly in the face of climate change 

3 and unprecedented drought. 

4 (d) ACTIVITIES.— 

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

6 the Secretary shall coordinate with the National 

7 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration— 

8 (A) to integrate water data and informa9 tion into an interoperable, national, geospatially 

10 referenced water data framework; 

11 (B) identify new water data and informa12 tion needs, including data on surface and 

13 ground water quality and quantity, contami14 nated aquifers, sediment, erosion, transport, 

15 water chemistry, brackish water, precipitation, 

16 reservoir storage, water cycle, landscape vari17 ables, hydrography, climate and weather im18 pacts, soil moisture, and human use; 

19 (C) to leverage existing shared databases, 

20 infrastructure, and tools to provide a platform 

21 for water data and information innovation, 

22 modeling and data sharing, and solution devel23 opment; and 

24 (D) to support water data and information 

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1 grams of State, local, and tribal governments, 

2 communities, educational institutions, and the 

3 private sector. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENT.—Any activity carried out 

5 pursuant to this section by the Secretary or a non6 Federal participant shall be— 

7 (A) voluntary; and 

8 (B) carried out in accordance with all Fed9 eral and State privacy laws. 

10 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. 

13 SEC. 509. SINGLE ANNUAL REPORT. 

14 To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of 

15 the Interior shall combine into 1 report the annual reports 

16 required to be submitted under this Act to the Committees 

17 on Appropriations and Energy and Natural Resources of 

18 the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and 

19 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 

20 TITLE VI—OFFSETS 

21 SEC. 601. DEAUTHORIZATION OF INACTIVE PROJECTS. 

22 (a) PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS.— 

23 (1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section 

24 are— 


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1 (A) to identify Bureau of Reclamation 

2 projects and programs that are no longer fea3 sible due to— 

4 (i) a lack of local support; 

5 (ii) a lack of available Federal or non6 Federal resources; or 

7 (iii) an authorized purpose that is no 

8 longer relevant or feasible; 

9 (B) to establish an efficient and trans10 parent process for deauthorizing Reclamation 

11 projects and programs that have failed to re12 ceive a minimum level of investment to ensure 

13 active projects can move forward while reducing 

14 the backlog of authorized projects; 

15 (C) to create an expedited and definitive 

16 process to deauthorize Reclamation projects and 

17 programs; 

18 (D) to allow the continued authorization of 

19 programs and projects that are feasible; and 

20 (E) to establish a process for identifying 

21 authorized Reclamation projects and programs 

22 that are no longer— 

23 (i) in the Federal interest; or 

24 (ii) feasible. 

25 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (A) RECLAMATION PROJECT OR PRO2 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Reclamation project or pro3 gram’’ includes any project or program that is 

4 administered by the Bureau of Reclamation. 

5 (B) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

6 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 (b) COMPREHENSIVE REPORTS.— 

8 (1) MINIMUM FUNDING LIST.—Not later than 

9 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

10 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

11 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com12 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep13 resentatives, and make available on a publicly acces14 sible Internet website in a manner that is 

15 downloadable, searchable, and sortable, a list of— 

16 (A) Reclamation programs authorized, and 

17 for which funding was obligated, during the 

18 current fiscal year or any of the preceding 5 fis19 cal years; and 

20 (B)(i) Reclamation projects or separable 

21 elements of projects authorized for construction 

22 for which funding has been obligated during the 

23 current fiscal year or any of the 5 preceding fis24 cal years; 


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1 (ii) the amount of funding obligated for 

2 each such project or separable element per fis3 cal year; 

4 (iii) the current phase of each such project 

5 or separable element; and 

6 (iv) the amount required to complete the 

7 current phase of each such project or separable 

8 element. 

