zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Authorizes any landowner within the Northport Irrigation District in Nebraska to repay, at any time, the construction costs of project facilities allocated to the landowner's land within the District. Provides that upon discharge in full of the obligation for repayment of all such costs, the land shall not be subject to the ownership and full-cost pricing limitations under the reclamation laws. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, upon request, to provide to the landowner who has repaid such costs in full a certificate acknowledging that the landholding is free of such limitations.

Date: 2014-06-26
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Columbia River Basin Restoration Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a Columbia River Basin Restoration Program to reduce toxic contamination and clean up contaminated sites. Requires the program to be collaborative and stakeholder-based.

Requires the EPA to: (1) assess trends in water quality and toxic contamination or toxics reduction; (2) collect, characterize and assess data on toxics and water quality to identify possible causes of environmental problems; (3) update the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Plan (Action Plan) and the Estuary Partnership Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (Estuary Plan) and ensure that the plans form a coherent toxic contamination reduction strategy; and (4) provide technical assistance in implementing and updating the Action Plan.

Directs the EPA to establish a Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Working Group to: (1) participate in developing updates to the Action Plan, (2) recommend and prioritize projects and actions for the Action Plan, and (3) review progress made.

Requires the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership to perform those duties and fulfill those responsibilities of the Working Group relating to the Lower Columbia River Estuary.

Requires the EPA to establish a Columbia River Basin toxics grant program to provide funding to develop or implement projects to implement the Action Plan and the Estuary Plan.

Date: 2014-07-28
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Environmental protection
Klamath Basin Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act of 2014 - Ratifies the Hydroelectric Settlement (Settlement), the Klamath River Basin Restoration Agreement for the Sustainability of Public and Trust Resources and Affected Communities (Restoration Agreement), and the Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement (Upper Basin Agreement), except as modified by this Act.

Lists the Klamath Reclamation Project's authorized purposes. Prohibits water allocations for fish, wildlife, and National Wildlife Refuges purposes from adversely affecting water allocations for irrigation purposes, with the exception of allocations to refuges as provided for in the Restoration Agreement.

Provides for the disposition of net revenues from the leasing of refuge land within the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.

Authorizes the release of specified water rights claims against the United States by the Klamath Tribe, the Karuk Tribe, and the Yurok Tribe.

Amends the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain water, power, and ecosystem restoration programs that are consistent with the Agreements.

Establishes in the Treasury the Klamath Tribes Tribal Resource Fund.

Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) removing the Iron Gate Dam, the Copco No. 1 Dam, the Copco No. 2 Dam, and the J.C. Boyle Dam; (2) transferring the Keno Dam to the United States; (3) surrendering the East Side and West Side Developments associated with the Link River Dam; (4) relicensing PacifiCorp's Fall Creek Dam; and (5) transferring the title of the Iron Gate Hatchery from PacifiCorp to California.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies to earn income from dispositions of certain real property and stock interests without affecting their tax-exempt status. Requires that such income be used to pay the costs of operations, maintenance, and capital improvements of such a company.

Date: 2014-07-31
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the Inland Waterways Trust Fund financing rate to 29 cents per gallon.

Date: 2014-11-20
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Taxation
Local Organization Cooperative Agreement for Land and Facility Maintenance Act of 2015 or the LOCAL Act of 2015 - Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to permit a non-federal public or private entity that has entered into a cooperative agreement for the operation and management of recreation facilities and natural resources at civil works projects under the Secretary's jurisdiction to collect user fees for the use of developed recreation sites and facilities, whether developed or constructed by such entity or the Department of the Army.

Permits such an entity to retain up to 100% of the fees collected and use them for operation, maintenance, and management at the recreation site where they were collected.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to carry out the project for environmental restoration, CERP, Central Everglades Planning Project, Florida, in accordance with the plans and subject to the conditions recommended in the final report of the Chief of Engineers signed on December 23, 2014.

Date: 2015-01-08
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Environmental protection
Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to deauthorize the Ten Mile Creek Water Preserve Area Critical Restoration Project upon execution of a transfer agreement between the Secretary of the Army and the South Florida Water Management District, under which the District shall operate the transferred project as an environmental restoration project to provide water storage and water treatment options.

Date: 2015-01-08
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Authorizes any landowner within the Northport Irrigation District in Nebraska to repay, at any time, the construction costs of project facilities allocated to the landowner's land within the District. Provides that upon discharge in full of the obligation for repayment of all such costs, the parcels of land shall not be subject to the ownership and full-cost pricing limitations under federal reclamation law. Directs the Department of the Interior, upon request, to provide to the landowner who has repaid such costs in full a certificate acknowledging that the landholding is free of such limitations.

Date: 2015-01-16
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Northern Virginia Metrorail Extension Act

 Authorizes project development for specified Metrorail new fixed guideway capital projects in Virginia.

Date: 2015-02-05
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Fixing Operations of Reservoirs to Encompass Climatic and Atmospheric Science Trends Act or the FORECAST Act 

Requires the Secretary of the Army, not later than one year after a request of a nonfederal sponsor of a reservoir, to review operation of such reservoir, including the water control manual and rule curves, using improved weather forecasts and run-off forecasting methods, including the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction System of the National Weather Service and the Hydrometeorology Testbed program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Requires the Secretary to determine if a change in operations will improve core functions of the Army Corps of Engineers, including: (1) reducing risks to human life, public safety, and property; (2) reducing the need for future disaster relief; (3) improving local water storage capability and reliability in coordination with the nonfederal sponsor and other water users; (4) restoring, protecting, or mitigating the impacts of a water resources development project on the environment; or (5) improving fish species habitat or population within the boundaries and downstream of a water resources project.

Requires that if the Secretary determines from results of the review that using improved weather and run-off forecasting methods improves one or more core functions of the Corps at a reservoir, the Secretary shall incorporate such changes in its operation and update the water control manual.

Date: 2015-02-09
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Sacramento Valley Water Storage and Restoration Act of 2015

 Directs the Department of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to: (1) finalize and publish in the Federal Register the feasibility study authorized in the Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Improvement Act, for enlargement of the Los Vaqueros Reservoir in Contra Costa County, California; (2) work with the Department of Commerce, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency, by June 30, 2015, to coordinate the efforts of the relevant agencies and work with the state of California, the Sites Project Authority, and other stakeholders to complete and issue the final joint environmental impact statement and report on the Sites Project (the Sites Reservoir in Glenn and Colusa Counties, California, and related facilities, including associated water conveyance and hydropower generation and transmission facilities); and (3) enter into agreements with the Authority to carry out such work as the Bureau and the Authority mutually agree is appropriate to ensure that all studies and environmental reviews are completed on an expeditious basis and that the shortest applicable process under the National Environmental Policy Act is utilized, including in the completion of the final feasibility study and final joint environmental impact statement and report on the Sites Project.

Amends the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act to: (1) authorize construction of the Sites Reservoir in Colusa County if Interior determines that the project is feasible; and (2) direct the Bureau, at the Authority's request, to enter into a project partnership agreement for the Authority to provide full project management control for construction of the Sites Project, or a separable element of the Project, in accordance with plans approved by Interior.

Authorizes and directs: (1) the Bureau to advance the Sites Project as a non-federal project if the Bureau determines and Interior concurs that the Project can be expedited by the Authority as a non-federal project and that there is a demonstrable federal interest for the Project to be constructed and operated as a non-federal project, and (2) Interior to execute and implement a long-term agreement with the Authority for the coordination of operations of the Central Valley Project and the Sites Project.

Directs the Bureau to: (1) be the lead federal agency for the purposes of all federal reviews, analyses, opinions, statements, permits, licenses, or other approvals or decisions required under federal law to allow either the Bureau or the Authority to construct the Sites Project; and (2) take such steps as necessary to ensure that all such reviews, approvals, or decisions required to allow either the Bureau or the Authority to construct the Sites Project are completed on an expeditious basis and utilize the shortest applicable process.

Date: 2015-02-25
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act

(Sec. 4) This bill directs the Department of the Interior to submit to Congress, make publicly available, and biennially update an Asset Management Report that describes the Bureau of Reclamation's efforts to maintain in a reliable manner all reserved works (buildings, structures, facilities, or equipment owned by the Bureau for which operations and maintenance are performed by Bureau employees or through a contract with the Bureau) at Reclamation facilities (infrastructure assets that are owned by the Bureau at each Reclamation project owned by the Bureau) and to standardize and streamline data reporting and processes across regions and areas for the purpose of maintaining such works.

Such Report must include: (1) a detailed assessment of major repair and rehabilitation needs for all such works; and (2) an itemized list of major repair and rehabilitation needs of individual Reclamation facilities at each Reclamation project, including a budget level cost estimate of appropriations needed to complete each item and an assignment of a categorical rating for each item consistent with existing uniform categorization systems to inform the annual budget process and agency requirements.

Interior may exclude from the public version of the Report any information that it identifies as sensitive or classified, but shall make available to specified congressional committees a version of the report containing the sensitive or classified information.

(Sec. 5) Interior must: (1) coordinate with the non-federal entities responsible for the operation and maintenance of transferred works (Reclamation facilities at which operations and maintenance are carried out by a non-federal entity under a formal agreement with the Bureau) in developing reporting requirements for Asset Management Reports regarding major repair and rehabilitation needs for transferred works, and (2) develop and implement a categorical rating system for transferred works that incorporates the rating system for major repair and rehabilitation needs for reserved works.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to remove the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the specification, or restrict the use, of an area as a disposal site for discharges of dredged or fill materials into waters of the United States once the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit for the discharge.

The bill applies to discharge permits issued: (1) after this bill's enactment, and (2) on or before enactment if the EPA failed to submit to the Army Corps a written objection to the permit prior to the Army Corps' issuance of the permit.

Date: 2015-03-02
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Health
Directs the Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers to revise the Missouri Mainstem Reservoir System Master Water Control Manual and any related regulations to delete fish and wildlife as an authorized purpose of the Corps and elevate flood control as the highest priority of authorized purposes of the Corps at all times.

Date: 2015-03-16
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Drought Resilience Investment Act of 2015

Amends the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 to exempt a water resources infrastructure project receiving federal credit assistance under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, that is carried out in a state during any period in which a state of drought declaration issued by the state's governor is in effect, from the prohibition against being financed with proceeds of any: (1) obligation that is tax exempt; or (2) qualified tax credit bond or a Build America Bond.

Specifies that a state of drought declaration shall remain in effect until the date on which the governor rescinds the declaration.

Terminates this Act on September 30, 2018.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2015

Requires the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to establish a nonregulatory Delaware River Basin restoration program, under which it shall: (1) draw on management plans for the Basin or portions of the Basin and work in consultation with applicable management entities, including representatives of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, the Delaware River Basin Commission, the federal government, other state and local governments, and regional and nonprofit organizations, to identify, prioritize, and implement restoration and protection activities within the Basin; (2) adopt a Basin-wide strategy that supports the implementation of a shared set of science-based restoration and protection activities, targets cost-effective projects with measurable results, and maximizes conservation outcomes with no net gain of federal full-time equivalent employees; and (3) establish voluntary grant and technical assistance programs in accordance with this Act.

Defines "Basin" as the four-state Delaware Basin region, including all of Delaware Bay and portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania located in the Delaware River watershed.

Requires the USFWS to: (1) establish the Delaware River Basin restoration grant program to provide competitive matching grants to carry out restoration and protection activities within the Basin, and (2) develop criteria for such grant program to ensure that funded activities accomplish specified purposes and advance the implementation of priority actions or needs identified in the strategy adopted under this Act.

Authorizes the USFWS to contract with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or another organization that offers grant management services.

Date: 2015-04-14
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure Act of 2015

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide grants to eligible higher education institutions and research institutions to establish and maintain between three and five centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control infrastructure, which is any stormwater management technique that: (1) uses natural systems or engineered systems that mimic natural processes to infiltrate, evapotranspire, or capture stormwater; and (2) preserves, enhances, or mimics natural hydrology to protect or restore water quality. One of the centers must be the national electronic clearinghouse center and operate a website and a public database on the infrastructure.

The EPA must: (1) provide grants to eligible entities that manage stormwater, water resources, or wastewater resources to carry out innovative stormwater control infrastructure projects; and (2) give priority to applications from a community that has combined storm and sanitary sewers in its collection system or is low-income or disadvantaged, or from an eligible entity that will use at least 10% of the grant for a low-income or disadvantaged community.

The EPA must ensure that: (1) EPA's Office of Water, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Office of Research and Development, and Office of Policy promote the use of the infrastructure in, and coordinate its integration into, permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance; and (2) the Office of Water supports establishing innovative financing mechanisms in the implementation of the infrastructure. The EPA must: (1) direct each EPA regional office to promote and integrate the use of the infrastructure within the region, and (2) promote sharing information about the infrastructure approaches.

The EPA must establish the innovative stormwater control infrastructure portfolio standard of voluntary, measurable goals to increase the percentage of annual water managed by entities that use the infrastructure.

Date: 2015-04-14
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Environmental protection
Water Rights Protection Act

 Prohibits the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture from:

 conditioning or withholding the issuance, renewal, amendment, or extension of any permit, approval, license, lease, allotment, easement, right-of-way, or other land use or occupancy agreement (permit) on the limitation or encumbrance of any water right or the transfer of any water right to the United States or any other designee, or any other impairment of any water right under state law by federal or state action; requiring any water user (including a federally recognized Indian tribe) to apply for or acquire a water right in the name of the United States under state law as a condition of such a permit; asserting jurisdiction over groundwater withdrawals or impacts on groundwater resources, unless consistent with state groundwater resource laws, regulations, and policies; or infringing on the rights and obligations of a state in evaluating, allocating, and adjudicating state waters originating on or under, or flowing from, land owned or managed by the federal government.

Date: 2015-04-16
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Directs the Department of the Interior to: (1) enter into negotiations for the transfer of ownership, control, and operation of the New Melones Unit, Central Valley Project to interested local water and power providers within California; (2) report to specified congressional committees every six months on such negotiations, on actions Interior recommends the United States take to finalize an agreement for such transfer, and on the terms of any agreement reached; and (3) transfer such Unit in accordance with such an agreement.

Defines: (1) the "New Melones Unit, Central Valley Project" to mean all federal reclamation projects located within or diverting water from or to the watershed of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers and their tributaries; and (2) "interested local water and power providers" to include the Calaveras County Water District, Central San Joaquin Water Conservation District, Modesto Irrigation District, Oakdale Irrigation District, Stockton East Water District, South San Joaquin Irrigation District, Tuolumne Utilities District, Turlock Irrigation District, and Union Public Utilities District.

Date: 2015-04-29
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Directs the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Oakdale and South San Joaquin Irrigation Districts in California (the districts) to jointly develop and conduct a pilot program to remove non-native striped bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black bass, and other non-native predator fish from the Stanislaus River. Requires the program to: (1) be scientifically based; (2) include methods to quantify the number and size of predator fish removed each year, the impact of such removal on the overall abundance of predator fish, and the impact of such removal on the populations of certain juvenile anadromous fish found in the Stanislaus River; and (3) be implemented for seven consecutive years.

Requires the districts to be responsible for the cost of such program. Authorizes the Service to accept and use contributions of funds from the districts to carry out activities under the program.

