I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1269 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take actions to support non- 
Federal investments in water infrastructure improvements in the Sac-
ramento Valley, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 1, 2017 
Mr. LAMALFA (for himself and Mr. GARAMENDI) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take actions to 
support non-Federal investments in water infrastructure 
improvements in the Sacramento Valley, 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 ‘‘Sacramento Valley 
Water Storage and Restoration Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The State of California has recently experi-
enced one of the driest periods on record, and in 
2017 is experiencing one of the wettest years on 
record. New surface water storage infrastructure 
with the capacity to store water in wet years for use 
in dry periods is urgently needed. 
(2) The Sites Project (sometimes referred to as 
‘‘North of Delta Offstream Storage’’) has been iden-
tified by the State of California and the Federal 
Government as an important component to inte-
grated water management in the Sacramento Valley 
that would advance the co-equal objectives of im-
proving water management and restoring ecological 
health for beneficial uses of the Sacramento-San 
Joaquin Delta and the Sacramento River watershed. 
Further, the Sites Reservoir was found in the 
CALFED Record of Decision to be the preferred lo-
cation to provide North of Delta Offstream Storage 
and subsequent studies have shown the Sites Res-
ervoir to be technically feasible. 
(3) Among other things, the Sites Project 
would— 
(A) increase surface water storage to en-
hance water management flexibility in the Sac-
ramento Valley; 
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(B) improve the operation of the State’s 
water system to provide improvements in eco-
system and water quality conditions in the Bay- 
Delta while providing a more reliable water sup-
ply for the State of California; 
(C) improve conditions for fish, waterfowl, 
and wildlife in the Sacramento Valley, including 
anadromous fish in the Sacramento River; 
(D) provide local flood control benefits; 
(E) 
integrate 
with 
renewable 
energy 
sources consistent with applicable Federal and 
State of California goals; 
(F) create both construction and long-term 
jobs to improve both the local and regional 
economies in the Sacramento Valley; and 
(G) provide additional recreational bene-
fits. 
(4) The Sites Project has been shown to provide 
approximately 
500,000 
acre-feet 
of 
additional 
annualized yield that, when integrated into the oper-
ations of the State and Federal reservoirs upstream 
of the Bay-Delta, can improve the system-wide oper-
ational efficiency for both water supply reliability 
and the environment. 
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(5) Healthy wetlands and wildlife refuges are of 
vital importance to wildlife in California and require 
a reliable supply of water and additional surface 
water storage can help meet water supply goals 
under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. 
(6) It is in the interests of the United States 
for the Federal Government to work with the Sites 
Project Authority, which has been established under 
laws of the State of California as an independent 
joint exercise of powers authority to, among other 
things, study, promote, develop, design, finance, ac-
quire, construct, manage, and operate Sites Res-
ervoir and related facilities in order to advance the 
Sites Project in the most expeditious and cost-effec-
tive manner possible. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 
the Sites Project Authority that entered into a Joint 
Powers Agreement on August 26, 2010, for the pur-
pose of advancing the Sites Project as a non-Federal 
facility. The current list of public agencies serving 
on the Authority’s 12-member governing board in-
clude Colusa County Water District, Glenn-Colusa 
Irrigation District, Maxwell Irrigation District, 
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Orland-Artois Water District, Placer County Water 
District/City of Roseville, Proberta Water District, 
Reclamation District 108, the Tehama-Colusa Canal 
Authority, Western Canal Water District, Westside 
Water District, the County of Glenn, the County of 
Colusa. In addition, agencies from the Bay Area, 
San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California are ac-
tively participating to advance the Sites Project. 
(2) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 
Bureau of Reclamation. 
(3) CENTRAL
VALLEY
PROJECT.—The term 
‘‘Central Valley Project’’ means all Federal reclama-
tion projects located within or diverting water from 
or to the watershed of the Sacramento and San Joa-
quin rivers and their tributaries as authorized by the 
Act of August 26, 1937 (50 Stat. 850), and all Acts 
amendatory or supplemental thereto, including— 
(A) the Act of October 17, 1940 (54 Stat. 
