I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5781 

To provide short-term water supplies to drought-stricken California. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 2, 2014 

Mr. VALADAO (for himself, Mr. NUNES, Mr. MCCARTHY of California, Mr. 

MCCLINTOCK, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. LAMALFA, and Mr. COSTA) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide short-term water supplies to drought-stricken 

California. 

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 ‘‘California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY DROUGHT RELIEF 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Emergency projects. 

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Sec. 103. Temporary operational flexibility for first few storms of the water 

year. 

Sec. 104. Progress report. 

Sec. 105. Status of surface storage studies. 

TITLE II—PROTECTION OF THIRD-PARTY WATER RIGHTS 

Sec. 201. Offset for State Water Project. 

Sec. 202. Area of origin protections. 

Sec. 203. No redirected adverse impacts. 

Sec. 204. Allocations For Sacramento Valley Contractors. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Effect on existing obligations. 

Sec. 302. Termination of authorities. 

1 TITLE I—CALIFORNIA 

2 EMERGENCY DROUGHT RELIEF 

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT.—The term 

6 ‘‘Central Valley Project’’ has the meaning given the 

7 term in section 3403 of the Central Valley Project 

8 Improvement Act (106 Stat. 4707). 

9 (2) DELTA.—The term ‘‘Delta’’ means the Sac10 ramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Suisun Marsh, 

11 as defined in sections 12220 and 29101 of the Cali12 fornia Public Resources Code. 

13 (3) NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE LONG-TERM

14 SURVIVAL.—The term ‘‘negative impact on the long15 term survival’’ means to reduce appreciably the like16 lihood of both the survival and recovery of a listed 

17 species in the wild by reducing the reproduction, 

18 numbers, or distribution of that species. 

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1 (4) SALMONID BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The 

2 term ‘‘salmonid biological opinion’’ means the bio3 logical opinion issued by the National Marine Fish4 eries Service on June 4, 2009. 

5 (5) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

6 means— 

7 (A) the Secretary of Commerce; and 

8 (B) the Secretary of the Interior. 

9 (6) SMELT BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The term 

10 ‘‘smelt biological opinion’’ means the biological opin11 ion on the Long-Term Operational Criteria and Plan 

12 for coordination of the Central Valley Project and 

13 State Water Project issued by the United States 

14 Fish and Wildlife Service on December 15, 2008. 

15 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

16 of California. 

17 (8) STATE WATER PROJECT.—The term ‘‘State 

18 Water Project’’ means the water project described 

19 by California Water Code section 11550 et seq. and 

20 operated by the California Department of Water Re21 sources. 

22 SEC. 102. EMERGENCY PROJECTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the priority of individ24 uals or entities, including those with Sacramento River 

25 Settlement Contracts, that have priority to the diversion 

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1 and use of water over water rights held by the United 

2 States for operations of the Central Valley Project and 

3 over rights held by the State for operations of the State 

4 Water Project and the United States obligation to make 

5 a substitute supply of water available to the San Joaquin 

6 River Exchange Contractors, the Secretaries shall direct 

7 the operations of the Central Valley Project and allow the 

8 State Water Project to provide the maximum quantity of 

9 water supplies possible to Central Valley Project agricul10 tural, municipal and industrial, and refuge service and re11 payment contractors, and State Water Project contrac12 tors, by approving, consistent with applicable laws (includ13 ing regulations)— 

14 (1) any project or operations to provide addi15 tional water supplies if there is any possible way 

16 whatsoever that the Secretaries can do so unless the 

17 project or operations constitute a highly inefficient 

18 way of providing additional water supplies; and 

19 (2) any projects or operations as quickly as pos20 sible based on available information to address the 

21 emergency conditions. 

22 (b) MANDATE.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

23 applicable Secretary shall— 

24 (1) authorize and implement actions to ensure 

25 that the Delta Cross Channel Gates remain open to 

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1 the maximum extent practicable using findings from 

2 the United States Geological Survey on diurnal be3 havior of juvenile salmonids, timed to maximize the 

4 peak flood tide period and provide water supply and 

5 water quality benefits, consistent with operational 

6 criteria and monitoring set forth in the California 

7 State Water Resources Control Board’s Order Ap8 proving a Temporary Urgency Change in License 

9 and Permit Terms in Response to Drought Condi10 tions, effective January 31, 2014, or a successor 

11 order; 

12 (2)(A) implement turbidity control strategies 

13 that allow for increased water deliveries for the Cen14 tral Valley Project and State Water Project while 

15 avoiding a negative impact on the long-term survival 

16 delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) due to en17 trainment at Central Valley Project and State Water 

18 Project pumping plants; 

19 (B) operating within the ranges provided for in 

20 the smelt biological opinion and the salmonid biologi21 cal opinion to minimize water supply reductions for 

22 the Central Valley Project and the State Water 

23 Project, manage reverse flow in Old and Middle Riv24 ers at ¥5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) unless cur25 rent scientific data indicate a less negative Old and 

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1 Middle River flow is necessary to avoid a negative 

2 impact on the long-term survival of the listed spe3 cies; and 

4 (C) show in writing that any determination to 

5 manage OMR reverse flow at rates less negative 

6 than ¥5000 cubic feet per second is necessary to 

7 avoid a significant negative impact on the long-term 

8 survival of the Delta smelt, including an explanation 

9 of the data examined and the connection between 

10 those data and the choice made prior to reducing 

11 pumping to a rate less negative than ¥5000 cfs; 

12 (3) adopt a 1:1 inflow to export ratio for the in13 crement of increased flow of the San Joaquin River, 

14 as measured as a 3-day running average at Vernalis 

15 during the period from April 1 through May 31, re16 sulting from voluntary sale, transfers, or exchanges 

17 of water from agencies with rights to divert water 

18 from the San Joaquin River or its tributaries on the 

19 condition that a proposed sale, transfer, or exchange 

20 under this paragraph may only proceed if the Sec21 retary of the Interior determines that the environ22 mental effects of the proposed sale, transfer, or ex23 change are consistent with effects permissible under 

24 applicable law (including regulations), and provided 

25 that Delta conditions are suitable to allow movement 

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1 of the acquired, transferred, or exchanged water 

2 through the Delta consistent with the Central Valley 

3 Project’s and the State Water Project’s permitted 

4 water rights; 

5 (4) issue all necessary permit decisions under 

6 the authority of the Secretaries within 30 days of re7 ceiving a completed application by the State to place 

8 and use temporary barriers or operable gates in 

9 Delta channels to improve water quantity and qual10 ity for Central Valley Project and State Water 

11 Project contractors and other water users, which 

12 barriers or gates should provide benefits for species 

13 protection and in-Delta water user water quality and 

14 shall be designed such that formal consultations 

15 under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 

16 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) would not be necessary; 

17 (5)(A) complete all requirements under the Na18 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

19 4321 et seq.) and the Endangered Species Act of 

20 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) necessary to make 

21 final permit decisions on water transfer requests as22 sociated with voluntarily fallowing nonpermanent 

23 crops in the State, within 30 days of receiving such 

24 a request; and 

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1 (B) allow any water transfer request associated 

2 with fallowing to maximize the quantity of water 

3 supplies available for nonhabitat uses as long as the 

4 fallowing and associated water transfer are in com5 pliance with applicable Federal laws (including regu6 lations); 

7 (6) allow any North of Delta agricultural water 

8 service contractor with unused Central Valley 

9 Project water to take delivery of such unused water 

10 through April 15, of the contract year immediately 

11 following the contract year in which such water was 

12 allocated, if— 

13 (A) the contractor requests the extension; 

14 and 

15 (B) the requesting contractor certifies 

16 that, without the extension, the contractor 

17 would have insufficient supplies to adequately 

18 meet water delivery obligations; 

19 (7) to the maximum extent possible based on 

20 the availability and quality of groundwater and with21 out causing land subsidence— 

22 (A) meet the Level 2 and Level 4 water 

23 supply needs of units of the National Wildlife 

24 Refuge System in the Central Valley of Cali25 fornia, the Gray Lodge, Los Banos, Volta, 

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1 North Grasslands, and Mendota State wildlife 

2 management areas, and the Grasslands Re3 sources Conservation District in the Central 

4 Valley of California through the improvement 

5 or installation of wells to use groundwater re6 sources and the purchase of water from willing 

7 sellers; and 

8 (B) make a quantity of Central Valley 

9 Project water obtained from the measures im10 plemented under subparagraph (A) available to 

11 Central Valley Project water service contrac12 tors; and 

13 (8) implement instream and offsite projects in 

14 the Delta and upstream in the Sacramento River 

15 and San Joaquin basins, in coordination with the 

16 California Department of Water Resources and the 

17 California Department of Fish and Wildlife, that 

18 offset the effects on species listed as threatened or 

19 endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 

20 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) due to actions taken 

21 under this Act. 

22 (c) OTHER AGENCIES.—To the extent that a Federal 

23 agency other than agencies headed by the Secretaries has 

24 a role in approving projects described in subsections (a) 

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1 and (b), the provisions of this section shall apply to those 

2 Federal agencies. 

3 (d) ACCELERATED PROJECT DECISION AND ELE4 VATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the 

6 State, the heads of Federal agencies shall use the 

7 expedited procedures under this subsection to make 

8 final decisions relating to a Federal project or oper9 ation to provide additional water supplies or address 

10 emergency drought conditions pursuant to sub11 sections (a) and (b). 

12 (2) REQUEST FOR RESOLUTION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of 

14 the State, the head of an agency referred to in 

15 subsection (a), or the head of another Federal 

16 agency responsible for carrying out a review of 

17 a project, as applicable, the Secretary of the In18 terior shall convene a final project decision 

19 meeting with the heads of all relevant Federal 

20 agencies to decide whether to approve a project 

21 to provide emergency water supplies. 

22 (B) MEETING.—The Secretary of the Inte23 rior shall convene a meeting requested under 

24 subparagraph (A) not later than 7 days after 

25 receiving the meeting request. 

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1 (3) NOTIFICATION.—Upon receipt of a request 

2 for a meeting under this subsection, the Secretary of 

3 the Interior shall notify the heads of all relevant 

4 Federal agencies of the request, including the 

5 project to be reviewed and the date for the meeting. 

6 (4) DECISION.—Not later than 10 days after 

7 the date on which a meeting is requested under 

8 paragraph (2), the head of the relevant Federal 

9 agency shall issue a final decision on the project in 

10 writing. 

11 (5) MEETING CONVENED BY SECRETARY.—The 

12 Secretary of the Interior may convene a final project 

13 decision meeting under this subsection at any time, 

14 at the discretion of the Secretary, regardless of 

15 whether a meeting is requested under paragraph (2). 

16 SEC. 103. TEMPORARY OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY FOR 

17 FIRST FEW STORMS OF THE WATER YEAR. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with avoiding a nega19 tive impact on the long-term survival in the short-term 

20 upon listed fish species beyond the range of those author21 ized under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

22 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and other environmental protections 

23 under subsection (d), the Secretaries shall authorize the 

24 Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, com25 bined, to operate at levels that result in negative Old and 

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1 Middle River flows at ¥7500 cubic feet per second (based 

2 on United States Geological Survey gauges on Old and 

3 Middle Rivers) daily average for 28 cumulative days after 

4 October 1, as described in subsection (b). 

5 (b) DAYS OF TEMPORARY OPERATIONAL FLEXI6 BILITY.—The temporary operational flexibility described 

7 in subsection (a) shall be authorized on days that the Cali8 fornia Department of Water Resources determines the 

9 daily average river flow of the Sacramento River is at, or 

10 above, 17,000 cubic feet per second as measured at the 

11 Sacramento River at Freeport gauge maintained by the 

12 United States Geologic Survey. 

13 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH ESA AUTHORIZATIONS.—In 

14 carrying out this section, the Secretaries may continue to 

15 impose any requirements under the smelt and salmonid 

16 biological opinions during any period of temporary oper17 ational flexibility as they determine are reasonably nec18 essary to avoid additional negative impacts on the long19 term survival of a listed fish species beyond the range of 

20 those authorized under the Endangered Species Act of 

21 1973. 

22 (d) OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS.— 

23 (1) The Secretaries’ actions under this section 

24 shall be consistent with applicable regulatory re25 quirements under state law, including State Water 

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1 Resources Control Board Decision 1641, as it may 

2 be implemented in any given year. 

3 (2) During the first flush of sediment out of the 

4 Delta in each water year, and provided that such de5 termination is based upon objective evidence, OMR 

6 flow may be managed at rates less negative than 

7 ¥5000 cubic feet per second for a minimum dura8 tion to avoid movement of adult Delta smelt 

9 (Hypomesus transpacificus) to areas in the southern 

10 Delta that would be likely to increase entrainment at 

11 Central Valley Project and State Water Project 

12 pumping plants. 

13 (3) This section shall not affect the application 

14 of the salmonid biological opinion from April 1 to 

15 May 31, unless the Secretary of Commerce finds 

16 that some or all of such applicable requirements may 

17 be adjusted during this time period to provide emer18 gency water supply relief without resulting in addi19 tional adverse effects beyond those authorized under 

20 the Endangered Species Act of 1973. In addition to 

21 any other actions to benefit water supply, the Sec22 retary and the Secretary of Commerce shall consider 

23 allowing through-Delta water transfers to occur dur24 ing this period. 

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1 (4) During operations under this section, the 

2 Commissioner of Reclamation, in coordination with 

3 the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fish4 eries Service, and California Department of Fish 

5 and Wildlife, shall undertake a monitoring program 

6 and other data gathering to ensure incidental take 

7 levels are not exceeded, and to identify potential 

8 negative impacts and actions, if any, necessary to 

9 mitigate impacts of the temporary operational flexi10 bility to species listed under the Endangered Species 

11 Act of 1973. 

12 (e) TECHNICAL ADJUSTMENTS TO TARGET PE13 RIOD.—If, before temporary operational flexibility has 

14 been implemented on 28 cumulative days, the Secretaries 

15 operate the Central Valley Project and the State Water 

16 Project combined at levels that result in Old and Middle 

17 River flows less negative than ¥7500 cubic feet per sec18 ond during days of temporary operational flexibility as de19 fined in subsection (b), the duration of such operation 

20 shall not be counted toward the 28 cumulative days speci21 fied in subsection (a). 

22 (f) EMERGENCY CONSULTATION; EFFECT ON RUN23 NING AVERAGES.— 

24 (1) If necessary to implement the provisions of 

25 this section, the Commissioner shall use the emermstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 gency consultation procedures under the Endangered 

2 Species Act of 1973 and its implementing regulation 

3 at section 402.05, title 50, Code of Federal Regula4 tions, to temporarily adjust the operating criteria 

5 under the biological opinions, solely for the 28 cu6 mulative days of temporary operational flexibility— 

7 (A) no more than necessary to achieve the 

8 purposes of this section consistent with the en9 vironmental protections in subsections (c) and 

10 (d); and 

11 (B) including, as appropriate, adjustments 

12 to ensure that the actual flow rates during the 

13 periods of temporary operational flexibility do 

14 not count toward the 5-day and 14-day running 

15 averages of tidally filtered daily Old and Middle 

16 River flow requirements under the biological 

17 opinions. 

18 (2) At the conclusion of the 28 cumulative days 

19 of temporary operational flexibility, the Commis20 sioner shall not reinitiate consultation on these ad21 justed operations, and no mitigation shall be re22 quired, if the effects on listed fish species of these 

23 operations under this section remain within the 

24 range of those authorized under the Endangered 

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1 Species Act. If the Commissioner reinitiates con2 sultation, no mitigation measures shall be required. 

3 (g) LEVEL OF DETAIL REQUIRED FOR ANALYSIS.— 

4 In articulating the determinations required under this sec5 tion, the Secretaries shall fully satisfy the requirements 

6 herein but shall not be expected to provide a greater level 

7 of supporting detail for the analysis than feasible to pro8 vide within the short time frame permitted for timely deci9 sion-making in response to changing conditions in the 

10 Delta. 

11 SEC. 104. PROGRESS REPORT. 

12 Ninety days after the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretaries shall 

14 provide a progress report describing the implementation 

15 of sections 101, 102, and 103 to the Committee on Nat16 ural Resources in the House of Representatives and the 

17 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the Sen18 ate. 

19 SEC. 105. STATUS OF SURFACE STORAGE STUDIES. 

20 One year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

21 the Secretary of the Interior shall provide a progress re22 port on the status of feasibility studies undertaken pursu23 ant to section 103(d)(1) to the Committee on Natural Re24 sources in the House of Representatives and the Com25 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources in the Senate. 

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1 The report shall include timelines for study completion, 

2 draft environmental impact statements, final environ3 mental impact statements, and Records of Decision. 

4 TITLE II—PROTECTION OF 

5 THIRD-PARTY WATER RIGHTS 

6 SEC. 201. OFFSET FOR STATE WATER PROJECT. 

7 (a) IMPLEMENTATION IMPACTS.—The Secretary of 

8 the Interior shall confer with the California Department 

9 of Fish and Wildlife in connection with the implementa10 tion of this Act on potential impacts to any consistency 

11 determination for operations of the State Water Project 

12 issued pursuant to California Fish and Game Code section 

13 2080.1. 

14 (b) ADDITIONAL YIELD.—If, as a result of the appli15 cation of this Act, the California Department of Fish and 

16 Wildlife— 

17 (1) revokes the consistency determinations pur18 suant to California Fish and Game Code section 

19 2080.1 that are applicable to the State Water 

20 Project; 

21 (2) amends or issues one or more new consist22 ency determinations pursuant to California Fish and 

23 Game Code section 2080.1 in a manner that directly 

24 or indirectly results in reduced water supply to the 

25 State Water Project as compared with the water 

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1 supply available under the Smelt Biological Opinion 

2 and the Salmonid Biological Opinion; or 

3 (3) requires take authorization under section 

4 2081 for operation of the State Water Project in a 

5 manner that directly or indirectly results in reduced 

6 water supply to the State Water Project as com7 pared with the water supply available under the 

8 Smelt Biological Opinion and the Salmonid Biologi9 cal Opinion, 

10 and as a consequence of the Department’s action, Central 

11 Valley Project yield is greater than it would have been ab12 sent the Department’s actions, then that additional yield 

13 shall be made available to the State Water Project for de14 livery to State Water Project contractors to offset losses 

15 resulting from the Department’s action. 

16 (c) NOTIFICATION RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL

17 PROTECTIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior shall imme18 diately notify the Director of the California Department 

19 of Fish and Wildlife in writing if the Secretary of the Inte20 rior determines that implementation of the Biological 

21 Opinions consistent with this Act reduces environmental 

22 protections for any species covered by the opinions. 

23 SEC. 202. AREA OF ORIGIN PROTECTIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior is 

25 directed, in the operation of the Central Valley Project, 

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1 to adhere to California’s water rights laws governing water 

2 rights priorities and to honor water rights senior to those 

3 held by the United States for operation of the Central Val4 ley Project, regardless of the source of priority, including 

5 any appropriative water rights initiated prior to December 

6 19, 1914, as well as water rights and other priorities per7 fected or to be perfected pursuant to California Water 

8 Code Part 2 of Division 2. Article 1.7 (commencing with 

9 section 1215 of chapter 1 of part 2 of division 2, sections 

10 10505, 10505.5, 11128, 11460, 11461, 11462, and 

11 11463, and sections 12200 to 12220, inclusive). 

12 (b) DIVERSIONS.—Any action undertaken by the Sec13 retary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce pursu14 ant to both this Act and section 7 of the Endangered Spe15 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.) that requires 

16 that diversions from the Sacramento River or the San Joa17 quin River watersheds upstream of the Delta be bypassed 

18 shall not be undertaken in a manner that alters the water 

19 rights priorities established by California law. 

20 (c) NEPA.—Nothing in this title alters the existing 

21 authorities provided to and obligations placed upon the 

22 Federal Government under the Endangered Species Act 

23 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.), as amended. 

24 (d) CONTRACTS.—With respect to individuals and en25 tities with water rights on the Sacramento River, the manmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 dates of this section may be met, in whole or in part, 

2 through a contract with the Secretary executed pursuant 

3 to section 14 of Public Law 76–260, 53 Stat. 1187 (43 

4 U.S.C. 389) that is in conformance with the Sacramento 

5 River Settlement Contracts renewed by the Secretary in 

6 2005. 

7 SEC. 203. NO REDIRECTED ADVERSE IMPACTS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

9 ensure that, except as otherwise provided for in a water 

10 service or repayment contract, actions taken in compliance 

11 with legal obligations imposed pursuant to or as a result 

12 of this Act, including such actions under section 7 of the 

13 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

14 and other applicable Federal and State laws, shall not di15 rectly or indirectly— 

16 (1) result in the involuntary reduction of water 

17 supply or fiscal impacts to individuals or districts 

18 who receive water from either the State Water 

19 Project or the United States under water rights set20 tlement contracts, exchange contracts, water service 

21 contracts, repayment contracts, or water supply con22 tracts; or 

23 (2) cause redirected adverse water supply or fis24 cal impacts to those within the Sacramento River 

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1 watershed, the San Joaquin River watershed or the 

2 State Water Project service area. 

3 (b) COSTS.—To the extent that costs are incurred 

4 solely pursuant to or as a result of this Act and would 

5 not otherwise have been incurred by any entity or public 

6 or local agency or subdivision of the State of California, 

7 such costs shall not be borne by any such entity, agency, 

8 or subdivision of the State of California, unless such costs 

9 are incurred on a voluntary basis. 

10 (c) RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS NOT MODIFIED OR

11 AMENDED.—Nothing in this Act shall modify or amend 

12 the rights and obligations of the parties to any existing— 

13 (1) water service, repayment, settlement, pur14 chase, or exchange contract with the United States, 

15 including the obligation to satisfy exchange contracts 

16 and settlement contracts prior to the allocation of 

17 any other Central Valley Project water; or 

18 (2) State Water Project water supply or settle19 ment contract with the State. 

20 SEC. 204. ALLOCATIONS FOR SACRAMENTO VALLEY CON21 TRACTORS. 

22 (a) ALLOCATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

24 and subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior is 

25 directed, in the operation of the Central Valley 

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1 Project, to allocate water provided for irrigation pur2 poses to existing Central Valley Project agricultural 

3 water service contractors within the Sacramento 

4 River Watershed in compliance with the following: 

5 (A) Not less than 100 percent of their con6 tract quantities in a ‘‘Wet’’ year. 

7 (B) Not less than 100 percent of their con8 tract quantities in an ‘‘Above Normal’’ year. 

9 (C) Not less than 100 percent of their con10 tract quantities in a ‘‘Below Normal’’ year that 

11 is preceded by an ‘‘Above Normal’’ or a ‘‘Wet’’ 

12 year. 

13 (D) Not less than 50 percent of their con14 tract quantities in a ‘‘Dry’’ year that is pre15 ceded by a ‘‘Below Normal,’’ an ‘‘Above Nor16 mal,’’ or a ‘‘Wet’’ year. 

17 (E) In all other years not identified herein, 

18 the allocation percentage for existing Central 

19 Valley Project agricultural water service con20 tractors within the Sacramento River Water21 shed shall not be less than twice the allocation 

22 percentage to south-of-Delta Central Valley 

23 Project agricultural water service contractors, 

24 up to 100 percent; provided, that nothing here25 in shall preclude an allocation to existing Cenmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tral Valley Project agricultural water service 

2 contractors within the Sacramento River Water3 shed that is greater than twice the allocation 

4 percentage to South-of-Delta Central Valley 

5 Project agricultural water service contractors. 

6 (2) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary’s actions 

7 under paragraph (a) shall be subject to— 

8 (A) the priority of individuals or entities 

9 with Sacramento River water rights, including 

10 those with Sacramento River Settlement Con11 tracts, that have priority to the diversion and 

12 use of Sacramento River water over water 

13 rights held by the United States for operations 

14 of the Central Valley Project; 

15 (B) the United States obligation to make 

16 a substitute supply of water available to the 

17 San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors; and 

18 (C) the Secretary of the Interior’s obliga19 tion to make water available to managed wet20 lands pursuant to section 3406(d) of the Cen21 tral Valley Project Improvement Act, (Public 

22 Law 102–575). 

23 (b) PROTECTION OF MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL

24 SUPPLIES.—Nothing in subsection (a) shall be deemed 

25 to— 

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1 (1) modify any provision of a water service con2 tract that addresses municipal and industrial water 

3 shortage policies of the Secretary; 

4 (2) affect or limit the authority of the Secretary 

5 of the Interior to adopt or modify municipal and in6 dustrial water shortage policies; 

7 (3) affect or limit the authority of the Secretary 

8 of the Interior to implement municipal and indus9 trial water shortage policies; or 

10 (4) affect allocations to Central Valley Project 

11 municipal and industrial contractors pursuant to 

12 such policies. 

13 Neither subsection (a) nor the Secretary of the Interior’s 

14 implementation of subsection (a) shall constrain, govern 

15 or affect, directly or indirectly, the operations of the Cen16 tral Valley Project’s American River Division or any deliv17 eries from that Division, its units or its facilities. 

18 (c) NO EFFECT ON ALLOCATIONS.—This section 

19 shall not— 

20 (1) affect the allocation of water to Friant Divi21 sion contractors; or 

22 (2) result in the involuntary reduction in con23 tract water allocations to individuals or entities with 

24 contracts to receive water from the Friant Division. 

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1 (d) PROGRAM FOR WATER RESCHEDULING.—The 

2 Secretary of the Interior shall direct that the United 

3 States Bureau of Reclamation develop and implement a 

4 program, not later than one year after the date of the en5 actment of this Act, to provide for the opportunity for ex6 isting Central Valley Project agricultural water service 

7 contractors within the Sacramento River Watershed to re8 schedule water, provided for under their Central Valley 

9 Project water service contracts, from one year to the next. 

10 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) The term ‘‘existing Central Valley Project 

12 agricultural water service contractors within the 

13 Sacramento River Watershed’’ means water service 

14 contractors within the Shasta, Trinity, and Sac15 ramento River Divisions of the Central Valley 

16 Project, that have a water service contract in effect, 

17 on the date of the enactment of this section, that 

18 provides water for irrigation. 

19 (2) The year type terms used in subsection (a) 

20 have the meaning given those year types in the Sac21 ramento Valley Water Year Type (40–30–30) Index. 

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26 

•HR 5781 IH

1 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 301. EFFECT ON EXISTING OBLIGATIONS. 

4 Nothing in this Act preempts or modifies any existing 

5 obligation of the United States under Federal reclamation 

6 law to operate the Central Valley Project in conformity 

7 with State law, including established water rights prior8 ities. 

9 SEC. 302. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITIES. 

10 This Act shall expire on September 30, 2016, or the 

11 date on which the Governor of the State suspends the 

12 state of drought emergency declaration, whichever is later. 

Æ 

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