I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4300 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take actions to support nonFederal investments in water infrastructure improvements in the Sacramento Valley, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2014 

Mr. LAMALFA (for himself and Mr. GARAMENDI) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take actions to 

support non-Federal investments in water infrastructure 

improvements in the Sacramento Valley, 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 ‘‘Sacramento Valley 

5 Water Storage and Restoration Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The State of California and much of the 

2 West are experiencing one of the driest years on 

3 record, exacerbating water supply problems caused 

4 by a lack of surface water storage infrastructure. 

5 The drought conditions have caused reductions in 

6 water supplies to almost all water users in the State. 

7 (2) The Sites Project has been identified by the 

8 State of California and the Federal Government as 

9 an important component to integrated water man10 agement in the Sacramento Valley that would ad11 vance the co-equal objectives of improving water 

12 management and restoring ecological health for ben13 eficial uses of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta 

14 and the Sacramento River watershed. 

15 (3) Among other things, the Sites Project 

16 would— 

17 (A) increase surface water storage to en18 hance water management flexibility in the Sac19 ramento Valley; 

20 (B) provide flood control benefits; 

21 (C) improve conditions for fish, waterfowl, 

22 and wildlife in the Sacramento Valley, including 

23 anadromous fish in the Sacramento River; and 

24 (D) improve the operation of the State’s 

25 water system to provide improvements in ecoVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:54 Mar 28, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.IH H4300

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1 system and water quality conditions in the Bay2 Delta while providing a more reliable water sup3 ply for the State of California. 

4 (4) The Sites Project has been shown to provide 

5 approximately 1,300,000 of additional yield when 

6 the Sites Project is integrated into the operations of 

7 other State and Federal reservoirs upstream of the 

8 Bay-Delta. 

9 (5) Healthy wetlands are of vital importance to 

10 wildlife in California and require a reliable supply of 

11 water, and additional surface water storage can help 

12 meet water supply goals under the Central Valley 

13 Project Improvement Act. 

14 (6) It is in the interests of the United States 

15 for the Federal Government to work with the Sites 

16 Project Authority, which has been established under 

17 laws of the State of California as an independent 

18 joint powers authority to, among other things, study, 

19 promote, develop, design, finance, acquire, construct, 

20 manage, and operate Sites Reservoir and related fa21 cilities, in order to advance the Sites Project in the 

22 most expeditious and cost-effective manner possible. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 (2) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis4 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of the Bureau of 

5 Reclamation. 

6 (3) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 

7 Bureau of Reclamation. 

8 (4) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 

9 the Sites Project Authority that entered into a Joint 

10 Powers Agreement on August 26, 2010, for the pur11 pose of advancing the Sites Project as a non-Federal 

12 facility and includes Glenn-Colusa Irrigation Dis13 trict, Reclamation District 108, the Tehama-Colusa 

14 Canal Authority, Maxwell Irrigation District, the 

15 County of Glenn, the County of Colusa and Yolo 

16 County Flood Control and Water Conservation Dis17 trict. 

18 (5) SITES PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Sites Project’’ 

19 means the Sites Reservoir in Glenn and Colusa 

20 Counties, California, and related facilities, including 

21 associated water conveyance and hydropower genera22 tion and transmission facilities. 

23 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

24 of California. 


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1 (7) CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT.—The term 

2 ‘‘Central Valley Project’’ means all Federal reclama3 tion projects located within or diverting water from 

4 or to the watershed of the Sacramento and San Joa5 quin rivers and their tributaries as authorized by the 

6 Act of August 26, 1937 (50 Stat. 850), and all Acts 

7 amendatory or supplemental thereto, including but 

8 not limited to the Act of October 17, 1940 (54 Stat. 

9 1198, 1199), Act of December 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 

10 887), Act of October 14, 1949 (63 Stat. 852), Act 

11 of September 26, 1950 (64 Stat. 1036), Act of Au12 gust 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 879), Act of August 12, 

13 1955 (69 Stat. 719), Act of June 3, 1960 (74 Stat. 

14 156), Act of October 23, 1962 (76 Stat. 1173), Act 

15 of September 2, 1965 (79 Stat. 615), Act of August 

16 19, 1967 (81 Stat. 167), Act of August 27, 1967 

17 (81 Stat. 173), Act of October 23, 1970 (84 Stat. 

18 1097), Act of September 28, 1976 (90 Stat. 1324) 

19 and Act of October 27, 1986 (100 Stat. 3050). 

20 (8) REPAYMENT AND WATER SERVICE CON21 TRACTS.—The terms ‘‘repayment contract’’ and 

22 ‘‘water service contract’’ have the same meaning as 

23 provided in sections 9(d) and 9(e) of the Reclama24 tion Project Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 1187, 1195), as 

25 amended. 


