Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement Support Act

Subjects: Water Resources Development

Summary:  <p><b>Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement Support Act</b></p> <p>This bill addresses projects in the Klamath River Basin in Oregon and California.</p> <p> The Bureau of Reclamation must support lowering the Klamath Irrigation District's net delivered power cost through certain agreements (e.g., an agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration).</p> <p>Further, Reclamation may enter into contracts and agreements with state and local governments, tribes, and private parties to plan, construct, operate, and maintain projects in the basin watershed to include</p> <ul> <li> facilities to reduce fish entrainment (i.e., the transport of fish along the flow of water, out of their normal habitat and into unnatural or harmful environments);</li> <li>projects that reduce or avoid impacts on aquatic resources caused by diversion of water for irrigation; and</li> <li>projects that restore basin watershed habitats, including tribal fishery resources held in trust.</li> </ul> <p>The bill also authorizes Reclamation to pay for a portion of the operation and maintenance costs of an irrigation pumping plant in Tulelake, California. It also provides for contracts to cover certain costs involved with the replacement of the C-Canal flume within the Klamath Project. </p> <p>Further, the bill provides statutory authorization for Reclamation to implement a 2016 agreement to take ownership and operation of the Keno Dam and operation of the Link River Dam.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 482 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 482

  To amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 to 
  provide the Secretary of the Interior with certain authorities with 
  respect to projects affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2023

Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 to 
  provide the Secretary of the Interior with certain authorities with 
  respect to projects affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Klamath Power and Facilities 
Agreement Support Act''.

SEC. 2. KLAMATH PROJECT WATER AND POWER.

    (a) Addressing Water, Power, and Facilities Management for 
Irrigation.--Section 4 of the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement 
Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-498; 114 Stat. 2221; 132 Stat. 3886; 134 
Stat. 976) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (1) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to appropriations and required 
        environmental reviews, the Secretary is authorized to carry out 
        activities, including entering into a contract or making 
        financial assistance available through cooperative agreements 
        or other methods, to plan, implement, and administer programs, 
        including conservation and efficiency measures, land idling, 
        and use of groundwater, to align water supplies and demand for 
        irrigation water users associated with the Klamath Project, 
        with a primary emphasis on programs developed or endorsed by 
        local entities comprised of representatives of those water 
        users.'';
            (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Implementation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Beginning not later than 180 
                days after the date of enactment of the Klamath Power 
                and Facilities Agreement Support Act, the Secretary 
                shall, through 1 or more cooperative agreements, 
                financial assistance agreements, or other methods, 
                implement, or support the implementation of, the 
                recommendations identified in the report described in 
                paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines would lead 
                to bringing the net delivered power cost for covered 
                power use to an amount that is the same as, or less 
                than, the power cost benchmark, subject to the 
                availability of appropriations, on the fastest timeline 
                practicable, with respect to near- and long-term 
                actions.
                    ``(B) Requirement.--The implementation of 
                recommendations under subparagraph (A) shall be carried 
                out in accordance with--
                            ``(i) the report submitted under paragraph 
                        (1); and
                            ``(ii) any reports submitted under 
                        paragraph (3).
            ``(3) Additional reports.--Not later than April 30, 2025, 
        and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 
        each committee described in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A) of paragraph (1) a report that describes--
                    ``(A) any progress toward meeting the requirements 
                of this subsection; and
                    ``(B) any modifications or updates to the actions 
                recommended under paragraph (1)(B).''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Restoration Activities.--The Secretary may--
            ``(1) plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain 
        projects in the Klamath Basin watershed, including--
                    ``(A) facilities to reduce fish entrainment;
                    ``(B) projects that reduce or avoid impacts on 
                aquatic resources of facilities involved in the storage 
                or diversion of water for irrigation in the Klamath 
                Project service area; and
                    ``(C) projects that restore habitats in the Klamath 
                Basin watershed, including Tribal fishery resources 
                held in trust;
            ``(2) undertake studies, including feasibility studies, and 
        improvements that the Secretary determines to be necessary to 
        implement this subsection;
            ``(3) in implementing this subsection, enter into 
        contracts, memoranda of understanding, financial assistance 
        agreements, cost-sharing agreements, or other appropriate 
        agreements with--
                    ``(A) State, Tribal, and local governmental 
                agencies; and
                    ``(B) private parties; and
            ``(4) accept and expend non-Federal funds in order to 
        facilitate implementation of this subsection.
    ``(e) Goals.--The goals of activities under subsections (b) and (d) 
shall include, as applicable--
            ``(1) the short-term and long-term reduction and resolution 
        of conflicts relating to water in the Klamath Basin watershed; 
        and
            ``(2) compatibility and utility for protecting natural 
        resources throughout the Klamath Basin watershed, including the 
        protection, preservation, and restoration of Klamath River 
        Tribal fishery resources, particularly through collaboratively 
        developed agreements.
    ``(f) Pumping Plant D.--The Secretary may enter into 1 or more 
agreements with the Tulelake Irrigation District to reimburse the 
Tulelake Irrigation District for not more than 69 percent of the cost 
incurred by the Tulelake Irrigation District for the operation and 
maintenance of Pumping Plant D, subject to the condition that the cost 
results in benefits to the United States.
    ``(g) Keno and Link River Dams.--The Secretary shall comply with 
the terms of the agreement entitled `2016 Klamath Power and Facilities 
Agreement', including Attachment A to the agreement.
    ``(h) Replacement of C Canal Flume.--
            ``(1) In general.--The replacement of the C Canal flume 
        within the Klamath Project shall be considered to be, and shall 
        receive the treatment authorized for, qualified emergency 
        extraordinary operation and maintenance work in accordance with 
        Federal reclamation law (the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 
        388, chapter 1093), and Acts supplemental to and amendatory of 
        that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.)).
            ``(2) Contract.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of receipt of a request from the Klamath 
                Irrigation District to enter into a contract with the 
                Klamath Irrigation District to amend the contract 
                numbered 16-WC-20-4838, the Secretary shall enter into 
                a contract with the Klamath Irrigation District 
                providing that--
                            ``(i) 35 percent of the total repayment 
                        obligation under the contract entered into 
                        under this subparagraph is nonreimbursable to 
                        the United States; and
                            ``(ii) 65 percent of the total repayment 
                        obligation under the contract entered into 
                        under this subparagraph shall be repaid to the 
                        United States over a period of 50 years.
                    ``(B) Inclusion.--Although the Secretary shall not 
                condition the agreement to the contract entered into 
                under subparagraph (A) on any other term, the contract 
                may include other terms that are not less favorable to 
                the contractor than contract numbered 16-WC-20-4838.''.
    (b) Administration; Effect.--
            (1) Compliance.--In implementing the amendments made by 
        this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall comply with--
                    (A) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
                (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
                    (B) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
                1531 et seq.); and
                    (C) all other applicable laws.
            (2) Effect.--None of the amendments made by this section--
                    (A) modify any authority or obligation of the 
                United States with respect to any Tribal trust or 
                treaty obligation of the United States;
                    (B)(i) create or determine any water right; or
                    (ii) affect any water right or water right claim in 
                existence on the date of enactment of this Act; or
                    (C) authorize the use of Federal funds for the 
                physical deconstruction of the Iron Gate, Copco 1, 
                Copco 2, or John C. Boyle Dam located on the Klamath 
                River in the States of California and Oregon.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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