I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4712 
To promote desalination project development and drought resilience, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 27, 2021 
Mr. LEVIN of California (for himself and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, 
and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To promote desalination project development and drought 
resilience, 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 ‘‘Desalination Develop-
ment Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DESALINATION PROJECTS AUTHORIZATION. 
Section 4(a) of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 
(42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298) is amended 
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by striking the second paragraph (1) (relating to projects) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE DESALINA-
TION PROJECT.—In this paragraph, the term 
‘eligible desalination project’ means any project 
located in a Reclamation State that— 
‘‘(i) involves an ocean or brackish 
water desalination facility— 
‘‘(I) constructed, operated, and 
maintained by a State, Indian Tribe, 
irrigation district, water district, or 
other organization with water or 
power delivery authority; or 
‘‘(II) sponsored or funded by any 
State, department of a State, subdivi-
sion of a State, or public agency orga-
nized pursuant to State law, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(aa) direct sponsorship or 
funding; or 
‘‘(bb) indirect sponsorship or 
funding, such as by paying for 
the water provided by the facility; 
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‘‘(ii) provides a Federal benefit in ac-
cordance with the reclamation laws; and 
‘‘(iii) is consistent with all applicable 
State and Federal resource protection laws 
including the protection of marine pro-
tected areas. 
‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF DESIGNATED DESALI-
NATION
PROJECT.—The term ‘designated de-
salination project’ means an eligible desalina-
tion project that— 
‘‘(i) is an ocean desalination project 
that uses a subsurface intake; 
‘‘(ii) has a total estimated cost of 
$80,000,000 or less; and 
‘‘(iii) is designed to serve a commu-
nity or group of communities that collec-
tively import more than 75 percent of their 
water supplies. 
‘‘(C) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the re-
quirements of this paragraph, the Federal 
share of an eligible desalination project 
carried out under this subsection shall 
be— 
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‘‘(I) not more than 25 percent of 
the total cost of the eligible desalina-
tion project; or 
‘‘(II) in the case of a designated 
desalination project, the applicable 
percentage determined in accordance 
with clause (ii). 
‘‘(ii) COST-SHARING
REQUIREMENT 
FOR CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—In the case 
of a designated desalination project carried 
out under this subsection, the Federal 
share of the cost of construction of the 
designated desalination project shall not 
exceed the greater of— 
‘‘(I) 35 percent of the total cost 
of construction, up to a Federal cost 
of $20,000,000; or 
‘‘(II) 25 percent of the total cost 
of construction. 
‘‘(D) STATE ROLE.—Participation by the 
Secretary in an eligible desalination project 
under this paragraph shall not occur unless— 
‘‘(i)(I) the eligible desalination project 
is included in a State-approved plan; or 
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‘‘(II) the participation has been re-
quested by the Governor of the State in 
which the eligible desalination project is lo-
cated; and 
‘‘(ii) the State or local sponsor of the 
eligible desalination project determines, 
and the Secretary concurs, that— 
‘‘(I) 
the 
eligible 
desalination 
project— 
‘‘(aa) is technically and fi-
nancially feasible; 
‘‘(bb) provides a Federal 
benefit in accordance with the 
reclamation laws; and 
‘‘(cc) is consistent with ap-
plicable State laws, State regula-
tions, State coastal zone manage-
ment plans and other State plans 
such as California’s Water Qual-
ity Control Plan for the Ocean 
Waters in California; 
‘‘(II) sufficient non-Federal fund-
ing is available to complete the eligible 
desalination project; and 
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‘‘(III) the eligible desalination 
project sponsors are financially sol-
vent; and 
‘‘(iii) the Secretary submits to Con-
gress a written notification of the deter-
minations under clause (ii) by not later 
than 30 days after the date of the deter-
minations. 
‘‘(E) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—In partici-
pating in an eligible desalination project under 
this paragraph, the Secretary shall comply with 
all applicable environmental laws, including, but 
not limited to, the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 
State laws implementing the Coastal Zone Man-
agement Act. 