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1 SEC. 4. FEASIBILITY STUDY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

2 STATEMENT. 

3 (a) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—No later than June 30, 

4 2015, the Secretary, acting through the Bureau, shall fi5 nalize and publish in the Federal Register, the feasibility 

6 study authorized in section 103(d)(1)(i)(II) of title I of 

7 Public Law 108–361. 

8 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND EN9 VIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT.—No later than June 30, 

10 2015, the Secretary shall work with the Secretary of Com11 merce, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environ12 mental Protection Agency Administrator to coordinate the 

13 efforts of the relevant agencies and work with the State, 

14 the Authority, and other stakeholders to complete and 

15 issue the final joint environmental impact statement and 

16 environmental impact report on the Sites Project. 

17 (c) AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS.—The Secretary 

18 shall ensure that all documents associated with the prepa19 ration of planning and feasibility studies and applicable 

20 environmental reviews under the National Environmental 

21 Policy Act for the Sites Project shall be made available 

22 to the Authority. 

23 (d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER AGREE24 MENTS.—To assist the Secretary in meeting the deadlines 

25 for completing the feasibility study and environmental im26 pact statement identified in this section, no later than 90 


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1 days following enactment, the Secretary, acting through 

2 the Bureau, shall enter into such agreements with the Au3 thority, including financial assistance agreements, to carry 

4 out such work as the Bureau and the Authority mutually 

5 agree is appropriate to ensure that all studies and environ6 mental reviews are completed on an expeditious basis and 

7 that the shortest applicable process under the National 

8 Environmental Policy Act shall be utilized, including in 

9 the completion of the final feasibility study and final joint 

10 environmental impact statement and environmental im11 pact report on the Sites Project. 

12 (e) NON-FEDERAL COST-SHARE.—The Secretary 

13 shall attribute all funds expended, or in-kind services pro14 vided, by the Authority or the State to advance the Sites 

15 Project, including the $42,379,999 in non-Federal funds 

16 provided to the North-of-Delta Offstream Storage Feasi17 bility Study reflected in the Bureau’s fiscal year 2015 

18 Budget Justification, to the non-Federal share of cost19 share requirements for any Federal support provided to 

20 the Sites Project. 

21 (f) REQUIREMENTS OF EXISTING LAW.—Nothing in 

22 the section herein modifies existing requirements of Fed23 eral law. 


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1 SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 

3 103(d)(1)(B) of title I of Public Law 108–361 (the Calfed 

4 Bay-Delta Authorization Act, 118 Stat. 1681) is amended 

5 by— 

6 (1) adding after clause (i) the following: 

7 ‘‘(ii) CONSTRUCTION AUTHORIZA8 TION.—If the Secretary determines the 

9 project described in clause (ii)(I) of sub10 paragraph (A) is feasible, the Secretary is 

11 authorized to carry out the project in a 

12 manner that is substantially in accordance 

13 with the recommended plan, and subject to 

14 the conditions described in the feasibility 

15 study.’’; 

16 (2) striking in clause (iii), ‘‘the project’’ and in17 serting ‘‘a project described in clause (ii)(I) of sub18 paragraph (A)’’; and 

19 (3) redesignating clause (ii) and (iii) as clause 

20 (iii) and (iv), respectively. 

21 (b) PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.—At the 

22 request of the Authority, the Bureau shall— 

23 (1) enter into a project partnership agreement 

24 with the Authority for the Authority to provide full 

25 project management control for construction of the 

26 Sites Project, or a separable element of the project, 


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1 in accordance with plans approved by the Secretary; 

2 and 

3 (2) following execution of the project partner4 ship agreement, transfer to the Authority interest to 

5 carry out construction of the project, or a separable 

6 element of the project— 

7 (A) if applicable, the balance of the unobli8 gated amounts appropriated for the Sites 

9 Project, except that the Secretary shall retain 

10 sufficient amounts for the Bureau to carry out 

11 any responsibilities of the Bureau relating to 

12 the project; and 

13 (B) additional amounts, as determined by 

14 the Secretary, from amounts made available to 

15 the Secretary, except that the total amount 

16 transferred to the non-Federal interest shall not 

17 exceed the updated estimate of the Federal 

18 share of the cost of construction, including any 

19 required design. 

20 (c) DETAILED PROJECT SCHEDULE.—Not later than 

21 180 days after entering into a Project Partnership agree22 ment, the Authority, to the maximum extent practicable, 

23 shall submit to the Secretary a detailed project schedule, 

24 based on estimated funding levels, that lists all deadlines 

25 for each milestone in the construction of the project. 


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1 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—All laws and regulations that 

2 would apply to the Secretary if the Secretary were car3 rying out the project shall apply to Authority, if the Au4 thority enters into an agreement with the Secretary to 

5 carry out the project under this section. 

