Water Supply Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Utilization Act

II Calendar No. 277 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2044 [Report No. 116–156] To amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to establish an Aging Infrastructure Account, to amend the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 to provide additional funds under that Act, to estab- lish a review of flood control rule curves pilot project within the Bureau of Reclamation, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 27, 2019 Ms. MCSALLY (for herself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources OCTOBER 29, 2019 Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to establish an Aging Infrastructure Account, to amend the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 to provide additional funds under that Act, to establish a review of flood control rule curves pilot project within the Bureau of Reclamation, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2044 RS 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 ‘‘Water Supply Infra- 4 structure Rehabilitation and Utilization Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. AGING INFRASTRUCTURE ACCOUNT. 6 Section 9603 of the Omnibus Public Land Manage- 7 ment Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 510b) is amended by adding 8 at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(d) AGING INFRASTRUCTURE ACCOUNT.— 10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 11 the general fund of the Treasury a special account, 12 to be known as the ‘Aging Infrastructure Account’ 13 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Account’), to 14 provide funds to, and provide for the extended re- 15 payment of the funds by, transferred works oper- 16 ating entities or project beneficiaries responsible for 17 repayment of reimbursable costs for the conduct of 18 extraordinary operation and maintenance work at 19 transferred works, which shall consist of— 20 ‘‘(A) any amounts that are authorized to 21 be appropriated to the Account under section 22 9605; and 23 ‘‘(B) any amounts deposited in the Ac- 24 count under paragraph (3)(B). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2044 RS ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES.—Subject to appropria- 1 tions and paragraph (3), the Secretary may expend 2 amounts in the Account to fund and provide for ex- 3 tended repayment of the funds for eligible projects 4 at transferred works identified in a report submitted 5 under paragraph (5)(A). 6 ‘‘(3) REPAYMENT CONTRACT.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 8 not expend amounts under paragraph (2) with 9 respect to an eligible project described in that 10 paragraph unless the transferred works oper- 11 ating entity or project beneficiary responsible 12 for repayment of reimbursable costs has entered 13 into a contract to repay the amounts under sub- 14 section (b)(2). 15 ‘‘(B) DEPOSIT OF REPAID FUNDS.— 16 Amounts repaid by a transferred works oper- 17 ating entity or project beneficiary responsible 18 for repayment of reimbursable costs receiving 19 funds under a repayment contract entered into 20 under this subsection shall be deposited in the 21 Account without further appropriation. 22 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION FOR FUNDING.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less than once per 24 fiscal year, the Secretary shall accept, during 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2044 RS an application period established by the Sec- 1 retary, applications from transferred works op- 2 erating entities or project beneficiaries respon- 3 sible for payment of reimbursable costs for 4 funds and extended repayment for eligible 5 projects. 6 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—A project eligi- 7 ble for funds and extended repayment under 8 this subsection is a project that— 9 ‘‘(i) qualifies as an extraordinary op- 10 eration and maintenance work under this 11 section; 12 ‘‘(ii) is for the major, non-recurring 13 maintenance of a mission-critical asset; 14 and 15 ‘‘(iii) is not eligible to be carried out 16 or funded under the repayment provisions 17 of section 4(c) of the Reclamation Safety 18 of Dams Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 508(c)). 19 ‘‘(C) GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATIONS.— 20 Not later than 60 days after the date of enact- 21 ment of this subsection, the Secretary shall 22 issue guidelines describing the information re- 23 quired to be provided in an application for 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2044 RS funds and extended repayment under this sub- 1 section that require, at a minimum— 2 ‘‘(i) a description of the project for 3 which the funds are requested; 4 ‘‘(ii) the amount of funds requested; 5 ‘‘(iii) the repayment period requested 6 by the transferred works operating entity 7 or project beneficiary responsible for re- 8 payment of reimbursable costs; 9 ‘‘(iv) the financial justification for re- 10 questing an extended repayment period; 11 and 12 ‘‘(v) the financial records of the trans- 13 ferred works operating entity or project 14 beneficiary responsible for repayment of 15 reimbursable costs. 16 ‘‘(D) REVIEW BY THE SECRETARY.—The 17 Secretary shall review each application sub- 18 mitted under subparagraph (A)— 19 ‘‘(i) to determine whether the project 20 is eligible for funds and an extended repay- 21 ment period under this subsection; 22 ‘‘(ii) to determine if the project has 23 been identified by the Bureau of Reclama- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2044 RS tion as part of the major rehabilitation and 1 replacement of a project facility; and 2 ‘‘(iii) to conduct a financial analysis 3 of— 4 ‘‘(I) the project; and 5 ‘‘(II) the transferred works oper- 6 ating entity or project beneficiary re- 7 sponsible for repayment of reimburs- 8 able costs. 9 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 10 the date on which an application period closes under 11 paragraph (4)(A), the Secretary shall submit to the 12 Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and 13 Appropriations of the Senate and the Committees on 14 Natural Resources and Appropriations of the House 15 of Representatives a report that— 16 ‘‘(A) identifies each project eligible for 17 funds and extended repayment under this sub- 18 section; 19 ‘‘(B) with respect to each eligible project 20 identified under subparagraph (A), includes— 21 ‘‘(i) a description of— 22 ‘‘(I) the eligible project; 23 ‘‘(II) the anticipated cost and du- 24 ration of the eligible project; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2044 RS ‘‘(III) any remaining engineering 1 or environmental compliance that is 2 required before the eligible project 3 commences; 4 ‘‘(ii) an analysis of— 5 ‘‘(I) the repayment period pro- 6 posed in the application; and 7 ‘‘(II) if the Secretary rec- 8 ommends a minimum necessary repay- 9 ment period that is different than the 10 repayment period proposed in the ap- 11 plication, the minimum necessary re- 12 payment period recommended by the 13 Secretary; 14 ‘‘(iii) an analysis of the effect on the 15 affordability of water of— 16 ‘‘(I) the repayment period pro- 17 posed in the application; and 18 ‘‘(II) if the Secretary rec- 19 ommends a minimum necessary repay- 20 ment period that is different than the 21 repayment period proposed in the ap- 22 plication, the minimum necessary re- 23 payment period recommended by the 24 Secretary; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2044 RS ‘‘(iv) an analysis of alternative non- 1 Federal funding options; and 2 ‘‘(C) describes the balance of funds in the 3 Account as of the date of the report.’’. 4 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 5 RECLAMATION SAFETY OF DAMS ACT OF 1978. 6 Section 5 of the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 7 1978 (43 U.S.C. 509) is amended, in the first sentence, 8 by inserting ‘‘, and, effective October 1, 2019, not to ex- 9 ceed an additional $550,000,000 (October 1, 2019, price 10 levels)’’ before ‘‘, plus or minus’’. 11 SEC. 4. REVIEW OF FLOOD CONTROL RULE CURVES PILOT 12 PROJECT. 13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 15 Bureau of Reclamation. 16 (2) ELIGIBLE WORKS.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 18 works’’ means a reserved works, or a trans- 19 ferred works for which— 20 (i) the flood control rule curve has not 21 been substantially adjusted during the 10- 22 year period ending on the date of enact- 23 ment of this Act; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2044 RS (ii) the Secretary receives a request in 1 accordance with subsection (c)(1)(A). 2 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘eligible 3 works’’ does not include— 4 (i) any project authorized by the 5 Boulder Canyon Project Act (43 U.S.C. 6 617 et seq.); 7 (ii) any project authorized by the Act 8 of April 11, 1956 (commonly known as the 9 ‘‘Colorado River Storage Project Act’’) (43 10 U.S.C. 620 et seq.); or 11 (iii) any project of the Pick-Sloan 12 Missouri River Basin Program (authorized 13 by section 9 of the Act of December 22, 14 1944 (commonly known as the ‘‘Flood 15 Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, chap- 16 ter 665)). 17 (3) PILOT PROJECT.