II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 953 

To provide for drought preparedness and improved water supply reliability. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 24, 2021 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for drought preparedness and improved water 

supply reliability. 

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 ‘‘Water for Conservation and Farming Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 101. Technical amendment to the Water Desalination Act of 1996. 

Sec. 102. Bureau of Reclamation Infrastructure Fund. 


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Sec. 103. Watersmart extension and expansion. 

TITLE II—ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION AND RESTORATION 

Sec. 201. Waterbird and shorebird habitat creation program. 

Sec. 202. Sustaining biodiversity during droughts. 

Sec. 203. Reauthorization of Cooperative Watershed Management Program. 

Sec. 204. Multibenefit projects to improve watershed health. 

Sec. 205. Drought planning and preparedness for critically important fisheries. 

Sec. 206. Reauthorization of the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2000. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Bu4 reau of Reclamation Infrastructure Fund established 

5 by section 102(a). 

6 (2) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec7 lamation State’’ has the meaning given the term in 

8 section 4014 of the Water Infrastructure Improve9 ments for the Nation Act (43 U.S.C. 390b note; 

10 Public Law 114–322). 

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

12 the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 TITLE I—INFRASTRUCTURE 

14 DEVELOPMENT 

15 SEC. 101. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO THE WATER DESALI16 NATION ACT OF 1996. 

17 Section 4(a) of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 

18 (42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298) is amended 

19 by redesignating the second paragraph (1) (relating to eli20 gible desalination projects) as paragraph (2). 


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1 SEC. 102. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION INFRASTRUCTURE 

2 FUND. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

4 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 

5 ‘‘Bureau of Reclamation Infrastructure Fund’’, consisting 

6 of— 

7 (1) such amounts as are deposited in the Fund 

8 under subsection (b)(1); and 

9 (2) any interest earned on investment of 

10 amounts in the Fund under subsection (c)(1)(B). 

11 (b) DEPOSITS TO FUND.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 

13 2031 through 2061, the Secretary of the Treasury 

14 shall deposit in the Fund $300,000,000 of the reve15 nues that would otherwise be deposited for the fiscal 

16 year in the reclamation fund established by the first 

17 section of the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, 

18 chapter 1093), of which— 

19 (A) $100,000,000 shall be expended by the 

20 Secretary for water reclamation and reuse 

21 projects authorized under— 

22 (i) the Reclamation Wastewater and 

23 Groundwater Study and Facilities Act (43 

24 U.S.C. 390h et seq.); or 


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1 (ii) section 4(a)(2) of the Water De2 salination Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 

3 note; Public Law 104–298); 

4 (B) $100,000,000 shall be expended by the 

5 Secretary for grants authorized under section 

6 9504 of the Omnibus Public Land Management 

7 Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364); and 

8 (C) $100,000,000 shall be expended by the 

9 Secretary to perform modifications to preserve 

10 the structural safety of Bureau of Reclamation 

11 dams and related facilities to ensure that Bu12 reau of Reclamation facilities do not present 

13 unreasonable risks to public safety, property, or 

14 the environment, if the expenditures— 

15 (i) account for not more than 85 per16 cent of the total costs for any dam safety 

17 project; and 

18 (ii) are made in accordance with sec19 tion 3 of the Reclamation Safety of Dams 

20 Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 507). 

21 (2) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts de22 posited in the Fund under paragraph (1) shall— 

23 (A) be made available in accordance with 

24 this section, without further appropriation; and 


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1 (B) be in addition to amounts appropriated 

2 for the purposes described in this section under 

3 any other provision of law. 

4 (c) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

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

6 for each of fiscal years 2031 through 2061, the Sec7 retary may expend from the Fund, in accordance 

8 with this section, not more than an amount equal to 

9 the sum of— 

10 (A) the amounts deposited in the Fund for 

11 the applicable fiscal year under subsection 

12 (b)(1); and 

13 (B) the amount of interest accrued in the 

14 Fund for the fiscal year in which the expendi15 tures are made. 

16 (2) ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ex18 pend more in any fiscal year than the amounts 

19 described in paragraph (1) if the additional 

20 amounts are available in the Fund as a result 

21 of a failure of the Secretary to expend all of the 

22 amounts available under paragraph (1) in 1 or 

23 more prior fiscal years. 


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1 (B) RETENTION IN ACCOUNTS.—Any addi2 tional amounts referred to in subparagraph (A) 

3 shall— 

4 (i) accrue interest in accordance with 

5 this section; and 

6 (ii) only be expended for the purposes 

7 for which expenditures from the Fund are 

8 authorized. 

9 SEC. 103. WATERSMART EXTENSION AND EXPANSION. 

10 (a) WATER MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT.—Section 

11 9504(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 

12 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364(a)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘, 

15 including through temporary, voluntary, and 

16 compensated transactions that decrease con17 sumptive water use at a regional or watershed 

18 scale’’ after ‘‘imbalances’’; and 

19 (B) in subparagraph (J), by striking clause 

20 (i) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) to increase ecological resilience to 

22 climate change by addressing climate-re23 lated impacts to, or vulnerabilities of, the 

24 water supply of the United States, includ25 ing by enhancing natural water storage 


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1 within a floodplain or riparian wetland;’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) in paragraph (3)(B)(i), by striking sub4 clause (II) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(II) to use the assistance pro6 vided under a grant or agreement to 

7 increase the consumptive use of water 

8 for agricultural operations above the 

9 pre-project levels, as determined pur10 suant to the law of the State in which 

11 the operation of the eligible applicant 

12 is located.’’. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

14 9504 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 

15 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364) is amended by striking subsection 

16 (e) and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $700,000,000, to remain available until expended, subject 

20 to the condition that $50,000,000 of that amount shall 

21 be used to carry out section 206 of the Energy and Water 

22 Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 

23 2015 (43 U.S.C. 620 note; Public Law 113–235).’’. 


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1 TITLE II—ECOSYSTEM PROTEC2 TION AND RESTORATION 

3 SEC. 201. WATERBIRD AND SHOREBIRD HABITAT CRE4 ATION PROGRAM. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF HABITAT CREATION PRO6 GRAM.— 

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

8 and (3), the Secretary shall establish a program 

9 under which the Secretary shall provide financial as10 sistance to eligible agricultural producers in Rec11 lamation States, in the form of direct payments or 

12 credits, as applicable, to compensate the eligible ag13 ricultural producers for the creation and mainte14 nance of waterbird and shorebird habitats. 

15 (2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL AS16 SISTANCE.—Not more than a total of $3,500,000 of 

17 financial assistance may be provided for each fiscal 

18 year under paragraph (1). 

19 (3) CONDITIONS.—Financial assistance shall be 

20 provided under paragraph (1) only if the Secretary 

21 determines that the activities receiving the financial 

22 assistance would— 

23 (A) create new habitat that would not oth24 erwise be created; or 


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1 (B) maintain existing habitat that would 

2 not otherwise be maintained. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $3,500,000 

5 to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2022 

6 through 2027, to remain available until expended. 

7 (c) REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 2022, and 

8 every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 

9 Congress a report that describes the environmental per10 formance of activities that are receiving, or have received, 

11 financial assistance under the program established under 

12 subsection (a)(1) during the period covered by the report. 

13 SEC. 202. SUSTAINING BIODIVERSITY DURING DROUGHTS. 

14 Section 9503(b) of the Omnibus Public Land Man15 agement Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10363(b)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (3)(D), by inserting ‘‘and na17 tive biodiversity’’ after ‘‘wildlife habitat’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ‘‘and 

19 drought biodiversity plans to address sustaining na20 tive biodiversity during periods of drought’’ after 

21 ‘‘restoration plans’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. REAUTHORIZATION OF COOPERATIVE WATER2 SHED MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. 

3 Section 6002 of the Omnibus Public Lands Manage4 ment Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1015a) is amended by strik5 ing subsection (g) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec8 tion— 

9 ‘‘(1) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

10 through 2021; and 

11 ‘‘(2) $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

12 through 2026.’’. 

13 SEC. 204. MULTIBENEFIT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE WATER14 SHED HEALTH. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—In this 

16 section, the term ‘‘eligible applicant’’ means— 

17 (1) any Reclamation State, Indian Tribe, irriga18 tion district, water district, or organization with 

19 water or power delivery authority; 

20 (2) any Reclamation State, regional authority, 

21 or local agency or authority; and 

22 (3) any nonprofit conservation organization. 

23 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPETITIVE GRANT PRO24 GRAM.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the heads 

26 of relevant agencies, shall establish a competitive grant 


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1 program under which the Secretary shall award grants to 

2 eligible applicants for the design, implementation, and 

3 monitoring of conservation outcomes of habitat restoration 

4 projects that improve watershed health in a Reclamation 

5 State by accomplishing 1 or more of the following: 

6 (1) Ecosystem benefits. 

7 (2) Restoration of native species beyond exist8 ing or planned measures necessary to comply with 

9 Federal or State laws relating to species recovery. 

10 (3) Mitigation against the impacts of climate 

11 change to fish and wildlife habitats. 

12 (4) Protection against invasive species. 

13 (5) Restoration of aspects of the natural eco14 system. 

15 (6) Enhancement of commercial or recreational 

16 fishing. 

17 (7) Enhancement of river-based recreation, 

18 such as kayaking, rafting, and canoeing. 

19 (c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding a grant to an 

21 eligible applicant under subsection (b), the Sec22 retary— 

23 (A) shall give priority to an eligible appli24 cant that would carry out a habitat restoration 


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1 project that achieves more than 1 of the bene2 fits described in that subsection; and 

3 (B) may not provide a grant to carry out 

4 a habitat restoration project, the purpose of 

5 which is to meet existing environmental mitiga6 tion or compliance obligations under Federal or 

7 State law. 

8 (2) COMPLIANCE.—A habitat restoration 

9 project awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall 

10 comply with all applicable Federal and State laws. 

11 (d) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal 

12 share of the cost of any habitat restoration project that 

13 is awarded a grant under subsection (b)— 

14 (1) shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost of 

15 the habitat restoration project; or 

16 (2) in the case of a habitat restoration project 

17 that provides benefits to ecological or recreational 

18 values in which the nonconsumptive water conserva19 tion benefit or habitat restoration benefit accounts 

20 for at least 75 percent of the cost of the habitat res21 toration project, as determined by the Secretary, 

22 shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost of the habitat 

23 restoration project. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025. 

4 SEC. 205. DROUGHT PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS FOR 

5 CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FISHERIES. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FISHERY.—The 

8 term ‘‘critically important fishery’’ means— 

9 (A) a fishery located in a Reclamation 

10 State that is commercially, culturally, or 

11 recreationally important; 

12 (B) a fishery located in a Reclamation 

13 State that contains fish species that are listed 

14 as threatened or endangered pursuant to the 

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

16 1531 et seq.); and 

17 (C) a fishery located in a Reclamation 

18 State that is used by 1 or more Indian Tribes 

19 in the Reclamation State for ceremonial subsist20 ence or commercial purposes. 

21 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

22 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 

23 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu24 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 


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1 (3) QUALIFIED TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The 

2 term ‘‘qualified Tribal Government’’ means any gov3 ernment of an Indian Tribe that the Secretary deter4 mines— 

5 (A) is involved in fishery management and 

6 recovery activities, including activities under the 

7 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

8 1531 et seq.); and 

9 (B) has the management and organiza10 tional capability to maximize the benefits of as11 sistance provided under subsection (c). 

12 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary, acting through the Director of the 

14 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

15 (b) DROUGHT PLAN FOR CRITICALLY IMPORTANT

16 FISHERIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 

18 2022, and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary, in 

19 consultation with the Director of the National Ma20 rine Fisheries Service, the Commissioner of Rec21 lamation, the Chief of Engineers, applicable State 

22 fish and wildlife agencies, and qualified Tribal Gov23 ernments, shall prepare a plan to sustain the sur24 vival of critically important fisheries during future 

25 periods of extended drought through— 


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1 (A) voluntary, compensated actions by pri2 vate landowners and water right holders; or 

3 (B) other investments in drought prepared4 ness made by the Secretary. 

5 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing the plan 

6 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider— 

7 (A) habitat restoration efforts designed to 

8 provide drought refugia and increased fishery 

9 resilience during droughts; 

10 (B) relocating the release location and tim11 ing of hatchery fish to avoid predation and tem12 perature impacts; 

13 (C) barging of hatchery release fish to im14 prove survival and reduce straying; 

15 (D) coordination with water users, the 

16 Commissioner of Reclamation, State fish and 

17 wildlife agencies, qualified Tribal Governments, 

18 and interested public water agencies regarding 

19 voluntary water transfers, including through 

20 groundwater substitution activities, to deter21 mine if water releases can be collaboratively 

22 managed in a way that provides additional ben23 efits for critically important fisheries without 

24 negatively impacting wildlife habitat; 


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1 (E) hatchery management modifications, 

2 such as expanding hatchery production of fish 

3 during periods of extended drought, if appro4 priate for a particular river basin; 

5 (F) hatchery retrofit projects, such as the 

6 installation and operation of filtration equip7 ment and chillers, to reduce disease outbreak, 

8 egg mortality, and other impacts of droughts in 

9 high water temperatures; 

10 (G) increasing rescue operations of up11 stream migrating fish; 

12 (H) improving temperature modeling and 

13 related forecasted information to predict water 

14 management impacts to the habitat of critically 

15 important fisheries with a higher degree of ac16 curacy than current models; 

17 (I) programs to reduce predation losses at 

18 artificially created predation hot spots; 

19 (J) habitat restoration efforts designed to 

20 provide drought refugia and increased fisheries 

21 resilience during droughts; and 

22 (K) retrofitting existing water facilities to 

23 provide improved temperature conditions for 

24 fish. 


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1 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Before finalizing a plan 

2 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall provide for a 

3 public comment period of not less than 90 days. 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISH

5 RECOVERY EFFORTS.—There is authorized to be appro6 priated to the Secretary to carry out fish, stream, and 

7 hatchery activities relating to fish recovery efforts, includ8 ing activities carried out in coordination with the Director 

9 of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Commis10 sioner of Reclamation, the Chief of Engineers, applicable 

11 State fish and wildlife agencies, or a qualified Tribal Gov12 ernment, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

13 (e) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects any ob14 ligation under any Federal environmental law. 

15 SEC. 206. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE FISHERIES RESTORA16 TION AND IRRIGATION MITIGATION ACT OF 

17 2000. 

18 (a) DEFINITION OF PACIFIC DRAINAGE AREA.—Sec19 tion 2(1) of the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Miti20 gation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 777 note; Public Law 106– 

21 502) is amended by inserting ‘‘or a terminal lake’’ before 

22 the period at the end. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

24 10(a) of the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitiga25 tion Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 777 note; Public Law 106– 


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1 502) is amended by striking ‘‘$15 million through 2021’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

3 through 2028’’. 

Æ 


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