6 SEC. 6. NON-FEDERAL PROJECT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—At any time, notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of this Act, if the Commissioner deter9 mines and the Secretary concurs, that the Sites Project 

10 can be expedited by the Authority as a non-Federal 

11 project, and that there is a demonstrable Federal interest 

12 for the Sites Project to be constructed and operated as 

13 a non-Federal project, the Bureau is authorized and di14 rected to take any and all actions possible to advance the 

15 Sites Project as a non-Federal project, including, but not 

16 limited to, entering into cost-shared financial assistance 

17 agreements with the Authority to support construction of 

18 the Sites Project as a non-Federal project. 

19 (b) TITLE; OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.—The 

20 Authority shall hold title to all facilities constructed under 

21 this section, and shall be solely responsible for the oper22 ation and maintenance costs of such facilities. 

23 (c) FEDERAL REVIEWS AND PERMITS.—The Bureau 

24 shall be the lead Federal agency for the purposes of all 

25 Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, statements, permits, 


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1 licenses, or other approvals or decisions required under 

2 Federal law to allow the Authority to construct the Sites 

3 Project as a non-Federal project. 

4 (d) COORDINATED OPERATIONS.—The Secretary of 

5 the Interior is authorized and directed to execute and im6 plement a long-term agreement between the United States 

7 of America and the Authority that shall provide for the 

8 coordination of operations of the Central Valley Project 

9 and the Sites Project to— 

10 (1) satisfy any contracts entered into in sub11 section (e) of this Act; 

12 (2) help meet any unmet needs for Sacramento 

13 Valley in-basin water uses; 

14 (3) help meet any unmet needs of existing Cen15 tral Valley Project repayment and water service con16 tracts; and 

17 (4) ensure that any surplus water supplies from 

18 the Sites Project are put to full and beneficial use. 

19 (e) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

20 enter into long-term contracts with the Authority to ac21 quire water supplies made available from the Sites Project 

22 for the purposes of meeting the requirements section 

23 3406(b)(3) and section 3408(j) of Public Law 102–575, 

24 the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, and such 

25 other purposes as the Secretary may deem appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING. 

2 With respect to the Sites Project, the Bureau shall— 

3 (1) be the lead Federal agency for the purposes 

4 of all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, state5 ments, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci6 sions required under Federal law to allow either the 

7 Bureau or the Authority to construct the Sites 

8 Project, including all requirements under— 

9 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

10 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

11 (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

12 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 

13 (C) any other Federal law applicable to the 

14 construction of the Sites Project facilities by 

15 the Bureau or the Authority; and 

16 (2) take such steps as are necessary to ensure 

17 that all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, state18 ments, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci19 sions required under Federal law to allow either the 

20 Bureau or the Authority to construct the Sites 

21 Project are completed on an expeditious basis and 

22 utilize the shortest applicable process. 

23 SEC. 8. POWER GENERATION. 

24 (a) PURCHASE OR MARKET POWER.—The Secretary 

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1 ministration, shall determine no later than June 30, 2015, 

2 if there is a Federal interest in— 

3 (1) providing power to the Sites Project; and 

4 (2) purchasing and marketing the power pro5 duced by the Sites Project. 

6 (b) AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE, MARKET AND

7 PURCHASE POWER.—If the Secretary of Energy deter8 mines there is a Federal interest in providing power to, 

9 and purchasing and marketing power from, the Sites 

10 Project, the Secretary of Energy is authorized and di11 rected to take such actions as are necessary to support 

12 that determination. 

13 (c) PERMIT LEAD AND MARKETING OF POWER IF

14 WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION FORGOES PAR15 TICIPATION IN THE SITES PROJECT.—If the Sites Project 

16 is constructed as a non-Federal project by the Authority 

17 and the Secretary of Energy determines that there is no 

18 Federal interest in the Western Area Power Administra19 tion managing power provided to or emanating from the 

20 Sites Project, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 

21 the Bureau, is authorized and directed to provide such 

22 support as is necessary to enable the Authority market 

23 the energy produced by the Sites Project, including secur24 ing all permits associated with managing power used and 

25 produced by the Sites Project. 


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1 (d) DELIVERY AND MANAGEMENT OF WATER.— 

2 Nothing in this subsection shall alter or impede the deliv3 ery and management of water, as water used for hydro4 power generation shall be deemed incidental to uses of 

5 water for which the Sites Project is intended to serve. 

6 SEC. 9. COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS. 

7 Nothing in this Act modifies or alters any obligations 

8 under— 

9 (1) the National Environmental Policy Act of 

10 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or 

11 (2) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

12 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

13 SEC. 10. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

14 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt any 

15 existing State law, including but not limited to area of 

16 origin and other water rights protections. 

Æ 


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