Directs: (1) the Service to post, each month, on its Internet website a tabular summary of the raw data collected under the program in the preceding month; and (2) the Service and the districts, by June 30 of the year following the completion of the program, to jointly submit for peer review a report that discusses program's findings and conclusions, synthesizes the data collected, and makes recommendations for further study and action.

Voids and preempts any California legal restriction imposed on, or the permitting of, the catch, take, or harvest of any non-native or introduced aquatic or terrestrial species that preys upon specified stocks of anadromous fish and that occupies or is found in the Stanislaus River.

Date: 2015-04-29
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Animals
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on March 14, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

(Sec. 1) This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the state of Wyoming, to amend the Definite Plan Report for the Seedskadee Project authorized under the Colorado River Storage Project Act to provide for the study, design, planning, and construction activities that will enable the use of all active storage capacity of Fontenelle Dam and Reservoir, including the placement of sufficient riprap on the upstream face of the Dam to allow such storage capacity to be used for authorized Project purposes.

Interior may enter into: (1) any contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement that is necessary to carry out this Act; and (2) contracts with Wyoming for division of any additional active capacity made available under this Act.

Interior shall enter into a cooperative agreement with Wyoming for planning, design, related preconstruction activities, and construction of any modification of the Fontenelle Dam under this Act, which shall specify the responsibilities of Interior and Wyoming regarding: (1) completing the planning and final design of such modification, (2) any environmental and cultural resource compliance activities required for such modification, and (3) the construction of such modification. As a condition of providing additional storage, Wyoming shall provide to Interior funds for any work carried out to do so.

Date: 2015-05-12
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Columbia River Basin Restoration Act of 2015

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a Columbia River Basin Restoration Program to reduce toxic contamination and clean up contaminated sites. The program must be collaborative and stakeholder-based.

The EPA must: (1) assess trends in water quality and toxic contamination or toxics reduction; (2) collect, characterize and assess data on toxics and water quality to identify possible causes of environmental problems; (3) update the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Plan (Action Plan) and the Estuary Partnership Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (Estuary Plan) and ensure that the plans form a coherent toxic contamination reduction strategy; and (4) provide technical assistance in implementing and updating the Action Plan.

The EPA must establish a Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Working Group to: (1) participate in developing updates to the Action Plan, (2) recommend and prioritize projects and actions for the Action Plan, and (3) review progress made.

The Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership has to perform those duties and fulfill those responsibilities of the Working Group relating to the Lower Columbia River Estuary.

The EPA must establish a Columbia River Basin toxics grant program to provide funding to develop or implement projects to implement the Action Plan and the Estuary Plan.

Date: 2015-05-20
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Environmental protection
Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2015

 Amends the National Dam Safety Program Act to require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a program to provide grant assistance to states for use in rehabilitating publicly-owned dams that fail to meet minimum safety standards of the state or an Indian tribe and pose an unacceptable risk to the public (deficient dams).

Sets forth provisions regarding procedures for grant awards and fund allocation. Requires FEMA to: (1) require a state to provide an assurance that the owner of the dam to be rehabilitated has developed and will carry out a maintenance plan during the expected life of the dam, (2) require a recipient of a grant under this Act to comply with requirements applicable to contributions of federal funds under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and (3) develop a risk-based priority system for identifying deficient dams for which such grants may be made. Limits the federal share of rehabilitation costs to 75%.

Prohibits grant funds from being used to: (1) rehabilitate a federal dam, (2) perform routine operation or maintenance, (3) modify a dam to produce hydroelectric power, (4) increase water supply storage capacity, or (5) make any other modification that does not also improve dam safety.

Conditions the receipt of grants by a state upon the state following specified requirements applicable to contracts for architectural and engineering services when entering into contracts for services relating to dam rehabilitation. Provides that such contracts shall not be considered to confer a proprietary interest upon the United States.

