IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5781 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 10, 2014 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

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

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

5 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. 

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. 

6 TITLE I—CALIFORNIA 

7 EMERGENCY DROUGHT RELIEF 

8 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

10 (1) CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT.—The term 

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

12 term in section 3403 of the Central Valley Project 

13 Improvement Act (106 Stat. 4707). 

14 (2) DELTA.—The term ‘‘Delta’’ means the Sac15 ramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Suisun Marsh, 


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1 as defined in sections 12220 and 29101 of the Cali2 fornia Public Resources Code. 

3 (3) NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE LONG-TERM

4 SURVIVAL.—The term ‘‘negative impact on the long5 term survival’’ means to reduce appreciably the like6 lihood of both the survival and recovery of a listed 

7 species in the wild by reducing the reproduction, 

8 numbers, or distribution of that species. 

9 (4) SALMONID BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The 

10 term ‘‘salmonid biological opinion’’ means the bio11 logical opinion issued by the National Marine Fish12 eries Service on June 4, 2009. 

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

14 means— 

15 (A) the Secretary of Commerce; and 

16 (B) the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (6) SMELT BIOLOGICAL OPINION.—The term 

18 ‘‘smelt biological opinion’’ means the biological opin19 ion on the Long-Term Operational Criteria and Plan 

20 for coordination of the Central Valley Project and 

21 State Water Project issued by the United States 

22 Fish and Wildlife Service on December 15, 2008. 

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

24 of California. 


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

2 Water Project’’ means the water project described 

3 by California Water Code section 11550 et seq. and 

4 operated by the California Department of Water Re5 sources. 

6 SEC. 102. EMERGENCY PROJECTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the priority of individ8 uals or entities, including those with Sacramento River 

9 Settlement Contracts, that have priority to the diversion 

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

11 States for operations of the Central Valley Project and 

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

13 Water Project and the United States obligation to make 

14 a substitute supply of water available to the San Joaquin 

15 River Exchange Contractors, the Secretaries shall direct 

16 the operations of the Central Valley Project and allow the 

17 State Water Project to provide the maximum quantity of 

18 water supplies possible to Central Valley Project agricul19 tural, municipal and industrial, and refuge service and re20 payment contractors, and State Water Project contrac21 tors, by approving, consistent with applicable laws (includ22 ing regulations)— 

23 (1) any project or operations to provide addi24 tional water supplies if there is any possible way 

25 whatsoever that the Secretaries can do so unless the 


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1 project or operations constitute a highly inefficient 

2 way of providing additional water supplies; and 

3 (2) any projects or operations as quickly as pos4 sible based on available information to address the 

5 emergency conditions. 

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

7 applicable Secretary shall— 

8 (1) authorize and implement actions to ensure 

9 that the Delta Cross Channel Gates remain open to 

10 the maximum extent practicable using findings from 

11 the United States Geological Survey on diurnal be12 havior of juvenile salmonids, timed to maximize the 

13 peak flood tide period and provide water supply and 

14 water quality benefits, consistent with operational 

15 criteria and monitoring set forth in the California 

16 State Water Resources Control Board’s Order Ap17 proving a Temporary Urgency Change in License 

18 and Permit Terms in Response to Drought Condi19 tions, effective January 31, 2014, or a successor 

20 order; 

21 (2)(A) implement turbidity control strategies 

22 that allow for increased water deliveries for the Cen23 tral Valley Project and State Water Project while 

24 avoiding a negative impact on the long-term survival 

25 delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) due to enVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Dec 11, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5781.RFS H5781

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1 trainment at Central Valley Project and State Water 

2 Project pumping plants; 

3 (B) operating within the ranges provided for in 

4 the smelt biological opinion and the salmonid biologi5 cal opinion to minimize water supply reductions for 

6 the Central Valley Project and the State Water 

7 Project, manage reverse flow in Old and Middle Riv8 ers at -5000 cubic feet per second (cfs) unless cur9 rent scientific data indicate a less negative Old and 

