In the Senate of the United States,
April 13, 2000.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 1444) entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to plan, design, and construct fish screens,
fish passage devices, and related features to mitigate adverse
impacts associated with irrigation system water diversions by
local governmental entities in the States of Oregon, Wash-
ington, Montana, Idaho, and California.’’, do pass with the
following
AMENDMENTS:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Irrigation Mitigation
and Restoration Partnership Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) PACIFIC OCEAN DRAINAGE AREA.—The term
‘‘Pacific Ocean drainage area’’ means the area com-
prised of portions of the States of Oregon, Wash-
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ington, Montana, and Idaho from which water drains
into the Pacific Ocean.
(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means the
Irrigation Mitigation and Restoration Partnership
Program established by section 3(a).
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Irriga-
tion Mitigation and Restoration Partnership Program
within the Department of the Interior.
(b) GOALS.—The goals of the Program are—
(1) to decrease fish mortality associated with the
withdrawal of water for irrigation and other purposes
without impairing the continued withdrawal of water
for those purposes; and
(2) to decrease the incidence of juvenile and
adult fish entering water supply systems.
(c) IMPACTS ON FISHERIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the Program, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the heads of other appro-
priate agencies, shall develop and implement projects
to mitigate impacts to fisheries resulting from the
construction and operation of water diversions by
local governmental entities, including water and soil
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conservation districts, in the Pacific Ocean drainage
area.
(2) TYPES OF PROJECTS.—Projects eligible under
the Program may include the development, improve-
ment, or installation of—
(A) fish screens;
(B) fish passage devices;
(C) other facilities agreed to by non-Federal
interests, relevant Federal and tribal agencies,
and affected States; and
(D) inventories by the States on the need
and priority for projects described in subpara-
graphs (A) through (C).
(3) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority
to any project that has a total cost of less than
$5,000,000.
SEC. 4. PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM.
(a) NON-FEDERAL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Non-Federal participation in
the Program shall be voluntary.
(2) FEDERAL ACTION.—The Secretary shall take
no action that would result in any non-Federal entity
being held financially responsible for any action
under the Program, unless the entity applies to par-
ticipate in the Program.
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(b) FEDERAL.—Development and implementation of
projects under the Program on land or facilities owned by
the United States shall be nonreimbursable Federal expendi-
tures.
SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS.
Evaluation and prioritization of projects for develop-
ment under the Program shall be conducted on the basis
of—
(1) benefits to fish species native to the project
area, particularly to species that are listed as being,
or considered by Federal or State authorities to be,
endangered, threatened, or sensitive;
(2) the size and type of water diversion;
(3) the availability of other funding sources;
(4) cost effectiveness; and
(5) additional opportunities for biological or
water delivery system benefits.
SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A project carried out under the
Program shall not be eligible for funding unless—
(1) the project meets the requirements of the Sec-
retary, as applicable, and any applicable State re-
quirements; and
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(1) NON-FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The non-
Federal participants in any project carried out under
the Program on land or at a facility that is not
owned by the United States shall be responsible for all
costs associated with operating, maintaining, repair-
ing, rehabilitating, and replacing the project.
(2) FEDERAL
RESPONSIBILITY.—The Federal
Government shall be responsible for costs referred to
in paragraph (1) for projects carried out on Federal
land or at a Federal facility.
SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING.
A project that receives funds under this Act shall be
ineligible to receive Federal funds from any other source
for the same purpose.
SEC. 9. REPORT.
On the expiration of the third fiscal year for which
amounts are made available to carry out this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a report describing—
(1) the projects that have been completed under
this Act;
(2) the projects that will be completed with
amounts made available under this Act during the re-
maining fiscal years for which amounts are author-
ized to be appropriated under section 10; and
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(3) recommended changes to the Program as a
result of projects that have been carried out under this
Act.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act $25,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2001 through 2005.
(b) LIMITATIONS.—
(1) SINGLE STATE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), not more than 25 percent of
the total amount of funds made available under
this section may be used for 1 or more projects
in any single State.
(B) WAIVER.—On notification to Congress,
the Secretary may waive the limitation under
subparagraph (A) if a State is unable to use the
entire amount of funding made available to the
State under this Act.
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than
6 percent of the funds authorized under this section
for any fiscal year may be used for Federal adminis-
trative expenses of carrying out this Act.
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to authorize
the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to
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plan, design, and construct facilities to mitigate impacts
associated with irrigation system water diversions by local
governmental entities in the Pacific Ocean drainage of
the States of Oregon, Washington, Montana, and
Idaho.’’.
Attest:
Secretary.