Prohibits funds from being obligated for a project under this Act unless the steel, iron, and manufactured goods used for the project are produced in the United States. Authorizes waivers.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Directs the Department of the Army to operate the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint federal water resources projects on the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint Rivers in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia in a manner that ensures the maintenance of freshwater flows.

Defines "freshwater flows" to mean the quality, quantity, timing, and variability of freshwater flows required to: (1) support and reestablish the ecological integrity of the rivers, commercial and recreational fisheries dependent on freshwater flows into Apalachicola Bay and adjacent waters, and thriving and diverse fish, wildlife, and plant populations having species composition, diversity, adaptability, and functional organization similar to those found prior to construction of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint projects; (2) restore and recover species that are endangered, threatened, or at risk; and (3) prevent significantly harmful adverse impacts to the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola River ecosystems.

Requires the Army to: (1) complete the ongoing revision of the water control manuals for such projects and issue revised manuals that ensure the maintenance of freshwater flows; (2) ensure that operational modifications needed to maintain freshwater flows are achieved while providing system-wide balance in conservation storage through the maintenance of water levels within the same action zone for each of the project reservoirs; (3) enter into an arrangement for the National Academy of Sciences to carry out an independent peer review of each revised manual; and (4) obtain written approval from the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey of each manual developed before a final manual may be issued.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Dams Accountability, Maintenance, and Safety Act

Amends the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 to authorize the Department of the Interior, subject to a feasibility study, to develop additional project benefits (including additional conservation storage capacity) through the construction of new or supplementary works when it exercises its authority to modify Bureau of Reclamation dams and related facilities to preserve their structural safety, provided that: (1) the additional project benefits will promote more efficient management of water and water-related facilities, (2) the feasibility study is authorized under the Federal Water Project Recreation Act of 1965, and (3) the costs are allocated to the authorized purposes of the structure and repaid consistent with federal reclamation law.

Date: 2015-06-12
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 8, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.) (Sec. 2) Directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, using available funds, to develop a Veterans' Curation Program to hire veterans and members of the Armed Forces to assist in carrying out curation and historic preservation activities.

Date: 2015-07-20
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Waterway Safety Improvement Act of 2015

This bill amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to authorize the Department of the Army to make modifications to deep-draft, high-commercial-use channels, including bends and entrances, as necessary to ensure safe navigation and efficient operations of such channels without regard to provisions of such Act regarding the maximum cost of water resources development and conservation projects.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Timely Permitting Accessibility Act 

This bill amends the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to accept and expend funds contributed by a private entity to expedite the evaluation of a permit of that entity related to a project or activity for a public purpose under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army.

A "private entity" includes a business association, a cooperative of businesses, associations, or individuals.

Such authority expires 10 years after enactment of this Act. The Government Accountability Office is required, within 7 years after enactment of this Act, to carry out a study of the implementation of such authority.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
WIFIA Improvement Act

This bill amends the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 to repeal provisions prohibiting any project receiving federal credit assistance under such Act from being financed from the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds.

Date: 2015-10-16
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Clean Water for Rural Communities Act

 This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to carry out the projects entitled: (1) the "Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority System," in accordance with the Dry-Redwater Regional Water System Feasibility Study, which received funding from the Bureau of Reclamation on September 1, 2010; and (2) the "Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System," in accordance with the Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System Feasibility Report. The bill defines the service areas of such projects in North Dakota and Montana.

Interior must enter into a cooperative agreement with the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority and the Central Montana Regional Water Authority to provide federal assistance for the planning, design, and construction of such Water Systems. The federal share of such costs and the authorized uses of federal funds, which shall exclude operation, maintenance, or replacement of the Water Systems, are specified.

