Public Water Supply Invasive Species Compliance Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 29 To exempt from the Lacey Act and the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 certain water transfers between any of the States of Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. GOHMERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To exempt from the Lacey Act and the Lacey Act Amend- ments of 1981 certain water transfers between any of the States of Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Water Supply 4 Invasive Species Compliance Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jan 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H29.IH H29 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 29 IH SEC. 2. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN WATER TRANSFERS FROM 1 THE LACEY ACT AND THE LACEY ACT AMEND- 2 MENTS OF 1981. 3 (a) EXEMPTION.—Section 42 of title 18, United 4 States Code (popularly known as the Lacey Act), and the 5 Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) 6 shall not apply with respect to any covered water transfer, 7 if— 8 (1)(A) all prohibited species in the water trans- 9 ferred are located in both of the public water sup- 10 plies between which the water is transferred; and 11 (B) the water is transferred directly between 12 such public water supplies; or 13 (2) the water is transferred in a closed convey- 14 ance system directly to treatment facilities where all 15 prohibited species contained in the water transferred 16 will be extirpated. 17 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 (1) COVERED WATER TRANSFER.—The term 19 ‘‘covered water transfer’’ means a transfer between 20 public water supplies located on, along, or across the 21 State boundaries between any of Texas, Arkansas, 22 and Louisiana, of water containing a prohibited spe- 23 cies. 24 (2) PROHIBITED SPECIES.—The term ‘‘prohib- 25 ited species’’ means any species— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jan 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H29.IH H29 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 29 IH (A) the shipment of which is otherwise 1 prohibited by section 42 of title 18, United 2 States Code; or 3 (B) the transfer of which is otherwise pro- 4 hibited by the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 5 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.). 6 (3) PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY.—The term ‘‘public 7 water supply’’ means any body of water, including 8 any river, lake, or stream, the water of which is 9 available or made available to the public. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jan 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H29.IH H29 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS