113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2198 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 

Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to take 

actions to provide additional water supplies to the State 

of California due to drought, and for other purposes. 
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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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

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

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Emergency projects. 

Sec. 5. Emergency environmental reviews. 

Sec. 6. State revolving funds. 

Sec. 7. Effect on State laws. 

Sec. 8. Termination of authorities. 

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds that— 

10 (1) as established in the Proclamation of a 

11 State of Emergency issued by the Governor of the 

12 State on January 17, 2014, the State is experi13 encing record dry conditions; 

14 (2) extremely dry conditions have persisted in 

15 the State since 2012, and the drought conditions are 

16 likely to persist into the future; 

17 (3) the water supplies of the State are at 

18 record-low levels, as indicated by a statewide average 

19 snowpack of 12 percent of the normal average for 

20 winter as of February 1, 2014, and the fact that all 

21 major Central Valley Project reservoir levels are at 
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1 or below 50 percent of the capacity of the reservoirs 

2 as of April 1, 2014; 

3 (4) the 2013–2014 drought constitutes a seri4 ous emergency posing immediate and severe risks to 

5 human life and safety and to the environment 

6 throughout the State; 

7 (5) the emergency requires— 

8 (A) immediate and credible action that re9 spects the complexity of the water system of the 

10 State and the importance of the water system 

11 to the entire State; and 

12 (B) policies that do not pit stakeholders 

13 against one another, which history has shown 

14 only leads to costly litigation that benefits no 

15 one and prevents any real solutions; 

16 (6) Federal law (including regulations) directly 

17 authorizes expedited decisionmaking procedures and 

18 environmental and public review procedures to en19 able timely and appropriate implementation of ac20 tions to respond to such a type and severity of emer21 gency; and 

22 (7) the serious emergency posed by the 2013– 

23 2014 drought in the State fully satisfies the condi24 tions necessary for the exercise of emergency deci-
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1 sionmaking, analytical, and public review require2 ments under— 

3 (A) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

5 (B) the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

7 (C) water control management procedures 

8 of the Corps of Engineers described in section 

9 222.5 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations 

10 (including successor regulations); and 

11 (D) the Reclamation States Emergency 

12 Drought Relief Act of 1991 (Public Law 102– 

13 250; 106 Stat. 53). 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT.—The term 

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

18 term in section 3403 of the Central Valley Project 

19 Improvement Act (106 Stat. 4707). 

20 (2) KLAMATH PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Klamath 

21 Project’’ means the Bureau of Reclamation project 

22 in the States of California and Oregon, as author23 ized under the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, 

24 chapter 1093). 
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1 (3) RECLAMATION PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Rec2 lamation Project’’ means a project constructed pur3 suant to the authorities of the reclamation laws and 

4 whose facilities are wholly or partially located in the 

5 State. 

6 (4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

7 means— 

8 (A) the Administrator of the Environ9 mental Protection Agency; 

10 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

11 (C) the Secretary of Commerce; and 

12 (D) the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

14 of California. 

15 (6) STATE WATER PROJECT.—The term ‘‘State 

16 Water Project’’ means the water project described 

17 by California Water Code section 11550 et seq., and 

18 operated by the California Department of Water Re19 sources. 

20 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY PROJECTS. 

21 (a) WATER SUPPLIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In response to the declara23 tion of a state of drought emergency by the Gov24 ernor of the State, the Secretaries shall provide the 

25 maximum quantity of water supplies possible to Cen-
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1 tral Valley Project agricultural, municipal and indus2 trial, and refuge service and repayment contractors, 

3 State Water Project contractors, and any other lo4 cality or municipality in the State, by approving, 

5 consistent with applicable laws (including regula6 tions), projects and operations to provide additional 

7 water supplies as quickly as possible based on avail8 able information to address the emergency condi9 tions. 

10 (2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) applies to 

11 projects or operations involving the Klamath Project 

12 if the projects or operations would benefit Federal 

13 water contractors in the State. 

14 (b) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section allows 

15 agencies to approve projects— 

16 (1) that would otherwise require congressional 

17 authorization; or 

18 (2) without following procedures required by 

19 applicable law. 

20 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out subsection 

21 (a), the Secretaries shall, consistent with applicable laws 

22 (including regulations)— 

23 (1) authorize and implement actions to ensure 

24 that the Delta Cross Channel Gates shall remain 

25 open to the greatest extent possible, timed to maxi-
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1 mize the peak flood tide period and provide water 

2 supply and water quality benefits for the duration of 

3 the drought emergency declaration of the State, con4 sistent with operational criteria and monitoring cri5 teria developed pursuant to the California State 

6 Water Resources Control Board’s Order Approving a 

7 Temporary Urgency Change in License and Permit 

8 Terms in Response to Drought Conditions, effective 

9 January 31, 2014, or a successor order; 

10 (2)(A) collect data associated with the operation 

11 of the Delta Cross Channel Gates described in para12 graph (1) and the impact of the operation on species 

13 listed as threatened or endangered under the Endan14 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

15 water quality, and water supply; and 

16 (B) after assessing the data described in sub17 paragraph (A), require the Director of the National 

18 Marine Fisheries Service to recommend revisions to 

19 operations of the Central Valley Project and the 

20 California State Water Project, including, if appro21 priate, the reasonable and prudent alternatives con22 tained in the biological opinion issued by the Na23 tional Marine Fisheries Service on June 4, 2009, 

24 that are likely to produce fishery, water quality, and 

25 water supply benefits; 
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1 (3)(A) implement turbidity control strategies 

2 that allow for increased water deliveries while avoid3 ing jeopardy to adult delta smelt (Hypomesus 

4 transpacificus) due to entrainment at Central Valley 

5 Project and State Water Project pumping plants; 

6 and 

7 (B) manage reverse flow in the Old and Middle 

8 Rivers as prescribed by the biological opinions issued 

9 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on 

10 December 15, 2008, for Delta smelt and by the Na11 tional Marine Fisheries Service on June 4, 2009, for 

12 salmonids, to minimize water supply reductions for 

13 the Central Valley Project and the State Water 

14 Project; 

15 (4) adopt a 1:1 inflow to export ratio for the in16 creased flow of the San Joaquin River, as measured 

17 as a 3-day running average at Vernalis during the 

18 period from April 1 through May 31, resulting from 

19 voluntary transfers and exchanges of water supplies, 

20 among other purposes; 

21 (5) issue all necessary permit decisions under 

22 the authority of the Secretaries within 30 days of re23 ceiving a completed application by the State to place 

24 and use temporary barriers or operable gates in 

25 Delta channels to improve water quantity and qual-
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1 ity for State Water Project and Central Valley 

2 Project South of Delta water contractors and other 

3 water users, which barriers or gates should provide 

4 benefits for species protection and in-Delta water 

5 user water quality and shall be designed such that 

6 formal consultations under section 7 of the Endan7 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) would 

8 not be necessary; 

9 (6)(A) require the Director of the United States 

10 Fish and Wildlife Service and the Commissioner of 

11 the Bureau of Reclamation to complete all require12 ments under the National Environmental Policy Act 

13 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Endan14 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

15 necessary to make final permit decisions on water 

16 transfer requests associated with voluntarily 

17 fallowing nonpermanent crops in the State, within 

18 30 days of receiving such a request; and 

19 (B) require the Director of the United States 

20 Fish and Wildlife Service to allow any water transfer 

21 request associated with fallowing to maximize the 

22 quantity of water supplies available for nonhabitat 

23 uses as long as the fallowing and associated water 

24 transfer are in compliance with applicable Federal 

25 laws (including regulations); 
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1 (7) participate in, issue grants, or otherwise 

2 provide funding for, as soon as practicable after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, under existing author4 ity available to the Secretary of the Interior, pilot 

5 projects to increase water in reservoirs in regional 

6 river basins experiencing extreme, exceptional, or 

7 sustained drought that have a direct impact on the 

8 water supply of the State, including the Colorado 

9 River Basin, provided that any participation, grant, 

10 or funding by the Secretary with respect to the 

11 Upper Division shall be with or to the respective 

12 State; 

13 (8) maintain all rescheduled water supplies held 

14 in the San Luis Reservoir and Millerton Reservoir 

15 for all water users for delivery in the immediately 

16 following contract water year unless precluded by 

17 reservoir storage capacity limitations; 

18 (9) to the maximum extent possible based on 

19 the availability of water and without causing land 

20 subsidence or violating water quality standards— 

21 (A) meet the contract water supply needs 

22 of Central Valley Project refuges through the 

23 improvement or installation of water conserva24 tion measures, water conveyance facilities, and 

25 wells to use groundwater resources, which ac-
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1 tivities may be accomplished by using funding 

2 made available under the Water Assistance Pro3 gram or the WaterSMART program of the De4 partment of the Interior; and 

5 (B) make a quantity of Central Valley 

6 Project surface water obtained from the meas7 ures implemented under subparagraph (A) 

8 available to Central Valley Project contractors; 

9 (10) in coordination with the Secretary of Agri10 culture, enter into an agreement with the National 

11 Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive 

12 study, to be completed not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, on the effective14 ness and environmental impacts of saltcedar biologi15 cal control efforts on increasing water supplies and 

16 improving riparian habitats of the Colorado River 

17 and its principal tributaries, in the State and else18 where; 

19 (11) make any WaterSMART grant funding al20 located to the State available on a priority and expe21 dited basis for projects in the State that— 

22 (A) provide emergency drinking and mu23 nicipal water supplies to localities in a quantity 

24 necessary to meet minimum public health and 

25 safety needs; 
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1 (B) prevent the loss of permanent crops; 

2 (C) minimize economic losses resulting 

3 from drought conditions; or 

4 (D) provide innovative water conservation 

5 tools and technology for agriculture and urban 

6 water use that can have immediate water sup7 ply benefits; 

8 (12) implement offsite upstream projects in the 

9 Delta and upstream Sacramento River and San Joa10 quin basins, in coordination with the California De11 partment of Water Resources and the California De12 partment of Fish and Wildlife, that offset the effects 

13 on species listed as threatened or endangered under 

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

15 1531 et seq.) due to actions taken under this Act; 

16 and 

17 (13) use all available scientific tools to identify 

18 any changes to real-time operations of Bureau of 

19 Reclamation, State and local water projects that 

20 could result in the availability of additional water 

21 supplies. 