The Western Area Power Administration must make available to the Dry-Redwater System a quantity of power (up to one and a half megawatt capacity) required to meet the System's pumping and incidental operation requirements between May 1 and October 31 of each year: (1) from the water intake facilities; and (2) through all pumping stations, water treatment facilities, reservoirs, storage tanks, and pipelines up to the point of delivery of water to all storage reservoirs and tanks and each entity that distributes water at retail to individual users. The System shall be eligible to receive such power only if it: (1) operates on a nonprofit basis, and (2) is constructed pursuant to the cooperative agreement with the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority. Additional power may be purchased. The Authority is responsible for: (1) charges for such additional power, (2) the costs of non-federal transmission and distribution system delivery and service arrangements, and (3) funding any upgrades to the transmission system owned by the Western Area Power Administration Basin Electric Power District and the Heartland Consumers Power District required to deliver power to the System.

The bill authorizes appropriations and adjustments in authorized amounts in accordance with ordinary fluctuations in development costs.

Date: 2015-10-29
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
This bill directs the Department of the Army, through the Chief of Engineers, to act as the lead agency with respect to radioactive contamination remediation at the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri.

Nothing in this Act affects the site's designation as a Superfund site.

Date: 2015-11-19
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Environmental protection
Everglades for the Next Generation Act

This bill amends the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 to authorize the Department of the Army, after completing an implementation report prepared for a project under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and without any further congressional authorization, to carry out: (1) any project identified in the Plan for which a project implementation report is completed that is in accordance with an integrated delivery schedule approved by the Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, provided that the report is completed by five years after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) any group of projects under the Plan that the Corps determines will provide regional or watershed ecosystem or water supply benefits if constructed in accordance with a project implementation report approved by the Corps and the District by such date.

Date: 2016-02-02
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
North Texas Reservoir Approval Act

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to exempt the construction of, impoundment of water in, and operation of the Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir Project by the North Texas Municipal Water District in Fannin County, Texas. Thus, the district would not need to obtain a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into waters of the United States with respect to the construction of the dam, the flooding of the area for the reservoir, and the operation of that reservoir project, including any associated water transmission facilities.

Date: 2016-02-04
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Water Resources Research Amendments Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to: (1) declare that additional research is required into increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of new and existing treatment works through alternative approaches, including non-structural alternatives, decentralized approaches, energy use efficiency, water use efficiency, and actions to extract energy from wastewater; (2) require each water resources research and technology institute to arrange for research that fosters the exploration of new ideas that expand understanding of water resources (currently, of water-related phenomena); (3) direct the Department of the Interior to report to specified congressional committees annually on each institute's compliance with matching fund requirements and provisions permitting the use of funds only to reimburse direct cost expenditures incurred for the conduct of the water resources research program; and (4) authorize appropriations for such institutes through FY2022.

Date: 2016-02-08
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Bolts Ditch Access and Use Act

(Sec. 3) This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to permit by special use authorization nonmotorized access and use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado for the diversion of water and use, maintenance, and repair of the ditch and headgate by the town of Minturn, Colorado.

Date: 2016-02-09
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Lake Berryessa Recreation Enhancement Act of 2016

 This bill establishes as the Lake Berryessa Recreation Area specified land administered by the Bureau of Reclamation that is underlying or adjacent to Lake Berryessa in California, including any improvements.

The bill transfers the administrative jurisdiction over the area from the Bureau of Reclamation to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the Department of the Interior.

 Interior shall develop a management plan for the area and may establish guidelines and restrictions on recreational uses to ensure the safety and security of recreational users.

Interior may also issue recreation concession permits, including at the area, to allow a third party to provide facilities and services to visitors on lands and waters managed by the BLM in support of outdoor recreational opportunities.

Reclamation shall continue to administer and operate the Monticello Dam and any related facility, including any power facility.

Date: 2016-02-10
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
This bill directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after completion of the study of the Herbert Hoover Dike, Florida, known as the Herbert Hoover Dike Dam Safety Modification Study, to: (1) carry out, without any further congressional authorization, the projects recommended as part the study; and (2) complete such projects by December 31, 2020.

Appropriations in the amount of $800 million are made to carry out this bill.

Date: 2016-03-02
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Everglades Land Acquisition Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of the Interior to carry out, south of Lake Okeechobee, Florida, land acquisition projects for flood damage reduction and water storage, treatment, and conveyance purposes.