9 (2) BACKLOG REPORT.—Together with the re10 port under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit 

11 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

12 of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re13 sources of the House of Representatives, and make 

14 available on a publicly accessible Internet website in 

15 a manner that is downloadable, searchable, and sort16 able, a list of— 

17 (A) Reclamation programs that are author18 ized and for which funding was not obligated 

19 during the current fiscal year or any of the pre20 ceding 5 fiscal years; and 

21 (B)(i) projects or separable elements that 

22 are authorized for construction but have not 

23 been completed; 


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1 (ii) the date of authorization of the project 

2 or separable element, including any subsequent 

3 modifications to the original authorization; 

4 (iii) the original budget authority for the 

5 project or separable element; 

6 (iv) a brief description of the project or 

7 separable element; 

8 (v) the estimated date of completion of the 

9 project or separable element; 

10 (vi) the estimated cost of completion of the 

11 project or separable element; and 

12 (vii) any amounts appropriated for the 

13 project or separable element that remain unobli14 gated. 

15 (c) INTERIM DEAUTHORIZATION LIST.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

17 an interim deauthorization list that identifies each 

18 authorized Reclamation program or project, or sepa19 rable element of a Reclamation program or project, 

20 for which Federal or non-Federal funds were not ob21 ligated for construction during— 

22 (A) the applicable fiscal year; or 

23 (B) any of the 5 preceding fiscal years. 

24 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR PROJECTS RECEIVING

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1 lamation project or separable element of a Reclama2 tion project may not be identified on the interim de3 authorization list, or on the final deauthorization list 

4 under subsection (d), if the Reclamation project or 

5 separable element received funding for a 

6 postauthorization study during— 

7 (A) the applicable fiscal year; or 

8 (B) any of the 5 preceding fiscal years. 

9 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSULTATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall so11 licit comments from the public and the Gov12 ernors of each applicable State regarding the 

13 interim deauthorization list developed under 

14 paragraph (1). 

15 (B) COMMENT PERIOD.—The public com16 ment period under subparagraph (A) shall be 

17 90 days. 

18 (4) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS; PUBLICA19 TION.—Not later than 90 days after the date of sub20 mission of the list required under subsection (b), the 

21 Secretary shall— 

22 (A) submit the interim deauthorization list 

23 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re24 sources of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Natural Resources of the House of Representa2 tives; and 

3 (B) publish the interim deauthorization list 

4 in the Federal Register. 

5 (d) FINAL DEAUTHORIZATION LIST.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

7 a final deauthorization list of each Reclamation pro8 gram or project, or separable element of a Reclama9 tion program or project, described in subsection 

10 (c)(1) that is identified pursuant to this subsection. 

11 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECTS.— 

12 (A) SEQUENCING.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

14 identify Reclamation projects and sepa15 rable elements of Reclamation projects for 

16 inclusion on the final deauthorization list 

17 according to the order in which the Rec18 lamation projects and separable elements 

19 were authorized, beginning with the ear20 liest-authorized Reclamation projects and 

21 separable elements. 

22 (ii) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.— 

23 The Secretary may identify a Reclamation 

24 program, project, or separable element of a 

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1 sion from the final deauthorization list if 

2 the Secretary determines, on a case-by-case 

3 basis, that the Reclamation program, 

4 project, or separable element is critical for 

5 interests of the United States, based on 

6 the possible impact of the Reclamation 

7 program, project, or separable element 

8 on— 

9 (I) public health and safety; 

10 (II) the national economy; or 

11 (III) the environment. 

12 (iii) CONSIDERATION OF PUBLIC COM13 MENTS.—In making a determination under 

14 clause (i) or (ii), the Secretary shall take 

15 into consideration any comments received 

16 under subsection (c)(3). 

17 (B) APPENDIX.—The Secretary shall in18 clude as part of the final deauthorization list an 

19 appendix that— 

20 (i) identifies each Reclamation pro21 gram, project, and separable element of a 

22 Reclamation program or project on the in23 terim deauthorization list developed under 

24 subsection (c) that is not included on the 

25 final deauthorization list; and 


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1 (ii) describes the reasons why the Rec2 lamation program, project, or separable 

3 element is not included. 

4 (3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS; PUBLICA5 TION.—Not later than 120 days after the date of ex6 piration of the public comment period under sub7 section (c)(3), the Secretary shall— 

8 (A) submit the final deauthorization list 

9 and the appendix under paragraph (2)(B) to 

10 the Committee on Energy and Natural Re11 sources of the Senate and the Committee on 

12 Natural Resources of the House of Representa13 tives; and 

14 (B) publish the final deauthorization list 

15 and the appendix in the Federal Register. 

