California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2016
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2014-02-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Agricultural conservation and pollution
Agricultural practices and innovations
Appropriations
Aquaculture
Atmospheric science and weather
California
Department of Agriculture
Disaster relief and insurance
Ecology
Emergency planning and evacuation
Endangered and threatened species
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Executive agency funding and structure
Farmland
Fires
Fishes
Forests, forestry, trees
Insects
Lakes and rivers
Licensing and registrations
Livestock
Migrant, seasonal, agricultural labor
Natural disasters
Water resources funding
Water storage
Water use and supply
Watersheds
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2014-02-11
text: 
California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior (Secretaries), in response to the declaration of a state of drought emergency in California, to provide the maximum quantity of water supplies possible to Central Valley Project (CVP) and Klamath Project agricultural, municipal and industrial, and refuge service and repayment contractors, State Water Project contractors, and any other locality or municipality in California by approving, consistent with applicable laws: (1) any project or operations to provide additional water supplies if there is any possible way the Secretaries can do so, unless the project or operations constitute a highly inefficient way of providing additional water supplies; and (2) any projects or operations as quickly as possible based on available information to address the emergency conditions. 
 
Sets forth actions to be taken to increase water supply, including: (1) ensuring that the Delta Cross Channel Gates remain open to the greatest extent possible, (2) requiring the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service to recommend revisions to operations of the CVP and the California State Water Project, (3) adopt a 1:1 inflow to export ratio for the increased flow of the San Joaquin River, (4) require the Director and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation to complete all requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 necessary to make final permit decisions on water transfer requests, and (5) make WaterSMART grant funding administered by the Bureau of Reclamation available for eligible projects on a priority and expedited basis.
 
Authorizes financial assistance under the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 for projects to increase water supply. 
 
Requires federal agency heads to consult with the Council on Environmental Quality to develop alternative arrangements to comply with NEPA.
 
Directs the EPA to prioritize projects under state water pollution control revolving funds to provide water to areas at risk of having an inadequate supply of water for public health and safety purposes. 
 
Requires the Commissioner of Reclamation to provide water supply planning assistance in preparation for and in response to dry, critically dry, and below normal water year types, upon request, to CVP or Klamath Project contractors or other reclamation project contractors in California, including contractors who possess contracts for refuge water supplies or who deliver refuge water supplies. 
 
Reauthorizes: (1) the Calfed Bay-Delta Act, (2) the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991, and (3) the Secure Water Act. 
 
Amends the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to take actions to reduce water consumption or demand or to restore ecosystems in the Klamath Basin watershed, including tribal fishery resources held in trust. 
 
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture emergency supplemental appropriations to provide: (1) drought assistance to agricultural producers and for mitigation activities related to drought and wildfire hazards, (2) emergency community water assistance grants to address impacts of drought, and (3) grants to assist low-income migrant and seasonal farm workers affected by drought and for forest restoration.
 
Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to expand federal emergency assistance to provide for disaster unemployment, emergency nutrition, and crisis counseling assistance.
 
Designates this Act as an emergency requirement for budgetary purposes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-02-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S893-896)
action_date: 2014-02-11
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S891-892)
action_date: 2014-02-11
text: Introduced in Senate