II

Calendar No. 455

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1444

[Report No. 106–239]

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 10, 1999

Received

NOVEMBER 19, 1999

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

MARCH 9, 2000

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment and an amendment to the

title

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

AN ACT

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to plan, design,

and construct fish screens, fish passage devices, and

related features to mitigate adverse impacts associated

with irrigation system water diversions by local governmental entities in the States of Oregon, Washington,

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

3 SECTION 1. AQUATIC RESOURCES RESTORATION IN THE

4 NORTHWEST AND IN CALIFORNIA.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In cooperation with other Federal

6 agencies, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the

7 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

8 and in consultation with the Bureau of Reclamation, may

9 develop and implement projects for fish screens, fish pas10 sage devices, and related features agreed to by non-Fed11 eral interests, relevant Federal agencies, and affected

12 States to mitigate adverse impacts to fisheries resulting

13 from the construction and operation of water diversions

14 by local governmental entities in the States of Oregon,

15 Washington, Montana, Idaho, and California. Priority

16 shall be given to any project that has a total cost of less

17 than $2,500,000.

18 (b) GOALS.—The goals of the program under sub19 section (a) shall be—

20 (1) to decrease the incidence of juvenile and

21 adult fish entering water supply systems; and

22 (2) to decrease fish mortality associated with

23 the withdrawal of water for irrigation and other pur24 poses without impairing the continued withdrawal of

25 water for that purpose.
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1 (c) PARTICIPATION BY NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES.—

2 Non-Federal participation in the program under sub3 section (a) shall be voluntary. The Secretary shall take

4 no action that would result in any non-Federal entity

5 being held financially responsible for any action unless the

6 entity applies to participate in the program.

7 (d) EVALUATION AND PRIORITIZATION OF

8 PROJECTS.—Evaluation and prioritization of projects for

9 development and implementation under this section shall

10 be conducted on the basis of—

11 (1) assisting entities in their compliance with

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

13 1531 et seq.);

14 (2) cost effectiveness;

15 (3) size of diversion;

16 (4) availability of other funding sources; and

17 (5) opportunity for biological benefit to be

18 achieved with improved conditions.

19 (e) REQUIREMENTS.—A fish screen, fish passage de20 vice, or related feature shall not be eligible for funding

21 under subsection (a) unless—

22 (1) it meets the requirements of the United

23 States Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Ma24 rine Fisheries Service, as applicable, and any State

25 requirements; and
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1 (2) it is agreed to by all interested Federal and

2 non-Federal entities.

3 (f) COST SHARING.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Development and imple5 mentation of projects under this section on lands

6 owned by the United States shall be at full Federal

7 expense.

8 (B) The non-Federal share of the cost of devel9 opment and implementation of any project under

10 this section on lands that are not owned by the

11 United States shall be 35 percent.

12 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—(A) For any

13 project under this section on lands that are not

14 owned by the United States, the non-Federal partici15 pants shall provide any lands, easements, rights-of16 way, dredged material disposal areas, and reloca17 tions that are necessary for the project.

18 (B) The value of lands, easements, rights-of19 way, dredged material disposal areas, and reloca20 tions provided under this paragraph for a project

21 shall be credited toward the non-Federal share of

22 the costs of the project under paragraph (1).

23 (3) OMRR&R.—(A) The non-Federal interests

24 shall be responsible for all costs associated with op25 erating, maintaining, repairing, rehabilitating, and
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1 replacing all projects carried out under this section

2 on lands that are not owned by the United States.

3 (B) Costs associated with operating, maintain4 ing, repairing, rehabilitating, and replacing all

5 projects carried out under this section on lands

6 owned by the United States shall be a Federal ex7 pense.

8 (g) CONSULTATION AND USE OF EXISTING DATA

9 AND STUDIES.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary

10 shall consult with other Federal, State, and local agencies

11 and make maximum use of data and studies in existence

12 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (h) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING.—No

14 project applicant pursuant to this section may obtain

15 funds under this section if they are also receiving funds

16 from another federally funded program for the same pur17 pose.

18 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

20 appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000

21 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

22 (2) LIMITATIONS.—(A) Not more than one23 third of the total amount of funds appropriated

24 under this section may be used for projects in any

25 single State.
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1 (B) Not more than 6 percent of the amount of

2 funds appropriated under this section for a fiscal

3 year may be used for administration of this section.

4 (3) INTERIM REPORT.—Upon the expiration of

5 the third fiscal year for which amounts are available

6 to carry out this section, the Secretary of the Inte7 rior shall report to the Congress describing the ac8 complishments to date under this section and the

9 projects that will be completed with amounts pro10 vided under this section for the fourth and fifth fis11 cal years for which such amounts are available.

12 SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.

13 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Irrigation Mitigation

14 and Restoration Partnership Act of 1999’’.

15 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

16 In this Act:

17 (1) PACIFIC OCEAN DRAINAGE AREA.—The term

18 ‘‘Pacific Ocean drainage area’’ means the area com19 prised of portions of the States of Oregon, Wash20 ington, Montana, and Idaho from which water drains

21 into the Pacific Ocean.

22 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means the

23 Irrigation Mitigation and Restoration Partnership

24 Program established by section 3(a).
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1 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of the Interior.

3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Irriga5 tion Mitigation and Restoration Partnership Program

6 within the Department of the Interior.