16 (e) DEAUTHORIZATION; CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), ef18 fective beginning on the date that is 180 days after 

19 the date of submission of the final deauthorization 

20 list under subsection (d), a Reclamation program, 

21 project, or separable element of a Reclamation pro22 gram or project included on the list is deauthorized, 

23 unless Congress passes a joint resolution dis24 approving the final deauthorization report before 

25 that date. 


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1 (2) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—A Rec2 lamation program, project, or separable element in3 cluded on the final deauthorization list under sub4 section (d) shall not be deauthorized under this sub5 section if, before the expiration of the 180-day pe6 riod referred to in paragraph (1), the non-Federal 

7 interest of the Reclamation program, project, or sep8 arable element provides sufficient funds to complete 

9 the Reclamation program, project, or separable ele10 ment. 

11 (f) TREATMENT OF PROJECT MODIFICATIONS.—For 

12 purposes of this section, if an authorized water resources 

13 development Reclamation program, project, or separable 

14 element of the program or project has been modified by 

15 an Act of Congress, the date of authorization of the Rec16 lamation program, project, or separable element shall be 

17 deemed to be the date of the most recent modification. 

18 (g) EXEMPTION.—Any Reclamation project that 

19 would yield an average of more than 200,000 acre-feet of 

20 water per year shall be exempt from this subsection. 

21 SEC. 602. ACCELERATED REVENUE, REPAYMENT, AND SUR22 FACE WATER STORAGE ENHANCEMENT. 

23 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

24 ‘‘Accelerated Revenue, Repayment, and Surface Water 

25 Storage Enhancement Act’’. 


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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Account’’ means the 

3 Reclamation Surface Water Storage Account estab4 lished under subsection (f)(1). 

5 (2) CONSTRUCTION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘construc7 tion’’ means the designing, materials engineer8 ing and testing, surveying, and building of sur9 face water storage. 

10 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘construc11 tion’’ includes— 

12 (i) any addition to existing surface 

13 water storage; and 

14 (ii) construction of a new surface 

15 water storage facility. 

16 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘construc17 tion’’ excludes any Federal statutory or regu18 latory obligation relating to any permit, review, 

19 approval, or other similar requirement. 

20 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (4) SURFACE WATER STORAGE.—The term 

23 ‘‘surface water storage’’ means storage at— 

24 (A) any federally owned facility under the 

25 jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation; or 


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1 (B) any non-Federal facility used for the 

2 surface storage and supply of water resources. 

3 (5) TREASURY RATE.—The term ‘‘Treasury 

4 rate’’ means the 20-year constant maturity treasury 

5 rate published by the United States Treasury, as in 

6 existence on the effective date of the applicable con7 tract. 

8 (6) WATER USERS ASSOCIATION.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘water users 

10 association’’ means an entity organized and rec11 ognized under State law that is eligible to enter 

12 into contracts with the Commissioner— 

13 (i) to receive contract water for deliv14 ery to users of the water; and 

15 (ii) to pay any applicable charges. 

16 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘water users 

17 association’’ includes— 

18 (i) an association; 

19 (ii) a conservatory district; 

20 (iii) an irrigation district; 

21 (iv) a municipality; and 

22 (v) a water project contract unit. 

23 (c) CONVERSION AND PREPAYMENT OF CON24 TRACTS.— 

25 (1) CONVERSION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of a request 

2 from a water users association, the Secretary 

3 shall convert any water service contract in ef4 fect on the date of enactment of this Act be5 tween the United States and the water users 

6 association to allow for prepayment of the re7 payment contract in accordance with this para8 graph under mutually agreeable terms and con9 ditions. 

10 (B) MANNER.—The manner of conversion 

11 under this paragraph shall be as follows: 

12 (i) Water service contracts entered 

13 under section 9(c)(2) of the Act of August 

14 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1194, chapter 418), to 

15 be converted under this section shall be 

16 converted to a contract under section 

17 9(c)(1) of that Act (53 Stat. 1194, chapter 

18 418). 

19 (ii) Water service contracts entered 

20 into under section 9(e) of the Act of Au21 gust 4, 1939 (53 Stat. 1196, chapter 418), 

22 to be converted under this section shall be 

23 converted to repayment contracts under 

24 section 9(d) of that Act (53 Stat. 1195, 

25 chapter 418). 


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1 (2) PREPAYMENT.— 

2 (A) SECTION 9(c)(1).—Except for a repay3 ment contract under which the applicable water 

4 users association has previously negotiated for 

5 prepayment, each repayment contract under 

6 section 9(c)(1) of the Act of August 4, 1939 

7 (53 Stat. 1194, chapter 418) (including any 

8 contract converted pursuant to paragraph 

9 (1)(B)(i)), in effect on the date of enactment of 

10 this Act shall, at the request of the water users 

11 association— 

12 (i) provide for the repayment in lump 

13 sum of the remaining construction costs 

14 identified in an applicable water project15 specific municipal or industrial rate repay16 ment schedule (as adjusted to reflect pay17 ment not reflected in the schedule) and 

18 properly assignable for ultimate return by 

19 the water users association, subject to the 

20 condition that an estimate of the remain21 ing construction costs, as adjusted, shall be 

22 provided by the Secretary to the water 

23 users association by not later than 90 days 

24 after the date of receipt of the request of 

25 the water users association; 


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1 (ii) require that any construction costs 

2 or other capitalized costs that were in3 curred after the effective date of the con4 tract, were not reflected in the rate sched5 ule referred to in clause (i), or were not 

6 properly assignable to the water users as7 sociation, and were incurred as a result of 

8 a collective annual allocation of capital 

9 costs to the water users association elect10 ing contract conversion under this sub11 section, shall be repaid— 

12 (I) for costs equal to less than 

13 $5,000,000, by not later than the date 

14 that is 5 years after the date of notifi15 cation of the allocation; or 

16 (II) for costs equal to $5,000,000 

17 or more, in accordance with applicable 

18 reclamation laws; and 

19 (iii) continue in effect for the period 

20 during which the water users association 

21 pays applicable charges in accordance with 

22 section 9(c)(1) of the Act of August 4, 

23 1939 (53 Stat. 1194, chapter 418), and 

24 other applicable law. 


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1 (B) SECTION 9(d).—Except for a repay2 ment contract under which the applicable water 

3 users association has previously negotiated for 

4 prepayment, each repayment contract under 

5 section 9(d) of the Act of August 4, 1939 (53 

6 Stat. 1195, chapter 418) (including any con7 tract converted pursuant to paragraph 

8 (1)(B)(ii)), in effect on the date of enactment 

9 of this Act shall, at the request of the water 

10 users association— 

11 (i) provide for repayment of the re12 maining construction costs identified in an 

13 applicable water project-specific irrigation 

14 rate repayment schedule (as adjusted to 

15 reflect payment not reflected in the sched16 ule) and properly assignable for ultimate 

17 return by the water users association in 

18 lump sum, by accelerated prepayment, or if 

19 made in approximately equal installments, 

20 by not later than 3 years after the effective 

21 date of the repayment contract, subject to 

22 the conditions that— 

23 (I) the amount shall be discounted by 1 24 ⁄2 the Treasury rate; and 


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1 (II) the estimate of the remain2 ing construction costs, as adjusted, 

3 shall be provided by the Secretary to 

4 the water users association by not 

5 later than 90 days after the date of 

6 receipt of the request of the water 

7 users association; 

8 (ii) require that any construction costs 

9 or other capitalized costs that were in10 curred after the effective date of the con11 tract, were not reflected in the rate sched12 ule referred to in clause (i), or were not 

13 properly assignable to the water users as14 sociation, and were incurred as a result of 

15 a collective annual allocation of capital 

16 costs to the water users association elect17 ing contract conversion under this sub18 section, shall be repaid— 