10 Middle River flow is necessary to avoid a negative 

11 impact on the long-term survival of the listed spe12 cies; and 

13 (C) show in writing that any determination to 

14 manage OMR reverse flow at rates less negative 

15 than -5000 cubic feet per second is necessary to 

16 avoid a significant negative impact on the long-term 

17 survival of the Delta smelt, including an explanation 

18 of the data examined and the connection between 

19 those data and the choice made prior to reducing 

20 pumping to a rate less negative than -5000 cfs; 

21 (3) adopt a 1:1 inflow to export ratio for the in22 crement of increased flow of the San Joaquin River, 

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

24 during the period from April 1 through May 31, re25 sulting from voluntary sale, transfers, or exchanges 


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1 of water from agencies with rights to divert water 

2 from the San Joaquin River or its tributaries on the 

3 condition that a proposed sale, transfer, or exchange 

4 under this paragraph may only proceed if the Sec5 retary of the Interior determines that the environ6 mental effects of the proposed sale, transfer, or ex7 change are consistent with effects permissible under 

8 applicable law (including regulations), and provided 

9 that Delta conditions are suitable to allow movement 

10 of the acquired, transferred, or exchanged water 

11 through the Delta consistent with the Central Valley 

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

13 water rights; 

14 (4) issue all necessary permit decisions under 

15 the authority of the Secretaries within 30 days of re16 ceiving a completed application by the State to place 

17 and use temporary barriers or operable gates in 

18 Delta channels to improve water quantity and qual19 ity for Central Valley Project and State Water 

20 Project contractors and other water users, which 

21 barriers or gates should provide benefits for species 

22 protection and in-Delta water user water quality and 

23 shall be designed such that formal consultations 

24 under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 

25 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) would not be necessary; 


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1 (5)(A) complete all requirements under the Na2 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

3 4321 et seq.) and the Endangered Species Act of 

4 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) necessary to make 

5 final permit decisions on water transfer requests as6 sociated with voluntarily fallowing nonpermanent 

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

8 a request; and 

9 (B) allow any water transfer request associated 

10 with fallowing to maximize the quantity of water 

11 supplies available for nonhabitat uses as long as the 

12 fallowing and associated water transfer are in com13 pliance with applicable Federal laws (including regu14 lations); 

15 (6) allow any North of Delta agricultural water 

16 service contractor with unused Central Valley 

17 Project water to take delivery of such unused water 

18 through April 15, of the contract year immediately 

19 following the contract year in which such water was 

20 allocated, if— 

21 (A) the contractor requests the extension; 

22 and 

23 (B) the requesting contractor certifies 

24 that, without the extension, the contractor 


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1 would have insufficient supplies to adequately 

2 meet water delivery obligations; 

3 (7) to the maximum extent possible based on 

4 the availability and quality of groundwater and with5 out causing land subsidence— 

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

7 supply needs of units of the National Wildlife 

8 Refuge System in the Central Valley of Cali9 fornia, the Gray Lodge, Los Banos, Volta, 

10 North Grasslands, and Mendota State wildlife 

11 management areas, and the Grasslands Re12 sources Conservation District in the Central 

13 Valley of California through the improvement 

14 or installation of wells to use groundwater re15 sources and the purchase of water from willing 

16 sellers; and 

17 (B) make a quantity of Central Valley 

18 Project water obtained from the measures im19 plemented under subparagraph (A) available to 

20 Central Valley Project water service contrac21 tors; and 

22 (8) implement instream and offsite projects in 

23 the Delta and upstream in the Sacramento River 

24 and San Joaquin basins, in coordination with the 

25 California Department of Water Resources and the 


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1 California Department of Fish and Wildlife, that 

2 offset the effects on species listed as threatened or 

3 endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 

4 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) due to actions taken 

5 under this Act. 

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

7 agency other than agencies headed by the Secretaries has 

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

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

10 Federal agencies. 

11 (d) ACCELERATED PROJECT DECISION AND ELE12 VATION.— 

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

14 State, the heads of Federal agencies shall use the 

15 expedited procedures under this subsection to make 

16 final decisions relating to a Federal project or oper17 ation to provide additional water supplies or address 

18 emergency drought conditions pursuant to sub19 sections (a) and (b). 

20 (2) REQUEST FOR RESOLUTION.— 

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

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

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

24 agency responsible for carrying out a review of 

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1 terior shall convene a final project decision 

2 meeting with the heads of all relevant Federal 

3 agencies to decide whether to approve a project 

4 to provide emergency water supplies. 

5 (B) MEETING.—The Secretary of the Inte6 rior shall convene a meeting requested under 

7 subparagraph (A) not later than 7 days after 

8 receiving the meeting request. 

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

10 for a meeting under this subsection, the Secretary of 

11 the Interior shall notify the heads of all relevant 

12 Federal agencies of the request, including the 

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

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

15 the date on which a meeting is requested under 

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

17 agency shall issue a final decision on the project in 

18 writing. 

19 (5) MEETING CONVENED BY SECRETARY.—The 

20 Secretary of the Interior may convene a final project 

21 decision meeting under this subsection at any time, 

22 at the discretion of the Secretary, regardless of 

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


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1 SEC. 103. TEMPORARY OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY FOR 

2 FIRST FEW STORMS OF THE WATER YEAR. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with avoiding a nega4 tive impact on the long-term survival in the short-term 

5 upon listed fish species beyond the range of those author6 ized under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

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

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

9 Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, com10 bined, to operate at levels that result in negative Old and 

11 Middle River flows at -7500 cubic feet per second (based 

12 on United States Geological Survey gauges on Old and 

13 Middle Rivers) daily average for 28 cumulative days after 

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

15 (b) DAYS OF TEMPORARY OPERATIONAL FLEXI16 BILITY.—The temporary operational flexibility described 

17 in subsection (a) shall be authorized on days that the Cali18 fornia Department of Water Resources determines the 

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

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

21 Sacramento River at Freeport gauge maintained by the 

22 United States Geologic Survey. 

23 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH ESA AUTHORIZATIONS.—In 

24 carrying out this section, the Secretaries may continue to 

25 impose any requirements under the smelt and salmonid 

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1 ational flexibility as they determine are reasonably nec2 essary to avoid additional negative impacts on the long3 term survival of a listed fish species beyond the range of 

4 those authorized under the Endangered Species Act of 

5 1973. 

6 (d) OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS.— 

7 (1) The Secretaries’ actions under this section 

8 shall be consistent with applicable regulatory re9 quirements under state law, including State Water 

10 Resources Control Board Decision 1641, as it may 

11 be implemented in any given year. 

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

13 Delta in each water year, and provided that such de14 termination is based upon objective evidence, OMR 

15 flow may be managed at rates less negative than 

16 -5000 cubic feet per second for a minimum duration 

17 to avoid movement of adult Delta smelt (Hypomesus 

18 transpacificus) to areas in the southern Delta that 

19 would be likely to increase entrainment at Central 

20 Valley Project and State Water Project pumping 

21 plants. 

22 (3) This section shall not affect the application 

23 of the salmonid biological opinion from April 1 to 

24 May 31, unless the Secretary of Commerce finds 

25 that some or all of such applicable requirements may 


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1 be adjusted during this time period to provide emer2 gency water supply relief without resulting in addi3 tional adverse effects beyond those authorized under 

4 the Endangered Species Act of 1973. In addition to 

5 any other actions to benefit water supply, the Sec6 retary and the Secretary of Commerce shall consider 

7 allowing through-Delta water transfers to occur dur8 ing this period. 

9 (4) During operations under this section, the 

10 Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the 

11 Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries 

12 Service, and California Department of Fish and 

13 Wildlife, shall undertake a monitoring program and 

14 other data gathering to ensure incidental take levels 

15 are not exceeded, and to identify potential negative 

16 impacts and actions, if any, necessary to mitigate 

17 impacts of the temporary operational flexibility to 

18 species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 

19 1973. 

20 (e) TECHNICAL ADJUSTMENTS TO TARGET PE21 RIOD.—If, before temporary operational flexibility has 

22 been implemented on 28 cumulative days, the Secretaries 

23 operate the Central Valley Project and the State Water 

24 Project combined at levels that result in Old and Middle 

25 River flows less negative than -7500 cubic feet per second 


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1 during days of temporary operational flexibility as defined 

2 in subsection (b), the duration of such operation shall not 

3 be counted toward the 28 cumulative days specified in sub4 section (a). 

5 (f) EMERGENCY CONSULTATION; EFFECT ON RUN6 NING AVERAGES.— 

7 (1) If necessary to implement the provisions of 

8 this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall use 

9 the emergency consultation procedures under the 

10 Endangered Species Act of 1973 and its imple11 menting regulation at section 402.05, title 50, Code 

12 of Federal Regulations, to temporarily adjust the op13 erating criteria under the biological opinions, solely 

14 for the 28 cumulative days of temporary operational 

15 flexibility— 

16 (A) no more than necessary to achieve the 

17 purposes of this section consistent with the en18 vironmental protections in subsections (c) and 

19 (d); and 

20 (B) including, as appropriate, adjustments 

21 to ensure that the actual flow rates during the 

22 periods of temporary operational flexibility do 

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

24 averages of tidally filtered daily Old and Middle 


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1 River flow requirements under the biological 

2 opinions. 

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

4 of temporary operational flexibility, the Secretary of 

5 the Interior shall not reinitiate consultation on these 

6 adjusted operations, and no mitigation shall be re7 quired, if the effects on listed fish species of these 

8 operations under this section remain within the 

9 range of those authorized under the Endangered 

10 Species Act. If the Secretary of the Interior reiniti11 ates consultation, no mitigation measures shall be 

12 required. 

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

14 In articulating the determinations required under this sec15 tion, the Secretaries shall fully satisfy the requirements 

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

17 of supporting detail for the analysis than feasible to pro18 vide within the short time frame permitted for timely deci19 sion-making in response to changing conditions in the 

20 Delta. 

21 SEC. 104. PROGRESS REPORT. 

22 Ninety days after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretaries shall 

24 provide a progress report describing the implementation 

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1 ural Resources in the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the Sen3 ate. 

4 SEC. 105. STATUS OF SURFACE STORAGE STUDIES. 

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

6 the Secretary of the Interior shall provide a progress re7 port on the status of feasibility studies undertaken pursu8 ant to section 103(d)(1) to the Committee on Natural Re9 sources in the House of Representatives and the Com10 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources in the Senate. 

11 The report shall include timelines for study completion, 

12 draft environmental impact statements, final environ13 mental impact statements, and Records of Decision. 

14 TITLE II—PROTECTION OF 

15 THIRD-PARTY WATER RIGHTS 

16 SEC. 201. OFFSET FOR STATE WATER PROJECT. 

17 (a) IMPLEMENTATION IMPACTS.—The Secretary of 

18 the Interior shall confer with the California Department 

19 of Fish and Wildlife in connection with the implementa20 tion of this Act on potential impacts to any consistency 

21 determination for operations of the State Water Project 

22 issued pursuant to California Fish and Game Code section 

23 2080.1. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL YIELD.—If, as a result of the appli2 cation of this Act, the California Department of Fish and 

3 Wildlife— 

4 (1) revokes the consistency determinations pur5 suant to California Fish and Game Code section 

6 2080.1 that are applicable to the State Water 

7 Project; 

8 (2) amends or issues one or more new consist9 ency determinations pursuant to California Fish and 

10 Game Code section 2080.1 in a manner that directly 

11 or indirectly results in reduced water supply to the 

12 State Water Project as compared with the water 

13 supply available under the smelt biological opinion 

14 and the salmonid biological opinion; or 

15 (3) requires take authorization under section 

16 2081 for operation of the State Water Project in a 

17 manner that directly or indirectly results in reduced 

18 water supply to the State Water Project as com19 pared with the water supply available under the 

20 smelt biological opinion and the salmonid biological 

21 opinion, 

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

23 Valley Project yield is greater than it would have been ab24 sent the Department’s actions, then that additional yield 

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1 livery to State Water Project contractors to offset losses 

2 resulting from the Department’s action. 

3 (c) NOTIFICATION RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL

4 PROTECTIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior shall imme5 diately notify the Director of the California Department 

6 of Fish and Wildlife in writing if the Secretary of the Inte7 rior determines that implementation of the smelt biological 

8 opinion and the salmonid biological opinion consistent with 

9 this Act reduces environmental protections for any species 

10 covered by the opinions. 

11 SEC. 202. AREA OF ORIGIN PROTECTIONS. 

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

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

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

15 rights priorities and to honor water rights senior to those 

16 held by the United States for operation of the Central Val17 ley Project, regardless of the source of priority, including 

18 any appropriative water rights initiated prior to December 

19 19, 1914, as well as water rights and other priorities per20 fected or to be perfected pursuant to California Water 

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

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

23 10505, 10505.5, 11128, 11460, 11461, 11462, and 

24 11463, and sections 12200 to 12220, inclusive). 


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1 (b) DIVERSIONS.—Any action undertaken by the Sec2 retaries pursuant to both this Act and section 7 of the 

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

4 that requires that diversions from the Sacramento River 

5 or the San Joaquin River watersheds upstream of the 

6 Delta be bypassed shall not be undertaken in a manner 

7 that alters the water rights priorities established by Cali8 fornia law. 

9 (c) ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.—Nothing in this 

10 title alters the existing authorities provided to and obliga11 tions placed upon the Federal Government under the En12 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

13 as amended. 

14 (d) CONTRACTS.—With respect to individuals and en15 tities with water rights on the Sacramento River, the man16 dates of this section may be met, in whole or in part, 

17 through a contract with the Secretary executed pursuant 

18 to section 14 of Public Law 76–260; 53 Stat. 1187 (43 

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

20 River Settlement Contracts renewed by the Secretary in 

21 2005. 

22 SEC. 203. NO REDIRECTED ADVERSE IMPACTS. 

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

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

25 service or repayment contract, actions taken in compliance 


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1 with legal obligations imposed pursuant to or as a result 

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

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

4 and other applicable Federal and State laws, shall not di5 rectly or indirectly— 

6 (1) result in the involuntary reduction of water 

7 supply or fiscal impacts to individuals or districts 

8 who receive water from either the State Water 

9 Project or the United States under water rights set10 tlement contracts, exchange contracts, water service 

11 contracts, repayment contracts, or water supply con12 tracts; or 

13 (2) cause redirected adverse water supply or fis14 cal impacts to those within the Sacramento River 

15 watershed, the San Joaquin River watershed or the 

16 State Water Project service area. 

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

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

19 not otherwise have been incurred by any entity or public 

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

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

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

23 are incurred on a voluntary basis. 


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1 (c) RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS NOT MODIFIED OR

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

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

4 (1) water service, repayment, settlement, pur5 chase, or exchange contract with the United States, 

6 including the obligation to satisfy exchange contracts 

7 and settlement contracts prior to the allocation of 

8 any other Central Valley Project water; or 

9 (2) State Water Project water supply or settle10 ment contract with the State. 

11 SEC. 204. ALLOCATIONS FOR SACRAMENTO VALLEY CON12 TRACTORS. 

13 (a) ALLOCATIONS.— 

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

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

16 directed, in the operation of the Central Valley 

17 Project, to allocate water provided for irrigation pur18 poses to existing Central Valley Project agricultural 

19 water service contractors within the Sacramento 

20 River Watershed in compliance with the following: 

21 (A) Not less than 100 percent of their con22 tract quantities in a ‘‘Wet’’ year. 