The bill prohibits Interior from paying more than the land's fair market value.

Upon the acquisition of such land, Interior, in consultation with the Army Corps of Engineers, shall provide for:

 the restoration of the acquired land for flood damage reduction and water storage, treatment, and conveyance purposes; and the utilization of the land in conjunction with projects that implement the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Interior may transfer or sell the land acquired under this Act to the Army Corps of Engineers, the state of Florida, a political subdivision of the state, or a nonprofit conservation organization.

Date: 2016-03-17
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
This bill amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1988 to provide that the declaration of nonnavigability for the Rivercenter portion of the Delaware River, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shall not expire (currently the declaration of nonnavigability for that area expires on November 17, 2018).

Date: 2016-03-23
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Transportation and public works
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

This bill directs the Department of the Interior to permit the prepayment of repayment obligations under Repayment Contract No. 14-06-400-33 between the United States and the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, including all related applicable contracts, providing for repayment of Weber Basin Project construction costs allocated to irrigation and municipal and industrial purposes under terms and conditions similar to those used in implementing the provisions in the Central Utah Project Completion Act for prepayment of Central Utah Project, Bonneville Unit repayment obligations.

The prepayment:

 shall result in the United States recovering the net present value of all repayment streams that would have been payable to the United States if this bill was not in effect; may be provided in several installments; may not be adjusted on the basis of the type of prepayment financing used by the District; and shall result in total repayment by September 30, 2026.

Date: 2016-06-14
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
Reservoir Operations Improvement Act

This bill directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to submit a report with respect to each drought state (a state for which the governor has declared a drought or that contains at least one county for which the Department of Agriculture has designated a drought disaster) during water year 2015 or 2016 that includes:

 a list of flood control projects in such state; the year during which the original water manual (water operations manuals, flood control rule curves, and water control manuals) for each project was approved; the years during which any revisions to a project's water manual occurred or are requested to occur; a list of projects for which operational deviations for drought contingency, and changes to storage allocations, have been requested and the status of such requests; and a description of the means by which water conservation and water quality improvements were addressed in any response to such requests. The Corps of Engineers shall: (1) identify each project included in the report that includes a reservoir and for which a non-federal interest has submitted a written request to revise the project's water manual; (2) revise the water manuals of not more than 15 of such projects; and (3) in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, create a forecast-informed reservoir operations plan for each selected project. The water manual revision shall incorporate such plan, new watershed data, and the effects of any structural improvement completed after the date of the most recent prior revision of the water manual.

 A revision of a water manual may not reduce the water supply for any authorized purpose, other than flood control, of a flood control project.

Date: 2016-06-28
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development
This bill deauthorizes the project for navigation at the Green River Locks and Dams 3, 4, 5, and 6 and Barren River Lock and Dam 1, Kentucky, and requires the associated lands and improvements to be disposed of as prescribed below.

All U.S. rights to:

 Green River Lock and Dam 3, located in Ohio County and Muhlenberg County, shall be conveyed to the Rochester Dam Regional Water Commission; Green River Lock and Dam 4, located in Butler County, shall be conveyed to Butler County; Green River Lock and Dam 5, located in Butler County and Warren County, shall be conveyed to Kentucky, a political subdivision thereof, or a tax-exempt non-governmental organization; and the portion of the Green River Lock and Dam 6, Edmonson County located on the right descending bank of the Green River, and Barren River Lock and Dam 1, located in Warren County, shall be conveyed to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The Secretary of the Army shall transfer administrative jurisdiction over the portion of the Green River Lock and Dam 6 located on the left descending bank of the Green River to the Department of the Interior for inclusion in the Mammoth Cave National Park.

If the Secretary determines that such conveyed land ceases to be owned by the public, all right to the land shall revert to the United States.

Date: 2016-09-08
Topic: Public Lands (Water Resources)
Subject: Water resources development