19 (I) for costs equal to less than 

20 $5,000,000, by not later than the date 

21 that is 5 years after the date of notifi22 cation of the allocation; or 

23 (II) for costs equal to $5,000,000 

24 or more, in accordance with applicable 

25 reclamation laws; 


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1 (iii) provide that power revenues will 

2 not be available to aid in repayment of 

3 construction costs allocated to irrigation 

4 under the contract; and 

5 (iv) continue in effect for the period 

6 during which the water users association 

7 pays applicable charges in accordance with 

8 section 9(d) of the Act of August 4, 1939 

9 (53 Stat. 1195, chapter 418), and other 

10 applicable law. 

11 (3) TREATMENT.—A contract entered into pur12 suant to this subsection— 

13 (A) shall not be adjusted on the basis of 

14 the type of prepayment financing used by the 

15 applicable water users association; 

16 (B) shall conform to any other applicable 

17 agreement, such as a settlement agreement or 

18 a new constructed appurtenant facility agree19 ment; and 

20 (C) shall not modify any other— 

21 (i) water service, repayment, ex22 change, or transfer contractual right be23 tween the water users association, and the 

24 Bureau of Reclamation; or 


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1 (ii) right, obligation, or relationship of 

2 the water users association and an applica3 ble landowner in accordance with State 

4 law. 

5 (d) ACCOUNTING.— 

6 (1) ADJUSTMENT.—The amounts paid pursuant 

7 to subsection (c) shall be subject to adjustment fol8 lowing a final cost allocation by the Secretary. 

9 (2) DEFICIENCIES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the final cost alloca11 tion under paragraph (1) indicates that the 

12 costs properly assignable to a water users asso13 ciation are greater than the costs paid by the 

14 water users association, the water users associa15 tion shall be obligated to pay to the Secretary 

16 the remaining allocated costs under an addi17 tional repayment contract under subparagraph 

18 (B). 

19 (B) ADDITIONAL REPAYMENT CON20 TRACTS.—An additional repayment contract re21 quired by subparagraph (A) shall— 

22 (i) have a term of— 

23 (I) not less than 1 year; and 

24 (II) not more than 10 years; and 


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1 (ii) include such mutually agreeable 

2 provisions regarding the rate of repayment 

3 of the deficient amount as may be devel4 oped by the parties. 

5 (3) OVERPAYMENTS.—If the final cost alloca6 tion under paragraph (1) indicates that the costs 

7 properly assignable to a water users association are 

8 less than the costs paid by the water users associa9 tion, the Secretary shall credit the amount of the 

10 overpayment as an offset against any outstanding or 

11 future obligation of the water users association with 

12 the exception of Restoration Fund charges pursuant 

13 to section 3407(d) of Public Law 102–575. 

14 (e) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.— 

15 (1) EFFECT OF EXISTING LAW.—On compliance 

16 by a water users association with, and discharge of 

17 the obligation of repayment of the construction costs 

18 pursuant to, a contract entered into under to sub19 section (c)(2)(B), subsections (a) and (b) of section 

20 213 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 

21 U.S.C. 390mm) shall apply to any affected land. 

22 (2) EFFECT OF OTHER OBLIGATIONS.—The ob23 ligation of a water users association to repay any 

24 construction costs or other capitalized cost described 

25 in subparagraph (A)(ii) or (B)(ii) of subsection 


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1 (c)(2), or subsection (d), shall not, on repayment, af2 fect— 

3 (A) the status of the water users associa4 tion as having repaid all of the construction 

5 costs assignable to the water users association; 

6 or 

7 (B) the applicability of subsection (a) or 

8 (b) of section 213 of the Reclamation Reform 

9 Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390mm). 

10 (f) SURFACE WATER STORAGE ENHANCEMENT PRO11 GRAM.— 

12 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—The Sec13 retary shall establish an account, to be known as the 

14 ‘‘Reclamation Surface Storage Account’’, consisting 

15 of such amounts as are deposited in the Account 

16 under paragraph (2), to fund the construction of 

17 surface water storage. 

