Drought Resiliency and Water Supply Infrastructure Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1932 To support water infrastructure in Reclamation States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 20, 2019 Mr. GARDNER (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. MCSALLY, and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To support water infrastructure in Reclamation States, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Drought Resiliency 4 and Water Supply Infrastructure Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) DESIGN; STUDY.—The terms ‘‘design’’ and 8 ‘‘study’’ include any design, permitting, materials 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1932 IS engineering or testing, surveying, or preconstruction 1 activity relating to a water storage facility. 2 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of the Interior. 4 SEC. 3. SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER STORAGE AND SUP- 5 PORTING PROJECTS. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 8 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 9 gress’’ means— 10 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 11 the Senate; 12 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 13 Resources of the Senate; 14 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 15 the House of Representatives; and 16 (D) the Committee on Natural Resources 17 of the House of Representatives. 18 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 19 ty’’ means— 20 (A) any State, political subdivision of a 21 State, department of a State, or public agency 22 organized pursuant to State law; 23 (B) an Indian tribe (as defined in section 24 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1932 IS cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) or an 1 entity controlled by an Indian tribe; 2 (C) a water users’ association; 3 (D) an agency established by an interstate 4 compact; and 5 (E) an agency established under State law 6 for the joint exercise of powers. 7 (3) FEDERALLY OWNED STORAGE PROJECT.— 8 The term ‘‘federally owned storage project’’ means 9 any project in a Reclamation State— 10 (A) that involves the construction, expan- 11 sion, upgrade, or capital repair of— 12 (i) a surface water storage facility; or 13 (ii) a facility conveying water to or 14 from a surface or groundwater storage fa- 15 cility; 16 (B) to which the United States holds title; 17 and 18 (C) that was authorized to be constructed, 19 operated, and maintained pursuant to— 20 (i) the reclamation laws; or 21 (ii) the Act of August 11, 1939 (com- 22 monly known as the ‘‘Water Conservation 23 and Utilization Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 590y et 24 seq.). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1932 IS (4) NON-FEDERAL STORAGE PROJECT.—The 1 term ‘‘non-Federal storage project’’ means any 2 project in a Reclamation State that— 3 (A) involves the construction, expansion, 4 upgrade, or capital repair by an eligible entity 5 of— 6 (i) a surface or groundwater storage 7 facility that is not federally owned; or 8 (ii) a facility that is not federally 9 owned conveying water to or from a sur- 10 face or groundwater storage facility; and 11 (B) provides a benefit in meeting any obli- 12 gation under applicable Federal law (including 13 regulations). 14 (5) RECLAMATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘reclama- 15 tion laws’’ means Federal reclamation law (the Act 16 of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and 17 Acts supplemental to and amendatory of that Act. 18 (6) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec- 19 lamation State’’ has the meaning given the term in 20 section 4014 of the Water Infrastructure Improve- 21 ments for the Nation Act (43 U.S.C. 390b note; 22 Public Law 114–322). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1932 IS (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary may provide 1 a grant under this section to an eligible entity to carry 2 out, within a Reclamation State— 3 (1) a federally owned storage project in accord- 4 ance with subsection (c); or 5 (2) a non-Federal storage project in accordance 6 with subsection (d). 7 (c) FEDERALLY OWNED STORAGE PROJECTS.— 8 (1) AGREEMENTS.—On request of an eligible 9 entity, the Secretary may negotiate and enter into 10 an agreement on behalf of the United States for the 11 design, study, construction, expansion, upgrade, or 12 capital repair of a federally owned storage project lo- 13 cated in a Reclamation State in accordance with this 14 subsection. 15 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—Subject to the require- 16 ments of this subsection, the Secretary may partici- 17 pate in a federally owned storage project in an 18 amount equal to not more than 50 percent of the 19 total cost of the federally owned storage project. 20 (3) CONDITIONS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION 21 FUNDING.—The construction of a federally owned 22 storage project that is the subject of an agreement 23 under this subsection shall not commence until the 24 Secretary— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1932 IS (A) determines that the proposed federally 1 owned storage project is feasible in accordance 2 with the reclamation laws; 3 (B) determines that— 4 (i) the federally owned storage project 5 provides a Federal benefit in accordance 6 with the reclamation laws; and 7 (ii) not less than a proportionate 8 share of the benefits of the federally owned 9 storage project are Federal benefits, in- 10 cluding water supplies dedicated to specific 11 purposes, such as water quality improve- 12 ments or fish and wildlife protection and 13 restoration, including a wildlife refuge; and 14 (C) secures an agreement providing such 15 upfront funding as is necessary to pay the non- 16 Federal share of the capital costs of the feder- 17 ally owned storage project. 18 (4) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall sub- 19 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 20 written notification of the determinations under 21 paragraph (3) by not later than 30 days after the 22 date of the determinations. 23 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—In participating 24 in a federally owned storage project under this sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1932 IS section, the Secretary shall comply with all applica- 1 ble environmental laws, including the National Envi- 2 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 3 seq.). 4 (6) EXPANSION OR UPGRADE.—The Secretary 5 shall require, as a condition for design, study, or any 6 other participation in the expansion or upgrade of a 7 federally owned storage project— 8 (A) the agreement of any single entity that 9 has an existing water service contract or repay- 10 ment contract for more than 60 percent of the 11 capacity or yield of the federally owned storage 12 project that the expansion will not adversely af- 13 fect any right or interest of the entity under the 14 water service contract or repayment contract, 15 as applicable; and 16 (B) the agreement of the non-Federal enti- 17 ty that, pursuant to a formal operations and 18 maintenance transfer contract or other legal 19 agreement with the Secretary, acting through 20 the Commissioner of Reclamation, carries out 21 the operations and maintenance of the federally 22 owned storage project, if applicable. 23 (d) NON-FEDERAL STORAGE PROJECTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1932 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements 1 of this subsection, the Secretary may participate in 2 the design, study, construction, expansion, upgrade, 3 or capital repair of a non-Federal storage project in 4 an amount equal to not more than 25 percent of the 5 total cost of the non-Federal storage project. 6 (2) CONDITIONS FOR FEDERAL DESIGN AND 7 STUDY FUNDING.—The Secretary shall only fund a 8 design or study activity for a non-Federal storage 9 project under this subsection if— 10 (A) Federal participation has been re- 11 quested by the Governor of the State in which 12 the non-Federal storage project is located; and 13 (B) the Secretary has identified the poten- 14 tial for Federal benefit sufficient to proceed. 15 (3) CONDITIONS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION 16 FUNDING.—Participation by the Secretary in the 17 construction of a non-Federal storage project under 18 this subsection shall not occur unless— 19 (A) the Governor of the State in which the 20 non-Federal storage project is located has re- 21 quested Federal participation at the time con- 22 struction was initiated; and 23 (B) the applicable non-Federal sponsor de- 24 termines, and the Secretary concurs, that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1932 IS (i) the non-Federal storage project is 1 technically and financially feasible; 2 (ii) the non-Federal storage project 3 provides a Federal benefit in accordance 4 with the reclamation laws; 5 (iii) not less than a proportionate 6 share of the benefits of the non-Federal 7 storage project are Federal benefits, in- 8 cluding water supplies dedicated to specific 9 purposes, such as water quality improve- 10 ments or fish and wildlife protection and 11 restoration, including a wildlife refuge; and 12 (iv) each sponsor of the non-Federal 13 project is financially capable of funding the 14 non-Federal share of the project costs. 15 (4) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall sub- 16 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 17 written notification of the determinations under 18 paragraphs (2) and (3) by not later than 30 days 19 after the date of the determinations. 20 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—In participating 21 in a non-Federal storage project under this sub- 22 section, the Secretary shall comply with all applica- 23 ble environmental laws, including the National Envi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1932 IS ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 1 seq.). 2 (6) INFORMATION.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—In participating in a 4 non-Federal storage project under this sub- 5 section, the Secretary— 6 (i) shall— 7 (I) generally, rely on reports pre- 8 pared by the sponsor of the non-Fed- 9 eral storage project, including feasi- 10 bility or equivalent studies, environ- 11 mental analyses, and other pertinent 12 reports and analyses; but 13 (II) retain responsibility for mak- 14 ing the independent determinations 15 described in paragraphs (2) and (3); 16 and 17 (ii) may prepare studies supple- 18 mentary to the studies described in clause 19 (i)(I), on— 20 (I) request of the sponsor of the 21 non-Federal storage project; and 22 (II) agreement by the Secretary. 23 (B) GUIDELINES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1932 IS (i) DRAFT.—Not later than 180 days 1 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 2 Secretary shall issue draft guidelines for 3 feasibility or equivalent studies for non- 4 Federal storage projects prepared by a 5 project sponsor that shall be consistent 6 with requirements for a title XVI Feasi- 7 bility Study Report, including the economic 8 analysis, contained in the Reclamation 9 Manual Directives and Standards num- 10 bered WTR 11–01, subject to— 11 (I) any additional requirements 12 necessary to provide sufficient infor- 13 mation for making the independent 14 determinations described in para- 15 graphs (2)(B) and (3); and 16 (II) the condition that the Bu- 17 reau of Reclamation shall not bear re- 18 sponsibility for the technical adequacy 19 of any design, cost estimate, or con- 20 struction relating to a non-Federal 21 storage project. 22 (ii) FINAL.—The Secretary shall final- 23 ize the guidelines under clause (i) by not 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1932 IS later than 1 year after the date of enact- 1 ment of this Act. 2 (e) RIGHTS TO USE CAPACITY.—Subject to compli- 3 ance with applicable Reclamation State water rights laws, 4 the right to use the capacity of a federally owned storage 5 project or non-Federal storage project with respect to 6 which the Secretary has entered into an agreement under 7 this subsection shall be allocated in such manner as may 8 be mutually agreed to by the Secretary and each other 9 party to the agreement, including any party described in 10 subsection (c)(6)(B). 11 (f) FEDERAL BENEFITS.—In making a determina- 12 tion relating to a Federal benefit under this section, the 13 Secretary may include any benefit realized from the exist- 14 ence of operational flexibility to optimize the achievement 15 of an authorized project purpose (whether reimbursable or 16 nonreimbursable), taking into consideration the hydrology 17 of a given water year, including through the coordinated 18 management of Federal and non-Federal facilities. 19 (g) FUNDING.— 20 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 21 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 22 retary to carry out this section $670,000,000 for the 23 period of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1932.IS S1932 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1932 IS (2) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL INITIALLY RE- 1 QUIRED.— 2 (A) DESIGN AND STUDY FUNDING.—Each 3 initial award under this section for design and 4 study of a federally owned storage project or a 5 non-Federal storage project shall be approved 6 in an appropriations Act. 7 (B) CONSTRUCTION FUNDING.—Each ini- 8 tial award under this section for construction of 9 a federally owned storage project or a non-Fed- 10 eral storage project shall be approved in an ap- 11 propriations Act. 12 (C) RECLAMATION RECOMMENDATIONS.— 13 (i) IN GENERAL.—S [Text truncated for display. 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