1198, 1199); 
(B) the Act of December 22, 1944 (58 
Stat. 887); 
(C) the Act of October 14, 1949 (63 Stat. 
852); 
(D) the Act of September 26, 1950 (64 
Stat. 1036); 
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(E) the Act of August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 
879); 
(F) the Act of August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 
719); 
(G) the Act of June 3, 1960 (74 Stat. 
156); 
(H) the Act of October 23, 1962 (76 Stat. 
1173); 
(I) the Act of September 2, 1965 (79 Stat. 
615); 
(J) the Act of August 19, 1967 (81 Stat. 
167); 
(K) the Act of August 27, 1967 (81 Stat. 
173); 
(L) the Act of October 23, 1970 (84 Stat. 
1097); 
(M) the Act of September 28, 1976 (90 
Stat. 1324); and 
(N) the Act of October 27, 1986 (100 
Stat. 3050). 
(4) 
COMMISSIONER.—The 
term 
‘‘Commis-
sioner’’ means the Commissioner of the Bureau of 
Reclamation. 
(5) REPAYMENT
AND
WATER
SERVICE
CON-
TRACTS.—The terms ‘‘repayment contract’’ and 
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‘‘water service contract’’ have the same meaning 
given those terms in sections 9(d) and 9(e), respec-
tively, of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 
Stat. 1187, 1195). 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(7) 
SITES
PROJECT.—The 
term 
‘‘Sites 
Project’’— 
(A) refers to the off-stream water storage 
project identified in the CALFED Record of 
Decision, dated 2000 Aug. 28; and 
(B) means the Sites Reservoir in Glenn 
and Colusa Counties, California, and related fa-
cilities, including associated water conveyance 
and hydropower generation and transmission 
facilities. 
(8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 
of California. 
SEC. 4. FEASIBILITY STUDY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 
STATEMENTS. 
(a) COMPLETION OF FINAL FEASIBILITY STUDY.— 
The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, shall— 
(1) complete the final feasibility study described 
in clause (ii)(I) of section 103(d)(1)(A) of Public 
Law 108–361; and 
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(2) submit that study to the appropriate com-
mittees of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate together with the joint environmental impact 
statement and environmental impact report required 
under subsection (d). 
(b) EVALUATION OF NON-FEDERAL PROJECT.—The 
feasibility study shall evaluate the development of the 
Sites Project as a non-Federal project whereby the De-
partment of the Interior may be a participant in the locally 
preferred project in a manner that is consistent with the 
recommendations identified in the final feasibility study. 
(c) LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—If the 
Sites Project is developed as a non-Federal project and 
the Authority’s locally preferred alternative be determined 
in the feasibility study to be the alternative producing the 
highest Regional Economic Development Account benefits, 
the locally preferred alternative shall be the preferred 
project. 
(d) FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 
AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT.—No later than 
16 months after the date that the California Water Com-
mission establishes a Maximum Conditional Eligibility De-
termination for State participation in the Sites Project, 
as required before the Sites Project can be deemed to be 
consistent with and eligible for support from funds derived 
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from the California Water Quality, Supply, and Infra-
structure Improvement Act, approved by California voters 
on November 4, 2014, or November 30, 2019, whichever 
occurs later, the Secretary shall work with the Secretary 
of Commerce, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency Administrator to coordinate 
the efforts of the relevant agencies and work with the 
State, the Authority, and other stakeholders to complete 
and issue the final joint environmental impact statement 
and environmental impact report on the Sites Project. 
(e) REQUIREMENTS OF EXISTING LAW.—Nothing in 
the section affects the requirements of Federal law. 
SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 
103(d)(1)(B) of the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act 
(Public Law 108–361) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as 
clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 
‘‘(ii) 
CONSTRUCTION
AUTHORIZA-
TION.—If the Secretary determines that 
the project described in subparagraph 
(A)(ii)(I) is feasible, the Secretary, in co-
operation with the Authority, may partici-
pate in the design, planning, and construc-
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tion of the Sites Project in a manner that 
is substantially in accordance with the rec-
ommended plan, subject to the conditions 
described in the feasibility study. 
