I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 931 
To exempt from the Lacey Act and the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 
certain water transfers between any of the States of Texas, Arkansas, 
and Louisiana, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 8, 2021 
Mr. GOHMERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To exempt from the Lacey Act and the Lacey Act Amend-
ments of 1981 certain water transfers between any of 
the States of Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, 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 ‘‘Public Water Supply 
Invasive Species Compliance Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN WATER TRANSFERS FROM 
THE LACEY ACT AND THE LACEY ACT AMEND-
MENTS OF 1981. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED
WATER
TRANSFER.—The term 
‘‘covered water transfer’’ means a transfer of water 
containing a prohibited species between public water 
supplies located on, along, or across the State 
boundaries between any of the States of Texas, Ar-
kansas, and Louisiana. 
(2) PROHIBITED SPECIES.—The term ‘‘prohib-
ited species’’ means any species— 
(A) the shipment of which is otherwise 
prohibited by section 42 of title 18, United 
States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Lacey 
Act’’); or 
(B) the transfer of which is otherwise pro-
hibited by the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 
(16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.). 
(3) PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY.—The term ‘‘public 
water supply’’ means any body of water, including 
any river, lake, or stream, the water of which is 
available or made available to the public. 
(b) EXEMPTION.—Section 42 of title 18, United 
States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Lacey Act’’), and 
the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et 
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seq.) shall not apply with respect to any covered water 
transfer, if— 
(1)(A) all prohibited species in the water trans-
ferred are located in both of the public water sup-
plies between which the water is transferred; 
(B) the water is transferred directly between 
those public water supplies; and 
(C) the water is subject to mitigation measures 
that are reviewed and approved by the appropriate 
State agency of the State to which the water is 
being transferred, including— 
(i) chemically treating the water for sus-
pected or known prohibited species; 
(ii) limiting transfers to certain times; 
(iii) withdrawing water only from certain 
depths; 
(iv) filtration; and 
(v) enhanced monitoring; or 
(2) the water is transferred in a closed convey-
ance system directly to treatment facilities where all 
prohibited species contained in the water transferred 
will be extirpated. 
(c) NOTIFICATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Before the first covered 
water transfer described in subsection (b)(1) occurs 
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in a calendar year and subject to paragraph (2), the 
controlling authority of the public water supply from 
which the water is to be transferred (referred to in 
this subsection as the ‘‘donor public water supply’’) 
shall submit to the controlling authority of the pub-
lic water supply to which the water is to be trans-
ferred (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘recipi-
ent public water supply’’) a written notification that 
includes— 
(A) the expected dates of the covered water 
transfer; 
(B) the volume of water to be transferred, 
which may include a range of possible volumes 
of water that may be transferred; 
(C) a list of known prohibited species that 
are contained in the donor public water supply; 
(D) a certification that the known prohib-
ited species described in subparagraph (C) are 
present in both the donor public water supply 
and the recipient public water supply; and 
(E) a notice of other known species 
present in the donor public water supply that 
may be of concern to the controlling authority 
of the recipient public water supply, including 
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species that are not prohibited by the laws re-
ferred to in subsection (b). 
(2) ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATION.—In addition to 
the notification required under paragraph (1), the 
controlling authority of the donor public water sup-
ply shall provide to the controlling authority of the 
recipient public water supply a notification described 
in that paragraph if the controlling authority of the 
donor public water supply discovers a new prohibited 
species in the donor public water supply. 
(d) COSTS OF MITIGATION MEASURES.—The costs of 
the mitigation measures described in subparagraph (C) of 
subsection (b)(1) for water subject to a covered water 
transfer described in that subsection shall be borne by the 
entity that sells the water for financial gain. 
Æ 
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