—The term ‘‘pilot project’’ 18 means the pilot project established under subsection 19 (b). 20 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 21 Secretary of the Interior. 22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROJECT.—The Sec- 23 retary shall establish within the Bureau a pilot project to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2044 RS adjust flood control rule curves in accordance with sub- 1 section (d). 2 (c) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE WORKS.— 3 (1) REQUEST.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order for an eligible 5 works to be selected for inclusion in the pilot 6 project, a responsible party shall submit a writ- 7 ten request to the Secretary. 8 (B) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days 9 after the date on which the Secretary receives 10 a request under subparagraph (A), the Sec- 11 retary shall notify— 12 (i) each responsible party of that re- 13 quest, using lists maintained by the Bu- 14 reau; and 15 (ii) if applicable, the appropriate Fed- 16 eral power marketing administration. 17 (2) SELECTION.—Each year, the Secretary 18 shall— 19 (A) select 1 or more eligible works for in- 20 clusion in the pilot project; and 21 (B) submit a list of those eligible works 22 to— 23 (i) the Secretary of the Army; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2044 RS (ii) the Committee on Natural Re- 1 sources of the House of Representatives; 2 and 3 (iii) the Committee on Energy and 4 Natural Resources of the Senate. 5 (3) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary shall not select 6 an eligible works for inclusion in the pilot project 7 under paragraph (2)(A) if, not later than 60 days 8 after the date on which the notice is provided to 9 each responsible party under paragraph (1)(B)(i), a 10 majority of the responsible parties submit to the 11 Secretary an objection to the inclusion of the eligible 12 works in the pilot project. 13 (d) ADJUSTMENT OF FLOOD CONTROL RULE.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The flood control rule curve 15 of an eligible works shall be adjusted pursuant to 16 section 7 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (33 17 U.S.C. 709), if the Secretary of the Army deter- 18 mines that the adjustment would enhance the au- 19 thorized purposes of the eligible works. 20 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In the adjustment of a 21 flood control rule curve under paragraph (1), the fol- 22 lowing factors shall be considered: 23 (A) Forecast-informed reservoir operations. 24 (B) Improved hydrologic forecasting for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2044 RS (i) precipitation; 1 (ii) snowpack; 2 (iii) runoff; and 3 (iv) soil moisture conditions. 4 (C) Any new watershed data, including 5 data provided by a responsible party for the eli- 6 gible works. 7 (3) CONSULTATION.—In the adjustment of a 8 flood control rule curve under paragraph (1), the fol- 9 lowing entities shall be consulted: 10 (A) Each responsible party for the eligible 11 works. 12 (B) In the case of an eligible works that 13 produces power marketed by the Federal Gov- 14 ernment, the Federal power marketing adminis- 15 tration that markets the power. 16 (C) The Secretary. 17 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 18 with the Secretary of the Army with respect to any action 19 taken by the Secretary of the Army— 20 (1) pursuant to section 7 of the Act of Decem- 21 ber 22, 1944 (33 U.S.C. 709); and 22 (2) that relates to the pilot project. 23 (f) FUNDING.—The Secretary or the Secretary of the 24 Army, as appropriate, may accept amounts from respon- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2044.RS S2044 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2044 RS sible parties for eligible works to fund all or a portion of 1 the cost of carrying out an adjustment under subsection 2 (d), including a review or revision of operational docu- 3 ments (including water control plans, water control manu- 4 als, water control diagrams, release schedules, rule curves, 5 operational agreements with non-Federal entities, and any 6 associated environmental documentation). 7 (g) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section— 8 (1) affects or modifies any existing authority to 9 review or modify— 10 (A) reservoir operations, including any ex- 11 isting forecast-informed reservoir operations at 12 a facility of the Corps of Engineers, such as 13 Coyote Dam; and 14 (B) flood control operations; or 15 (2) affects or modifies any authorized purpose 16 of any project ca [Text truncated for display. 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