22 (d) 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) 

25 and (c), this section shall apply to those Federal agencies. 
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1 (e) ACCELERATED PROJECT DECISION AND ELE2 VATION.— 

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

4 State, the heads of Federal agencies shall use the 

5 expedited procedures under this subsection to make 

6 final decisions relating to a Federal project or oper7 ation to provide additional water supplies or address 

8 emergency drought conditions pursuant to sub9 sections (a) and (c). 

10 (2) REQUEST FOR RESOLUTION.— 

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

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

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

14 agency responsible for carrying out a review of 

15 a project, as applicable, the Secretary of the In16 terior shall convene a final project decision 

17 meeting with the heads of all relevant Federal 

18 agencies to decide whether to approve a project 

19 to provide emergency water supplies. 

20 (B) MEETING.—The Secretary of the Inte21 rior shall convene a meeting requested under 

22 subparagraph (A) not later than 7 days after 

23 receiving the meeting request. 

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

25 for a meeting under this subsection, the Secretary of 
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1 the Interior shall notify the heads of all relevant 

2 Federal agencies of the request, including the 

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

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

5 the date on which a meeting is requested under 

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

7 agency shall issue a final decision on the project. 

8 (5) MEETING CONVENED BY SECRETARY.—The 

9 Secretary of the Interior may convene a final project 

10 decision meeting under this subsection at any time, 

11 at the discretion of the Secretary, regardless of 

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

13 SEC. 5. EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS. 

14 To minimize the time spent carrying out environ15 mental reviews and to deliver water quickly that is needed 

16 to address emergency drought conditions in the State, the 

17 head of each applicable Federal agency shall, in carrying 

18 out this Act, consult with the Council on Environmental 

19 Quality in accordance with section 1506.11 of title 40, 

20 Code of Federal Regulations (including successor regula21 tions) to develop alternative arrangements to comply with 

22 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

23 4321 et seq.) during the emergency. 
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1 SEC. 6. STATE REVOLVING FUNDS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Envi3 ronmental Protection Agency, in allocating amounts for 

4 each of the fiscal years during which the emergency 

5 drought declaration of the State is in force to State water 

6 pollution control revolving funds established under title VI 

7 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

8 1381 et seq.) and the State drinking water treatment re9 volving loan funds established under section 1452 of the 

10 Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12), shall, for 

11 those projects that are eligible to receive assistance under 

12 section 603 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

13 (33 U.S.C. 1383) or section 1452(a)(2) of the Safe Drink14 ing Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(a)(2)), respectively, 

15 that the State determines will provide additional water 

16 supplies most expeditiously to areas that are at risk of 

17 having an inadequate supply of water for public health and 

18 safety purposes or to improve resiliency to drought— 

19 (1) require the State to review and prioritize 

20 funding for such projects; 

21 (2) issue a determination of waivers within 30 

22 days of the conclusion of the informal public com23 ment period pursuant to section 436(c) of title IV of 

24 division G of Public Law 113–76; and 

25 (3) authorize, at the request of the State, 40- 

26 year financing for assistance under section 
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1 603(d)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

2 Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(d)(2)) or section 1452(f)(2) of 

3 the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j– 

4 12(f)(2)). 

5 (b) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section 

6 authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Pro7 tection Agency to modify any funding allocation, funding 

8 criteria, or other requirement relating to State water pol9 lution control revolving funds established under title VI 

10 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

11 1381 et seq.) and the State drinking water treatment re12 volving loan funds established under section 1452 of the 

13 Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12) for any 

14 other State. 

15 SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS. 

16 Nothing in this Act preempts any State law in effect 

17 on the date of enactment of this Act, including area of 

18 origin and other water rights protections. 

19 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITIES. 

20 The authorities under section 4(a), paragraphs (1) 

21 through (6) of section 4(c), paragraphs (8) and (9) of sec22 tion 4(c), paragraphs (11) through (13) of section 4(c), 

23 section 5, and section 6 permanently expire on the date 
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1 on which the Governor of the State suspends the state of 

2 drought emergency declaration. 

Passed the Senate May 22, 2014. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2198 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior, the Secposes. California due to drought, and for other pur- vide additional water supplies to the State of mental Protection Agency to take actions to pro- culture, and the Administrator of the Environ- retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Agri-