I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 605 
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to reauthorize and 
improve the Water Source Protection Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2025 
Mr. COSTA (for himself, Mr. VALADAO, Ms. PETTERSEN, Ms. STANSBURY, 
and Ms. PEREZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural 
Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
to reauthorize and improve the Water Source Protection 
Program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Headwaters Protection 
Act of 2025’’. 
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SEC. 2. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM REAU-
THORIZATION AND IMPROVEMENTS. 
Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(G) and (H) as subparagraphs (K) and 
(L), respectively; and 
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph 
(F) the following: 
‘‘(G) an acequia association; 
‘‘(H) a local, regional, or other public enti-
ty that manages stormwater or wastewater re-
sources or other related water infrastructure; 
‘‘(I) a land-grant mercedes; 
‘‘(J) a local, regional, or other private enti-
ty that has water delivery authority;’’; 
(B) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re-
spectively; and 
(C) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 
so redesignated) the following: 
‘‘(1) ADJACENT
LAND.—The term ‘adjacent 
land’ means non-Federal land, including State, local, 
and private land, that is adjacent to, and within the 
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same watershed as, National Forest System land on 
which a watershed protection and restoration project 
is carried out under this section.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘and adjacent land’’ be-
fore the period at the end; 
(B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A watershed protection 
and restoration project under the Program shall— 
‘‘(A) protect and restore watershed health, 
water supply and quality, a municipal or agri-
cultural water supply system, and water-related 
infrastructure; 
‘‘(B) protect and restore forest health from 
insect infestation and disease or wildfire; or 
‘‘(C) advance any combination of the pur-
poses described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
‘‘(3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting watershed pro-
tection and restoration projects under the Program, 
the Secretary shall give priority to projects that 
would— 
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‘‘(A) provide risk management benefits as-
sociated with drought, wildfire, post-wildfire 
conditions, extreme weather, or flooding, includ-
ing minimizing risks to watershed health, water 
supply and quality, and water-related infra-
structure, including municipal and agricultural 
water supply systems; 
‘‘(B) be designed to support aquatic res-
toration and conservation efforts that com-
plement existing or planned forest restoration 
or wildfire risk reduction efforts; 
‘‘(C) include— 
‘‘(i) partners with demonstrated ca-
pacity and success in designing and imple-
menting ecological restoration projects, 
wildfire risk reduction efforts, or post-wild-
fire restoration projects; or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of disadvantaged 
communities that have historically lacked 
access to adequate resources, partners with 
a strong likelihood of success in designing 
and implementing a watershed protection 
and restoration project; and 
‘‘(D)(i) include a contribution of funds or 
in-kind support from non-Federal partners in 
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an amount greater than the amount required 
under subsection (g)(2); 
‘‘(ii) provide quantifiable benefits to water 
supply or quality and include the use of nature- 
based solutions, such as restoring wetland and 
riparian ecosystems; 
‘‘(iii) be designed to improve— 
‘‘(I) resilience to climate change; or 
‘‘(II) watershed and fire resilience; or 
‘‘(iv) include such other characteristics as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR PROJECTS ON ADJACENT 
LAND.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No project or activity 
may be carried out under this section on adja-
cent land unless the owner of the adjacent land 
provides express support for, and is a willing 
and engaged partner in, carrying out that 
project or activity. 
‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 
authorizes any change in— 
‘‘(i) the ownership of adjacent land on 
which a project or activity is carried out 
under this section; or 
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‘‘(ii) the management of adjacent land 
on which a project or activity is carried out 
under this section, except during the car-
rying out of that project or activity.’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘and adjacent land’’ 
after ‘‘watersheds’’; 
(ii) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 
(iii) by striking ‘‘with end water 
users’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘with— 
‘‘(A) end water users’’; and 
(iv) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) end waters users to protect and re-
store the condition of National Forest water-
sheds and adjacent land that provide water for 
the benefit of another end water user.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 
(ii) by redesignating subparagraph 
(D) as subparagraph (E); and 
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(iii) by inserting after subparagraph 
(C) the following: 
‘‘(D) a good neighbor agreement entered 
into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 
of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP
BY
NON-FEDERAL
PART-
NERS.—The Secretary shall facilitate a leadership 
role for non-Federal partners in carrying out assess-
ments, planning, project design, and project imple-
mentation under this section.’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘shall be 
conducted’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘shall 
be— 
‘‘(A) designed to protect and restore eco-
logical integrity (as defined in section 219.19 of 
title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef-
fect on the date of enactment of this subpara-
graph)); 
‘‘(B) based on the best available scientific 
information; and 
‘‘(C) conducted’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
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