23 (B) Not less than 100 percent of their con24 tract quantities in an ‘‘Above Normal’’ year. 


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1 (C) Not less than 100 percent of their con2 tract quantities in a ‘‘Below Normal’’ year that 

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

4 year. 

5 (D) Not less than 50 percent of their con6 tract quantities in a ‘‘Dry’’ year that is pre7 ceded by a ‘‘Below Normal,’’ an ‘‘Above Nor8 mal,’’ or a ‘‘Wet’’ year. 

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

10 the allocation percentage for existing Central 

11 Valley Project agricultural water service con12 tractors within the Sacramento River Water13 shed shall not be less than twice the allocation 

14 percentage to south-of-Delta Central Valley 

15 Project agricultural water service contractors, 

16 up to 100 percent; provided, that nothing here17 in shall preclude an allocation to existing Cen18 tral Valley Project agricultural water service 

19 contractors within the Sacramento River Water20 shed that is greater than twice the allocation 

21 percentage to South-of-Delta Central Valley 

22 Project agricultural water service contractors. 

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

24 under paragraph (a) shall be subject to— 


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1 (A) the priority of individuals or entities 

2 with Sacramento River water rights, including 

3 those with Sacramento River Settlement Con4 tracts, that have priority to the diversion and 

5 use of Sacramento River water over water 

6 rights held by the United States for operations 

7 of the Central Valley Project; 

8 (B) the United States obligation to make 

9 a substitute supply of water available to the 

10 San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors; and 

11 (C) the Secretary’s obligation to make 

12 water available to managed wetlands pursuant 

13 to section 3406(d) of the Central Valley Project 

14 Improvement Act (Public Law 102–575). 

15 (b) PROTECTION OF MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL

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

17 to— 

18 (1) modify any provision of a water service con19 tract that addresses municipal and industrial water 

20 shortage policies of the Secretary; 

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

22 to adopt or modify municipal and industrial water 

23 shortage policies; 


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

2 to implement municipal and industrial water short3 age policies; or 

4 (4) affect allocations to Central Valley Project 

5 municipal and industrial contractors pursuant to 

6 such policies. 

7 Neither subsection (a) nor the Secretary’s implementation 

8 of subsection (a) shall constrain, govern or affect, directly 

9 or indirectly, the operations of the Central Valley Project’s 

10 American River Division or any deliveries from that Divi11 sion, its units or its facilities. 

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

13 shall not— 

14 (1) affect the allocation of water to Friant Divi15 sion contractors; or 

16 (2) result in the involuntary reduction in con17 tract water allocations to individuals or entities with 

18 contracts to receive water from the Friant Division. 

19 (d) PROGRAM FOR WATER RESCHEDULING.—The 

20 Secretary of the Interior shall develop and implement a 

21 program, not later than 1 year after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, to provide for the opportunity for exist23 ing Central Valley Project agricultural water service con24 tractors within the Sacramento River Watershed to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Dec 11, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5781.RFS H5781

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HR 5781 RFS

1 schedule water, provided for under their Central Valley 

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

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

5 agricultural water service contractors within the 

6 Sacramento River Watershed’’ means water service 

7 contractors within the Shasta, Trinity, and Sac8 ramento River Divisions of the Central Valley 

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

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

11 provides water for irrigation. 

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

13 have the meaning given those year types in the Sac14 ramento Valley Water Year Type (40–30–30) Index. 

15 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

16 PROVISIONS 

17 SEC. 301. EFFECT ON EXISTING OBLIGATIONS. 

18 Nothing in this Act preempts or modifies any existing 

19 obligation of the United States under Federal reclamation 

20 law to operate the Central Valley Project in conformity 

21 with State law, including established water rights prior22 ities. 


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1 SEC. 302. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITIES. 

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

3 date on which the Governor of the State suspends the 

4 state of drought emergency declaration, whichever is later. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 9, 

2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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