I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5595 

To direct the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, 

to revise the water manuals of certain flood control projects, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 28, 2016 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. 

SPEIER, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. LEE, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. GARAMENDI) 

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

Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Army, acting through the 

Chief of Engineers, to revise the water manuals of certain flood control projects, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reservoir Operations 

5 Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REVISION OF WATER MANUALS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

8 the date on which the Secretary of the Army, acting 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5595 IH

1 through the Chief of Engineers, identifies all eligible 

2 projects under section 3(c), the Secretary shall revise the 

3 water manuals of not more than 15 such projects (includ4 ing not fewer than 6 projects that are not wholly owned 

5 and operated by the Corps of Engineers, if a sufficient 

6 number of such projects are identified) in accordance with 

7 this section. 

8 (b) DATA FOR REVISIONS.—A revision of a water 

9 manual under subsection (a) shall incorporate— 

10 (1) a forecast-informed reservoir operations 

11 plan, in accordance with subsection (c); 

12 (2) new watershed data; and 

13 (3) as applicable, the effects of any structural 

14 improvement completed after the date of the most 

15 recent revision of the water manual. 

16 (c) FORECAST-INFORMED RESERVOIR OPERATIONS

17 PLAN.—The Secretary, in collaboration with the Adminis18 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis19 tration, shall create a forecast-informed reservoir oper20 ations plan for each selected project and incorporate such 

21 a plan into the applicable revision of a water manual under 

22 subsection (a). A forecast-informed reservoir operations 

23 plan shall include each of the following components: 

24 (1) A consideration of the relationship between 

25 ocean and atmospheric conditions, including the El 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5595 IH

1 Nin ̃o and La Nin ̃a cycles, and the potential for 

2 above-normal, normal, or below-normal rainfall for 

3 the coming water year, including a consideration of 

4 atmospheric river forecasts. 

5 (2) The precipitation and runoff index specific 

6 to the basin and watershed in which the relevant 

7 project is located, including information regarding 

8 the hydrological and meteorological conditions, at 

9 each 10-digit hydrologic unit (as defined by the U.S. 

10 Geological Survey) within such watershed, that influ11 ence the timing and quantity of runoff. 

12 (3) Updated hydrologic forecasting for precipi13 tation, snowpack, and soil moisture conditions. 

14 (4) An adjustment of flood control rule curves 

15 to optimize, as applicable, water supply storage and 

16 reliability, hydropower production, environmental 

17 benefits related to flows and temperature, or other 

18 authorized project benefits, without a reduction in 

19 flood safety. 

20 (5) Proactive management in response to 

21 changes in forecasts. 

22 (d) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION REQUIRE23 MENT.—In revising a water manual under subsection (a), 

24 the Secretary shall— 

25 (1) consult with affected entities, including— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5595 IH

1 (A) non-Federal interests responsible for 

2 the operations and maintenance costs of the 

3 flood control project for which the water man4 ual is to be revised; 

5 (B) water rights holders; 

6 (C) individuals or entities with a right to 

7 any portion of the water within the reservoir of 

8 such project; and 

9 (D) local agencies with flood control re10 sponsibilities downstream of such project; and 

11 (2) enter into a cooperative agreement, memo12 randum of understanding, or other agreement with 

13 each non-Federal interest for the project, describing 

14 the scope and goals of the revision and the coordina15 tion among the parties. 

16 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

17 on which the Secretary completes a revision of a water 

18 manual under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit 

19 to Congress a report regarding the components of the fore20 cast-informed reservoir operations plan incorporated into 

21 such revision. 

22 (f) FUNDING.—The Secretary may accept and expend 

23 amounts from non-Federal interests to fund all or a por24 tion of the costs of carrying out a revision of a water man25 ual under this section. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5595 IH

1 SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE PROJECTS. 

2 (a) REPORT ON FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS.—Not 

3 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

4 Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Ap5 propriations and Environment and Public Works of the 

6 Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and Trans7 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa8 tives a report that includes, with respect to any State that 

9 is a drought State during water year 2015 or 2016— 

10 (1) a list of each flood control project located 

11 in such a State; 

12 (2) the year during which the original water 

13 manual for each such project was approved; 

14 (3) the year or years during which any revisions 

15 to the water manual of any such project occurred or 

16 are requested to occur; 

17 (4) a list of each such project for which oper18 ational deviations for drought contingency have been 

19 requested, and the status of such request; 

20 (5) a list of each such project for which perma21 nent or seasonal changes to storage allocations have 

22 been requested, and the status of such request; and 

23 (6) a description of the means by which water 

24 conservation and water quality improvements were 

25 addressed in any response to a request under para26 graph (4) or (5). 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5595 IH

1 (b) INCORPORATION OF PRIOR STUDIES.—The Sec2 retary shall incorporate into the report under subsection 

3 (a) any information or finding that is— 

4 (1) included in or gathered for a report re5 quired by section 1046(a)(2) of the Water Resources 

6 Reform and Development Act of 2014 (33 U.S.C. 

7 2319 note); and 

8 (2) relevant to the subject matter of the report 

9 under subsection (a) of this section. 

10 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Not later than 60 days 

11 after the date on which the report under subsection (a) 

12 is submitted, the Secretary shall identify each flood con13 trol project— 

14 (1) that is included in the report under sub15 section (a); 

16 (2) that includes a reservoir; and 

17 (3) for which a non-Federal interest has sub18 mitted to the Secretary a written request, pursuant 

19 to subsection (d), to revise the water manual for the 

20 project. 

21 (d) WRITTEN REQUEST.—Not later than 60 days 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

23 publish in the Federal Register the manner in which a 

24 non-Federal interest for a flood control project may subVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Jun 29, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5595.IH H5595

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5595 IH

1 mit to the Secretary a written request under subsection 

2 (c)(3) to revise the water manual for the project. 

3 SEC. 4. EFFECTS. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZED PURPOSES OF PROJECTS.— 

5 (1) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING PURPOSES.—In 

6 accordance with all applicable laws, a revision of a 

7 water manual under section 2(a) may not reduce the 

8 water supply for any authorized purpose, other than 

9 flood control, of a flood control project. 

10 (2) NEW PURPOSES NOT AUTHORIZED.—Noth11 ing in this Act authorizes the Secretary to carry out, 

12 with respect to any flood control project, any activity 

13 for a purpose not authorized on the day before the 

14 date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (b) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this Act— 

16 (1) affects or modifies any obligation of the 

17 Secretary under State law; or 

18 (2) authorizes the diversion or use of water in 

19 a manner that is inconsistent with State water 

20 rights law. 

21 (c) FEDERAL LAW.—Nothing in this Act preempts 

22 or waives any provision of Federal law concerning the pro23 cedures that apply to a revision of a water manual. 

24 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5595 IH

1 (1) DROUGHT STATE.—The term ‘‘drought 

2 State’’ means a State— 

3 (A) for which the Governor has declared a 

4 drought; or 

5 (B) that contains at least one county for 

6 which the Secretary of Agriculture has des7 ignated a drought disaster. 

8 (2) FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT.—The term 

9 ‘‘flood control project’’ means a project operated, 

10 wholly or in part, for flood control, in accordance 

11 with rules prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to 

12 section 7 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (com13 monly known as the ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) 

14 (33 U.S.C. 709). 

15 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief 

17 of Engineers. 

18 (4) WATER MANUAL.—The term ‘‘water man19 ual’’ means, with respect to a flood control project, 

20 the water operations manual, the flood control rule 

21 curves, and the water control manual, as applicable. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS