IB 

Union Calendar No. 552 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3723 

[Report No. 116–668, Part I] 

To promote desalination project development and drought resilience, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 11, 2019 

Mr. LEVIN of California (for himself and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, 

and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 

DECEMBER 18, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

DECEMBER 18, 2020 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology discharged; committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 

to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 11, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To promote desalination project development and drought 

resilience, and for other purposes. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Desalination Develop3 ment Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DESALINATION PROJECTS AUTHORIZATION. 

5 Section 4(a) of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 (42 

6 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298) is amended by 

7 striking the second paragraph (1) (relating to projects) and 

8 inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) PROJECTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBLE DESALINATION

12 PROJECT.—The term ‘eligible desalination 

13 project’ means any project located in a Rec14 lamation State that— 

15 ‘‘(I) involves an ocean or brackish 

16 water desalination facility— 

17 ‘‘(aa) constructed, operated, 

18 and maintained by a State, In19 dian Tribe, irrigation district, 

20 water district, or other organiza21 tion with water or power delivery 

22 authority; or 

23 ‘‘(bb) sponsored or funded by 

24 a State, department of a State, 

25 political subdivision of a State, or 


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1 public agency organized pursuant 

2 to State law, including through— 

3 ‘‘(AA) direct sponsor4 ship or funding; or 

5 ‘‘(BB) indirect sponsor6 ship or funding, such as by 

7 paying for the water pro8 vided by the facility; and 

9 ‘‘(II) provides a Federal benefit in 

10 accordance with the reclamation laws. 

11 ‘‘(ii) RURAL DESALINATION

12 PROJECT.—The term ‘rural desalination 

13 project’ means an eligible desalination 

14 project that is designed to serve a commu15 nity or group of communities, each of which 

16 has a population of not more than 40,000 

17 inhabitants. 

18 ‘‘(B) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the re20 quirements of this subsection and notwith21 standing section 7, the Federal share of an 

22 eligible desalination project carried out 

23 under this subsection shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(I) not more than 25 percent of 

2 the total cost of the eligible desalina3 tion project; or 

4 ‘‘(II) in the case of a rural desali5 nation project, the applicable percent6 age determined in accordance with 

7 clause (ii). 

8 ‘‘(ii) RURAL DESALINATION

9 PROJECTS.— 

10 ‘‘(I) COST-SHARING REQUIRE11 MENT FOR APPRAISAL STUDIES.—In 

12 the case of a rural desalination project 

13 carried out under this subsection, the 

14 Federal share of the cost of appraisal 

15 studies for the rural desalination 

16 project shall be— 

17 ‘‘(aa) 100 percent of the total 

18 costs of the appraisal studies, up 

19 to $200,000; and 

20 ‘‘(bb) if the total costs of the 

21 appraisal studies are more than 

22 $200,000, 50 percent of any 

23 amounts over $200,000. 

24 ‘‘(II) COST-SHARING REQUIRE25 MENT FOR FEASIBILITY STUDIES.—In 


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1 the case of a rural desalination project 

2 carried out under this subsection, the 

3 Federal share of the cost of feasibility 

4 studies for the rural desalination 

5 project shall be not more than 50 per6 cent. 

7 ‘‘(III) COST-SHARING REQUIRE8 MENT FOR CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—In 

9 the case of a rural desalination project 

10 carried out under this subsection, the 

11 Federal share of the cost of construc12 tion of the rural desalination project 

13 shall not exceed the greater of — 

14 ‘‘(aa) 35 percent of the total 

15 cost of construction, up to a Fed16 eral cost of $20,000,000; or 

17 ‘‘(bb) 25 percent of the total 

18 cost of construction. 

19 ‘‘(C) STATE ROLE.—Participation by the 

20 Secretary in an eligible desalination project 

21 under this paragraph shall not occur unless— 

22 ‘‘(i)(I) the eligible desalination project 

23 is included in a State-approved plan; or 

24 ‘‘(II) the participation has been re25 quested by the Governor of the State in 


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1 which the eligible desalination project is lo2 cated; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the State or local sponsor of the 

4 eligible desalination project determines, and 

5 the Secretary concurs, that— 

6 ‘‘(I) the eligible desalination 

7 project— 

8 ‘‘(aa) is technically and fi9 nancially feasible; 

10 ‘‘(bb) provides a Federal ben11 efit in accordance with the rec12 lamation laws; and 

13 ‘‘(cc) is consistent with ap14 plicable State laws, State regula15 tions, State coastal zone manage16 ment plans and other State plans 

17 such as California’s Water Qual18 ity Control Plan for the Ocean 

19 Waters in California; 

20 ‘‘(II) sufficient non-Federal fund21 ing is available to complete the eligible 

22 desalination project; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the eligible desalination 

24 project sponsors are financially solvent; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary submits to Con2 gress a written notification of the deter3 minations under clause (ii) by not later 

4 than 30 days after the date of the deter5 minations. 

6 ‘‘(D) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—In partici7 pating in an eligible desalination project under 

8 this paragraph, the Secretary shall comply with 

9 all applicable environmental laws, including, but 

10 not limited to, the National Environmental Pol11 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

12 State laws implementing the Coastal Zone Man13 agement Act. 

14 ‘‘(E) INFORMATION.—In participating in 

15 an eligible desalination project under this sub16 section, the Secretary— 

17 ‘‘(i) may rely on reports prepared by 

18 the sponsor of the eligible desalination 

19 project, including feasibility or equivalent 

20 studies, environmental analyses, and other 

21 pertinent reports and analyses; but 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall retain responsibility for 

23 making the independent determinations de24 scribed in subparagraph (C). 

25 ‘‘(F) FUNDING.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to carry out this paragraph 

4 $260,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 

5 2021 through 2025, of which not less than 

6 $15,000,000 shall be made available during 

7 that period for rural desalination projects. 

8 ‘‘(ii) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL INI9 TIALLY REQUIRED.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each initial 

11 award under this paragraph for design 

12 and study or for construction of an eli13 gible desalination project shall be ap14 proved by an Act of Congress. 

15 ‘‘(II) RECLAMATION REC16 OMMENDATIONS.—The Commissioner 

17 of Reclamation shall submit rec18 ommendations regarding the initial 

19 award of preconstruction and construc20 tion funding for consideration under 

21 subclause (I) to— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the Committee on Ap23 propriations of the Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the Committee on En2 ergy and Natural Resources of the 

3 Senate; 

4 ‘‘(cc) the Committee on Ap5 propriations of the House of Rep6 resentatives; and 

7 ‘‘(dd) the Committee on Nat8 ural Resources of the House of 

9 Representatives. 

10 ‘‘(iii) SUBSEQUENT FUNDING

11 AWARDS.—After approval by Congress of an 

12 initial award of preconstruction or con13 struction funding for an eligible desalina14 tion project under clause (ii), the Commis15 sioner of Reclamation may award addi16 tional preconstruction or construction fund17 ing, respectively, for the eligible desalina18 tion project without further congressional 

19 approval. 

20 ‘‘(G) TOTAL DOLLAR CAP.—The Secretary 

21 shall not impose a total dollar cap on Federal 

22 contributions for individual desalination projects 

23 receiving funding under this paragraph.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. PRIORITIZATION FOR PROJECTS. 

2 Section 4 of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 (42 

3 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298) is amended by 

4 striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(c) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out demonstration 

6 and development activities under this section, the Secretary 

7 and the Commissioner of Reclamation shall each prioritize 

8 projects— 

9 ‘‘(1) for the benefit of drought-stricken States 

10 and communities; 

11 ‘‘(2) for the benefit of States that have authorized 

12 funding for research and development of desalination 

13 technologies and projects; 

14 ‘‘(3) that demonstrably reduce a reliance on im15 ported water supplies that have an impact on species 

16 listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

17 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(4) that, in a measurable and verifiable man19 ner, reduce a reliance on imported water supplies 

20 from imperiled ecosystems such as the Sacramento21 San Joaquin River Delta; 

22 ‘‘(5) that demonstrably leverage the experience of 

23 international partners with considerable expertise in 

24 desalination, such as the state of Israel; 

25 ‘‘(6) that maximize use of renewable energy to 

26 power desalination facilities; 


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1 ‘‘(7) that maximize energy efficiency so that the 

2 lifecycle energy demands of desalination are mini3 mized; 

4 ‘‘(8) located in regions that have employed strat5 egies to increase water conservation and the capture 

6 and recycling of wastewater and stormwater; and 

7 ‘‘(9) that meet the following criteria if they are 

8 ocean desalination facilities— 

9 ‘‘(A) utilize a subsurface intake or, if a sub10 surface intake is not technologically feasible, an 

11 intake that uses the best available site, design, 

12 technology, and mitigation measures to minimize 

13 the mortality of all forms of marine life and im14 pacts to coastal dependent resources; 

15 ‘‘(B) are sited and designed to ensure that 

16 the disposal of wastewaters including brine from 

17 the desalination process— 

18 ‘‘(i) are not discharged to impaired 

19 bodies of water, or State or Federal Marine 

20 Protected Areas; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) achieve ambient salinity levels 

22 within a reasonable distance from the dis23 charge point; 


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1 ‘‘(C) are sited, designed, and operated in a 

2 manner that maintains indigenous marine life 

3 and a healthy and diverse marine community; 

4 ‘‘(D) do not cause significant unmitigated 

5 harm to aquatic life; and 

6 ‘‘(E) include a construction and operation 

7 plan designed to minimize loss of coastal habitat 

8 as well as aesthetic, noise, and air quality im9 pacts.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONGRESS. 

11 In determining project recommendations to Congress 

12 under section 4(a)(2)(F)(ii)(II) of the Water Desalination 

13 Act of 1996, the Commissioner of Reclamation shall estab14 lish a priority scoring system that assigns priority scores 

15 to each project evaluated based on the prioritization criteria 

16 of section 4(c) of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 (42 

17 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298). 


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Union Calendar No. 552 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3723 

[Report No. 116–668, Part I] 

A BILL 

To promote desalination project development and 

drought resilience, and for other purposes. 

DECEMBER 18, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

an amendment 

DECEMBER 18, 2020 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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