Title: Repurposing Assets to Increase Long-term Water Availability and Yield Act
Policy area: Water Resources Development

Summary:
Repurposing Assets to Increase Long-term Water Availability and Yield Act or the RAILWAY Act
This bill redirects Department of Transportation funds previously intended for high-speed rail development in California to the Department of the Interior. Such funds shall be available for various existing water-storage and wastewater-disposal programs and new water-related grant programs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1600 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1600

      To require that certain funds provided by the Department of 
    Transportation for high-speed rail development in the State of 
California that are rescinded or otherwise reimbursed be made available 
to the Secretary of the Interior for water storage projects, and to the 
Secretary of Agriculture for nitrate contamination reduction grants and 
                     new well construction grants.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2019

   Mr. McCarthy (for himself, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Cook, Mr. Hunter, Mr. 
LaMalfa, Mr. McClintock, and Mr. Nunes) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 
   the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Natural 
 Resources, 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 committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To require that certain funds provided by the Department of 
    Transportation for high-speed rail development in the State of 
California that are rescinded or otherwise reimbursed be made available 
to the Secretary of the Interior for water storage projects, and to the 
Secretary of Agriculture for nitrate contamination reduction grants and 
                     new well construction grants.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Repurposing Assets to Increase Long-
term Water Availability and Yield Act'' or the ``RAILWAY Act''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN FUNDS DEDICATED FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL 
              DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

    (a) Treatment of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other law, the covered 
funds described in subsection (b) shall be immediately deposited as 
follows:
            (1) 90 percent of funds in the Reclamation Water Storage 
        Account which shall be made available to the Secretary of the 
        Interior for water storage projects authorized pursuant to 
        section 4007 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the 
        Nation Act (Public Law 114-322) (43 U.S.C. 390b note).
            (2) 5 percent of funds in the Rural Water and Waste 
        Disposal Program Account which shall be made available to the 
        Secretary of Agriculture for grants under section 306F of the 
        Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
            (3) 5 percent of funds in the Rural Water and Waste 
        Disposal Program Account which shall be made available to the 
        Secretary of Agriculture for grants under section 306G of the 
        Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
    (b) Covered Funds.--The covered funds are the following:
            (1) The Federal funds received by the Department of 
        Transportation as a result of the Department of 
        Transportation's termination and de-obligation of Cooperative 
        Agreement No. FR-HSR-0118-12-01-01 between the Federal Railroad 
        Administration and the California High-Speed Rail Authority, 
        notwithstanding the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public 
        Law 111-117).
            (2) The Federal funds that are recovered by the Department 
        of Transportation relating to Cooperative Agreement No. FR-HSR-
        0009-10-01-06 between the Federal Railroad Administration and 
        the California High-Speed Rail Authority, notwithstanding the 
        American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-
        5).
            (3) Any funds determined to be offsets by the Federal 
        Railroad Administration or the Department of Transportation, 
        consistent with Cooperative Agreement No. FRA-HSR-0009-10-01-
        06.
    (c) Cost Share for Water Storage Projects.--Funds made available 
pursuant this Act shall not count toward the cost-share provisions of 
section 4007 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation 
Act.

SEC. 3. NITRATE CONTAMINATION REDUCTION GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1922-1936c) is amended by inserting after 
section 306E the following:

``SEC. 306F. NITRATE CONTAMINATION REDUCTION GRANTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide grants in accordance 
with this section to public or private nonprofit entities for projects 
designed to reduce the level of nitrates in, or remove nitrates from, 
drinking water in a rural community where the level of nitrates in 
drinking water exceeds applicable Federal or State standards.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--Grants made under this section may be used--
            ``(1) for waterline extensions from existing systems, 
        laying of new waterlines, repairs or maintenance to an existing 
        system, digging of new wells or development of other sources of 
        water designed to replace sources of drinking water with high 
        levels of nitrates, equipment replacement, and hook-up fees; 
        and
            ``(2) in the case of a project designed to benefit a rural 
        community outside the jurisdiction of the grantee, to maintain 
        existing water supplies of the grantee that will be reduced as 
        a result of the project.
    ``(c) Rural Community.--In this section, the term `rural community' 
does not include--
            ``(1) any area in any city or town with a population in 
        excess of 10,000 inhabitants according to the most recent 
        decennial census of the United States; or
            ``(2) any area with a median household income in excess of 
        the State nonmetropolitan median household income.
    ``(d) Full Funding.--Grants under this section shall be made in an 
amount equal to 100 percent of the costs of the projects conducted 
under this section.
    ``(e) Application.--Subsection (h) of section 306A shall apply with 
respect to the administration of applications for grants under this 
section.''.
    (b) Repeal.--Effective 5 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, section 306F of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
Act, as added by the amendment made by subsection (a), is repealed.

SEC. 4. NEW WELL CONSTRUCTION GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1922-1936c) is further amended by inserting 
after section 306F the following:

``SEC. 306G. NEW WELL CONSTRUCTION GRANTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide grants in accordance 
with this section to public or private nonprofit entities for projects 
designed to supply drinking water to rural communities in which a 
significant number of dwellings with private drinking water wells have 
wells that are not producing water.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--Grants made under this section may be used--
            ``(1) for waterline extensions from existing systems, 
        laying of new waterlines, repairs or maintenance to an existing 
        system, digging of new wells or development of other sources of 
        water designed to replace sources of drinking water with high 
        levels of nitrates, equipment replacement, and hook-up fees; 
        and
            ``(2) in the case of a project designed to benefit a rural 
        community outside the jurisdiction of the grantee, to maintain 
        existing water supplies of the grantee that will be reduced as 
        a result of the project.
    ``(c) Rural Community.--In this section, the term `rural community' 
does not include--
            ``(1) any area in any city or town with a population in 
        excess of 10,000 inhabitants according to the most recent 
        decennial census of the United States; or
            ``(2) any area with a median household income in excess of 
        the State nonmetropolitan median household income.
    ``(d) Full Funding.--Grants under this section shall be made in an 
amount equal to 100 percent of the costs of the projects conducted 
under this section.
    ``(e) Application.--Subsection (h) of section 306A shall apply with 
respect to the administration of applications for grants under this 
section.''.
    (b) Repeal.--Effective 5 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, section 306G of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
Act, as added by the amendment made by subsection (a), is repealed.
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