18 (2) DEPOSITS.—Not later than 3 years after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, an amount equal 

20 to 50 percent of receipts generated from the prepay21 ment of contracts under this section in excess of 

22 amounts necessary to cover the amount of receipts 

23 forgone from scheduled payments under applicable 

24 law in effect on that date of enactment during the 


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1 10-year period beginning on that date of enactment 

2 shall be deposited in the Account. 

3 (3) USE.— 

4 (A) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

5 Secretary may— 

6 (i) enter into cooperative agreements 

7 with water users associations for the con8 struction of surface water storage; and 

9 (ii) use amounts in the Account to 

10 fund construction under such a cooperative 

11 agreement. 

12 (B) TREATMENT.—A surface water stor13 age project that is otherwise not federally au14 thorized shall not be considered to be a Federal 

15 facility as a result of the allocation of any 

16 amount from the Account for any portion of the 

17 project. 

18 (4) REPAYMENT.—Any amount from the Ac19 count used for surface water storage construction 

20 shall be fully reimbursed to the Account in accord21 ance with applicable requirements under the rec22 lamation laws, except that all funds reimbursed shall 

23 be deposited in the Account. 


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1 (5) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—The amounts 

2 deposited in the Account under this subsection 

3 shall— 

4 (A) be made available for the storage 

5 projects identified in section 402, subject to ap6 propriation; and 

7 (B) be in addition to amounts appropriated 

8 for those purposes under any other provision of 

9 law. 

10 (6) PURPOSES OF SURFACE WATER STORAGE.— 

11 The construction of surface water storage under this 

12 section shall be made available for the federally 

13 owned and State-led storage projects pursued under 

14 this Act, provided that funds are limited to the Fed15 eral cost-share (up to 25 percent for State-led 

16 projects and up to 50 percent for federally owned 

17 projects). 

18 (g) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section— 

19 (1) alters the repayment obligation of any water 

20 service or repayment contractor receiving water from 

21 a water project, or shifts any costs that would other22 wise have been properly assignable to a water users 

23 association described in subsection (c) or another 

24 contractor, absent this section, including operation 

25 and maintenance costs, construction costs, or other 


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1 capitalized costs incurred after the date of enact2 ment of this Act; 

3 (2) alters any specific requirement for the dis4 position of amounts received as repayments by the 

5 Secretary under the reclamation laws; or 

6 (3) except as expressly provided in this section, 

7 alters any obligations under the Reclamation Law, 

8 including the continuation of Restoration Fund 

9 charges pursuant to section 3407(d) (Public Law 

10 102–575), of the water service and repayment con11 tractors making prepayments pursuant to this sec12 tion. 

13 TITLE VII—DURATION AND EF14 FECT ON EXISTING OBLIGA15 TIONS 

16 SEC. 701. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not be interpreted 

18 or implemented in a manner that— 

19 (1) preempts or modifies any obligation of the 

20 United States to act in conformance with applicable 

21 State law, including applicable State water law; 

22 (2) affects or modifies any obligation under the 

23 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Public 

24 Law 102–575; 106 Stat. 4706), except for the pro25 cedural provisions relating to public input and savVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00183 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5247.IH H5247

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1 ings provisions for the Stanislaus River predator 

2 management program expressly established by sec3 tions 203 and 502; or 

4 (3) overrides, modifies, or amends the applica5 bility of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or the application of the smelt 

7 and salmonid biological opinions to the operation of 

8 the Central Valley Project or the State Water 

9 Project. 

10 (b) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act, or 

11 any application of such provision to any person or cir12 cumstance, is held to be inconsistent with any law or the 

13 biological opinions, the remainder of this Act and the ap14 plication of this Act to any other person or circumstance 

15 shall not be affected. 

16 SEC. 702. TERMINATION. 

17 All of title III (relating to California emergency 

18 drought relief and operational flexibility), except for sub19 sections (a) through (d) of section 301, and title IV (relat20 ing to water rights) shall expire on the date that is the 

21 later of— 

22 (1) the date on which the Governor of the State 

23 of California declares an end to the State drought 

24 emergency; or 


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1 (2) September 30, 2017. 

Æ 


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