‘‘(F) INFORMATION.—In participating in 
an eligible desalination project under this sub-
section, the Secretary— 
‘‘(i) may rely on reports prepared by 
the sponsor of the eligible desalination 
project, including feasibility or equivalent 
studies, environmental analyses, and other 
pertinent reports and analyses; but 
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‘‘(ii) shall retain responsibility for 
making the independent determinations de-
scribed in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(G) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this paragraph 
$260,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 
2020 through 2024. 
‘‘(ii) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL INI-
TIALLY REQUIRED.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each initial 
award under this paragraph for de-
sign and study or for construction of 
an eligible desalination project shall 
be approved by an Act of Congress. 
‘‘(II) 
RECLAMATION
REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—The Commissioner 
of Reclamation shall submit rec-
ommendations regarding the initial 
award of preconstruction and con-
struction funding for consideration 
under subclause (I) to— 
‘‘(aa) the Committee on Ap-
propriations of the Senate; 
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‘‘(bb) the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate; 
‘‘(cc) the Committee on Ap-
propriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives; and 
‘‘(dd) the Committee on 
Natural Resources of the House 
of Representatives. 
‘‘(iii) 
SUBSEQUENT
FUNDING 
AWARDS.—After approval by Congress of 
an initial award of preconstruction or con-
struction funding for an eligible desalina-
tion project under clause (ii), the Commis-
sioner of Reclamation may award addi-
tional 
preconstruction 
or 
construction 
funding, respectively, for the eligible desali-
nation project without further congres-
sional approval.’’. 
SEC. 3. PRIORITIZATION FOR PROJECTS. 
Section 4 of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 (42 
U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298) is amended by 
striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(c) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out demonstra-
tion and development activities under this section, the Sec-
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retary and the Commissioner of Reclamation shall each 
prioritize projects— 
‘‘(1) for the benefit of drought-stricken States 
and communities; 
‘‘(2) for the benefit of States that have author-
ized funding for research and development of desali-
nation technologies and projects; 
‘‘(3) that demonstrably reduce a reliance on im-
ported water supplies that have an impact on species 
listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 
‘‘(4) that, in a measurable and verifiable man-
ner, reduce a reliance on imported water supplies 
from imperiled ecosystems such as the Sacramento- 
San Joaquin River Delta; 
‘‘(5) that demonstrably leverage the experience 
of international partners with considerable expertise 
in desalination, such as the State of Israel; 
‘‘(6) that maximize use of renewable energy to 
power desalination facilities; 
‘‘(7) that maximize energy efficiency so that the 
lifecycle energy demands of desalination are mini-
mized; 
‘‘(8) located in regions that have employed 
strategies to increase water conservation and the 
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capture and recycling of wastewater and stormwater; 
and 
‘‘(9) that meet the following criteria if they are 
ocean desalination facilities— 
‘‘(A) utilize a subsurface intake or, if a 
subsurface intake is not technologically feasible, 
an intake that uses the best available site, de-
sign, technology, and mitigation measures to 
minimize the mortality of all forms of marine 
life and impacts to coastal dependent resources; 
‘‘(B) are sited and designed to ensure that 
the disposal of wastewaters including brine 
from the desalination process— 
‘‘(i) are not discharged to impaired 
bodies of water, or State or Federal Ma-
rine Protected Areas; and 
‘‘(ii) achieve ambient salinity levels 
within a reasonable distance from the dis-
charge point; 
‘‘(C) are sited, designed, and operated in a 
manner that maintains indigenous marine life 
and a healthy and diverse marine community; 
‘‘(D) do not cause significant unmitigated 
harm to aquatic life; and 
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‘‘(E) include a construction and operation 
plan designed to minimize loss of coastal habi-
tat as well as aesthetic, noise, and air quality 
impacts.’’. 
SEC. 4. RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONGRESS. 
In determining project recommendations to Congress 
under section 4(a)(2)(F)(ii)(II) of the Water Desalination 
Act of 1996, the Commissioner of Reclamation shall estab-
lish a priority scoring system that assigns priority scores 
to each project evaluated based on the prioritization cri-
teria of section 4(c) of the Water Desalination Act of 1996 
(42 U.S.C. 10301 note; Public Law 104–298). 
Æ 
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