108TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 135
AN ACT
To establish the ‘‘Twenty-First Century Water Commission’’
to study and develop recommendations for a comprehen-
sive water strategy to address future water needs.
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 ‘‘Twenty-First Century
Water Commission Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the Nation’s water resources will be under
increasing stress and pressure in the coming dec-
ades;
(2) a thorough assessment of technological and
economic advances that can be employed to increase
water supplies or otherwise meet water needs in
every region of the country is important and long
overdue; and
(3) a comprehensive strategy to increase water
availability and ensure safe, adequate, reliable, and
sustainable water supplies is vital to the economic
and environmental future of the Nation.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.
There is established a commission to be known as the
‘‘Twenty-First Century Water Commission’’ (in this Act
referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).
SEC. 4. DUTIES.
The duties of the Commission shall be to—
(1) use existing water assessments and conduct
such additional assessments as may be necessary to
project future water supply and demand;
(2) study current water management programs
of Federal, Interstate, State, and local agencies, and
private sector entities directed at increasing water
supplies and improving the availability, reliability,
and quality of freshwater resources; and
(3) consult with representatives of such agen-
cies and entities to develop recommendations con-
sistent with laws, treaties, decrees, and interstate
compacts for a comprehensive water strategy
which—
(A) respects the primary role of States in
adjudicating, administering, and regulating
water rights and water uses;
(B) identifies incentives intended to ensure
an adequate and dependable supply of water to
meet the needs of the United States for the
next 50 years;
(C) suggests strategies that avoid in-
creased mandates on State and local govern-
ments;
(D) eliminates duplication and conflict
among Federal governmental programs;
(E) considers all available technologies and
other methods to optimize water supply reli-
ability, availability, and quality, while safe-
guarding the environment;
(F) recommends means of capturing excess
water and flood water for conservation and use
in the event of a drought;
(G) suggests financing options for com-
prehensive water management projects and for
appropriate public works projects;
(H) suggests strategies to conserve existing
water supplies, including recommendations for
repairing aging infrastructure; and
(I) includes other objectives related to the
effective management of the water supply to en-
sure reliability, availability, and quality, which
the Commission shall consider appropriate.
SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.
(a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission
shall be composed of 9 members who shall be appointed
not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act. Member shall be appointed as follows:
(1) 5 members appointed by the President;
(2) 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, in consultation with the
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives;
and