7 (b) GOALS.—The goals of the Program are—

8 (1) to decrease fish mortality associated with the

9 withdrawal of water for irrigation and other purposes

10 without impairing the continued withdrawal of water

11 for those purposes; and

12 (2) to decrease the incidence of juvenile and

13 adult fish entering water supply systems.

14 (c) IMPACTS ON FISHERIES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under the Program, the Sec16 retary, in consultation with the heads of other appro17 priate agencies, shall develop and implement projects

18 to mitigate impacts to fisheries resulting from the

19 construction and operation of water diversions by

20 local governmental entities, including water and soil

21 conservation districts, in the Pacific Ocean drainage

22 area.

23 (2) TYPES OF PROJECTS.—Projects eligible under

24 the Program may include the development, improve25 ment, or installation of—
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1 (A) fish screens;

2 (B) fish passage devices;

3 (C) other facilities agreed to by non-Federal

4 interests, relevant Federal and tribal agencies,

5 and affected States; and

6 (D) inventories by the States on the need

7 and priority for projects described in subpara8 graphs (A) through (C).

9 (3) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority

10 to any project that has a total cost of less than

11 $5,000,000.

12 SEC. 4. PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM.

13 (a) NON-FEDERAL.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Non-Federal participation in

15 the Program shall be voluntary.

16 (2) FEDERAL ACTION.—The Secretary shall take

17 no action that would result in any non-Federal entity

18 being held financially responsible for any action

19 under the Program, unless the entity applies to par20 ticipate in the Program.

21 (b) FEDERAL.—Development and implementation of

22 projects under the Program on land or facilities owned by

23 the United States shall be nonreimbursable Federal expendi24 tures.
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1 SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS.

2 Evaluation and prioritization of projects for develop3 ment under the Program shall be conducted on the basis

4 of—

5 (1) benefits to fish species native to the project

6 area, particularly to species that are listed as being,

7 or considered by Federal or State authorities to be,

8 endangered, threatened, or sensitive;

9 (2) the size and type of water diversion;

10 (3) the availability of other funding sources;

11 (4) cost effectiveness; and

12 (5) additional opportunities for biological or

13 water delivery system benefits.

14 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—A project carried out under the

16 Program shall not be eligible for funding unless—

17 (1) the project meets the requirements of the Sec18 retary, as applicable, and any applicable State re19 quirements; and

20 (2) the project is agreed to by all Federal and

21 non-Federal entities with authority and responsibility

22 for the project.

23 (b) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—In determining

24 the eligibility of a project under this Act, the Secretary

25 shall—
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1 (1) consult with other Federal, State, tribal, and

2 local agencies; and

3 (2) make maximum use of all available data.

4 SEC. 7. COST SHARING.

5 (a) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share of

6 the cost of development and implementation of any project

7 under the Program on land or at a facility that is not

8 owned by the United States shall be 35 percent.

9 (b) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non-Federal

10 participants in any project under the Program on land or

11 at a facility that is not owned by the United States shall

12 provide all land, easements, rights-of-way, dredged material

13 disposal areas, and relocations necessary for the project.

14 (c) CREDIT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS.—The value of land,

15 easements, rights-of-way, dredged material disposal areas,

16 and relocations provided under subsection (b) for a project

17 shall be credited toward the non-Federal share of the costs

18 of the project.

19 (d) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—

20 (1) NON-FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The non21 Federal participants in any project carried out under

22 the Program on land or at a facility that is not

23 owned by the United States shall be responsible for all

24 costs associated with operating, maintaining, repair25 ing, rehabilitating, and replacing the project.
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1 (2) FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The Federal

2 Government shall be responsible for costs referred to

3 in paragraph (1) for projects carried out on Federal

4 land or at a Federal facility.

5 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING.

6 A project that receives funds under this Act shall be

7 ineligible to receive Federal funds from any other source

8 for the same purpose.

9 SEC. 9. REPORT.

10 On the expiration of the third fiscal year for which

11 amounts are made available to carry out this Act, the Sec12 retary shall submit to Congress a report describing—

13 (1) the projects that have been completed under

14 this Act;

15 (2) the projects that will be completed with

16 amounts made available under this Act during the re17 maining fiscal years for which amounts are author18 ized to be appropriated under section 10; and

19 (3) recommended changes to the Program as a

20 result of projects that have been carried out under this

21 Act.

22 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro24 priated to carry out this Act $25,000,000 for each of fiscal

25 years 2001 through 2005.
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1 (b) LIMITATIONS.—

2 (1) SINGLE STATE.—

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

4 subparagraph (B), not more than 25 percent of

5 the total amount of funds made available under

6 this section may be used for 1 or more projects

7 in any single State.

8 (B) WAIVER.—On notification to Congress,

9 the Secretary may waive the limitation under

10 subparagraph (A) if a State is unable to use the

11 entire amount of funding made available to the

12 State under this Act.

13 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than

14 6 percent of the funds authorized under this section

15 for any fiscal year may be used for Federal adminis16 trative expenses of carrying out this Act.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to authorize

the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to

plan, design, and construct facilities to mitigate impacts

associated with irrigation system water diversions by local

governmental entities in the Pacific Ocean drainage of

the States of Oregon, Washington, Montana, and

Idaho.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives November 9,

1999.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.
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Calendar No. 455

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1444

[Report No. 106–239]

AN ACT

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to plan,

design, and construct fish screens, fish passagedevices, and related features to mitigate adverseimpacts associated with irrigation system waterdiversions by local governmental entities in theStates of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho,and California.

MARCH 9, 2000

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title