‘‘(iii) FEDERAL
INVESTMENT
IN
A 
NON-FEDERAL SITES PROJECT.—The Sec-
retary shall take such steps as are nec-
essary to ensure that, in return for any 
Federal investment in a non-Federal Sites 
Project, a proportionate share of the 
project’s public benefits are Federal bene-
fits, including water supplies dedicated to 
specific purposes such as environmental 
enhancement and those purposes referred 
to in section 6(c) and 6(d) of the Sac-
ramento Valley Water Storage and Res-
toration Act.’’; and 
(3) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘the project’’ and 
inserting ‘‘a project described in subparagraph 
(A)(ii)(I)’’. 
(b) PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.—At the 
request of the Authority, the Bureau shall enter into a 
project partnership agreement with the Authority for the 
Authority to provide full project management control for 
construction of the Sites Project, or a separable element 
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of the project, in accordance with plans approved by the 
Secretary. 
(c) DETAILED PROJECT SCHEDULE.—Not later than 
180 days after entering into a Project Partnership agree-
ment under subsection (b), the Authority, to the maximum 
extent practicable, shall submit to the Secretary a detailed 
project schedule based on estimated funding levels that 
lists all deadlines for each milestone in the construction 
of the project. 
SEC. 6. NON-FEDERAL PROJECT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of this Act, if at any time the Commissioner deter-
mines and the Secretary concurs that the Sites Project 
can be expedited by the Authority as a non-Federal 
project, and that there is a demonstrable Federal interest 
for the Sites Project to be constructed and operated as 
a non-Federal project, the Commissioner shall take any 
and all actions possible to advance the Sites Project as 
a non-Federal project, including entering into cost-shared 
financial assistance agreements with the Authority to sup-
port the design, planning, and construction of the Sites 
Project as a non-Federal project. 
(b) TITLE; OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.—The 
Authority shall hold title to all new facilities constructed 
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under this section, and shall be solely responsible for the 
operation and maintenance costs of such facilities. 
(c) COORDINATED
OPERATIONS.—The Secretary 
shall execute and implement a long-term agreement be-
tween the United States and the Authority to provide for 
the coordination of operations of the Central Valley 
Project and the Sites Project to— 
(1) satisfy any contracts or cooperative agree-
ments entered into under subsection (d); 
(2) help meet any unmet needs for Sacramento 
Valley in-basin water uses; 
(3) help meet any unmet needs of existing Cen-
tral Valley Project repayment and water service con-
tracts; and 
(4) ensure that any surplus water supplies from 
the Sites Project are put to full and beneficial use. 
(d) CONTRACTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 
The Secretary is authorized to enter into long-term con-
tracts and cooperative agreements with the Authority to 
acquire water supplies made available from the Sites 
Project for the purposes of meeting the requirements 
under section 3406(b)(3) and section 3408(j) of the Cen-
tral Valley Project Improvement Act (Public Law 102– 
575) and such other purposes as the Secretary may deem 
appropriate. 
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SEC. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING. 
With respect to the Sites Project, the Bureau shall— 
(1) be the lead Federal agency for the purposes 
of all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, state-
ments, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci-
sions required under Federal law to allow either the 
Bureau or the Authority to construct the Sites 
Project, including all requirements under— 
(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) any other Federal law applicable to the 
construction of the Sites Project facilities by 
the Bureau or the Authority; and 
(2) take such steps as are necessary to ensure 
that all Federal reviews, analyses, opinions, state-
ments, permits, licenses, or other approvals or deci-
sions required under Federal law to allow either the 
Bureau or the Authority to construct and operate 
the Sites Project are completed on an expeditious 
basis and use the shortest applicable process, and, to 
the maximum extent practicable, are completed not 
later than January 1, 2022, as required by the Cali-
fornia Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure 
Improvement Act, approved by California voters on 
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November 4, 2014, as a condition of State financial 
participation in a project deemed eligible for assist-
ance under the aforementioned Act. 
SEC. 8. COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS. 
Nothing in this Act modifies or alters any obligations 
or requirements under any Federal environmental law, in-
cluding— 
(1) the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 
(2) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 
SEC. 9. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt any 
existing State law, including area of origin and other 
water rights protections. 
Æ 
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