Water Supply Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Utilization Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4659 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 11, 2019 Mr. NEWHOUSE (for himself, Mr. AMODEI, and Ms. SCHRIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4659 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Supply Infra- 2 structure Rehabilitation and Utilization Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. AGING INFRASTRUCTURE ACCOUNT. 4 Section 9603 of the Omnibus Public Land Manage- 5 ment Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 510b) is amended by adding 6 at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(d) AGING INFRASTRUCTURE ACCOUNT.— 8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 9 the general fund of the Treasury a special account, 10 to be known as the ‘Aging Infrastructure Account’ 11 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Account’), to 12 provide funds to, and provide for the extended re- 13 payment of the funds by, a transferred works oper- 14 ating entity or project beneficiary responsible for re- 15 payment of reimbursable costs for the conduct of ex- 16 traordinary operation and maintenance work at a 17 project facility, which shall consist of— 18 ‘‘(A) any amounts that are specifically ap- 19 propriated to the Account under section 9605; 20 and 21 ‘‘(B) any amounts deposited in the Ac- 22 count under paragraph (3)(B). 23 ‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES.—Subject to appropria- 24 tions and paragraph (3), the Secretary may expend 25 amounts in the Account to fund and provide for ex- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4659 IH tended repayment of the funds for eligible projects 1 identified in a report submitted under paragraph 2 (5)(A). 3 ‘‘(3) REPAYMENT CONTRACT.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 5 not expend amounts under paragraph (2) with 6 respect to an eligible project described in that 7 paragraph unless the transferred works oper- 8 ating entity or project beneficiary responsible 9 for repayment of reimbursable costs has entered 10 into a contract to repay the amounts under sub- 11 section (b)(2). 12 ‘‘(B) DEPOSIT OF REPAID FUNDS.— 13 Amounts repaid by a transferred works oper- 14 ating entity or project beneficiary responsible 15 for repayment of reimbursable costs receiving 16 funds under a repayment contract entered into 17 under this subsection shall be deposited in the 18 Account and shall be available to the Secretary 19 for expenditure in accordance with this sub- 20 section without further appropriation. 21 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION FOR FUNDING.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less than once per 23 fiscal year, the Secretary shall accept, during 24 an application period established by the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4659 IH retary, applications from transferred works op- 1 erating entities or project beneficiaries respon- 2 sible for payment of reimbursable costs for 3 funds and extended repayment for eligible 4 projects. 5 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—A project eligi- 6 ble for funding and extended repayment under 7 this subsection is a project that— 8 ‘‘(i) qualifies as an extraordinary op- 9 eration and maintenance work under this 10 section; 11 ‘‘(ii) is for the major, non-recurring 12 maintenance of a mission-critical asset; 13 and 14 ‘‘(iii) is not eligible to be carried out 15 or funded under the repayment provisions 16 of section 4(c) of the Reclamation Safety 17 of Dams Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 508(c)). 18 ‘‘(C) GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATIONS.— 19 Not later than 60 days after the date of enact- 20 ment of this subsection, the Secretary shall 21 issue guidelines describing the information re- 22 quired to be provided in an application for 23 funding and extended repayment under this 24 subsection that require, at a minimum— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4659 IH ‘‘(i) a description of the project for 1 which the funds are requested; 2 ‘‘(ii) the amount of funds requested; 3 ‘‘(iii) the repayment period requested 4 by the transferred works operating entity 5 or project beneficiary responsible for re- 6 payment of reimbursable costs; 7 ‘‘(iv) alternative non-Federal funding 8 options that have been evaluated; 9 ‘‘(v) the financial justification for re- 10 questing an extended repayment period; 11 and 12 ‘‘(vi) the financial records of the 13 transferred works operating entity or 14 project beneficiary responsible for repay- 15 ment of 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 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4659 IH 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 funding and extended repayment under this 18 subsection; 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 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4659 IH ‘‘(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; and 14 ‘‘(iii) an analysis of alternative non- 15 Federal funding options; and 16 ‘‘(C) describes the balance of funds in the 17 Account as of the date of the report. 18 ‘‘(6) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Nothing in this 19 subsection affects— 20 ‘‘(A) any funding provided, or contracts 21 entered into, under subsection (a) before the 22 date of enactment of this subsection; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4659 IH ‘‘(B) the use of funds otherwise made 1 available to the Secretary to carry out sub- 2 section (a).’’. 3 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 4 RECLAMATION SAFETY OF DAMS ACT OF 1978. 5 Section 5 of the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 6 1978 (43 U.S.C. 509) is amended, in the first sentence, 7 by inserting ‘‘, and, effective October 1, 2019, not to ex- 8 ceed an additional $550,000,000 (October 1, 2019, price 9 levels)’’ before ‘‘, plus or minus’’. 10 SEC. 4. REVIEW OF FLOOD CONTROL RULE CURVES PILOT 11 PROJECT. 12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 13 (1) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 14 Bureau of Reclamation. 15 (2) ELIGIBLE WORKS.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 17 works’’ means a reserved works, or a trans- 18 ferred works for which— 19 (i) the flood control rule curve has not 20 been substantially adjusted during the 10- 21 year period ending on the date of enact- 22 ment of this Act; and 23 (ii) the Secretary receives a request in 24 accordance with subsection (c)(1)(A). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4659 IH (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘eligible 1 works’’ does not include— 2 (i) any project authorized by the 3 Boulder Canyon Project Act (43 U.S.C. 4 617 et seq.); 5 (ii) any project authorized by the Act 6 of April 11, 1956 (commonly known as the 7 ‘‘Colorado River Storage Project Act’’) (43 8 U.S.C. 620 et seq.); or 9 (iii) any project of the Pick-Sloan 10 Missouri River Basin Program (authorized 11 by section 9 of the Act of December 22, 12 1944 (commonly known as the ‘‘Flood 13 Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, chap- 14 ter 665)). 15 (3) PILOT PROJECT.—The term ‘‘pilot project’’ 16 means the pilot project established under subsection 17 (b). 18 (4) RESPONSIBLE PARTY.—The term ‘‘respon- 19 sible party’’ means— 20 (A) with respect to a reserved works— 21 (i) a non-Federal water user or power 22 contractor that has an active repayment, 23 water service, or power service contract 24 with the Bureau; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4659 IH (ii) a power contractor that has an ac- 1 tive contract with a Federal power mar- 2 keting administration for energy, capacity, 3 or energy and capacity, from a hydropower 4 facility owned by the Bureau; or 5 (iii) a non-Federal operating entity, 6 including a joint powers authority or board 7 of control, that has assumed responsibility 8 on behalf of multiple water users, through 9 a contract with the Bureau, for the oper- 10 ation and maintenance of the reserved 11 works; and 12 (B) with respect to a transferred works, 13 the operating entity of the transferred works. 14 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 Secretary of the Interior. 16 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROJECT.—The Sec- 17 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Army, 18 shall establish within the Bureau a pilot project to adjust 19 flood control rule curves in accordance with subsection (d). 20 (c) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE WORKS.— 21 (1) REQUEST.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order for an eligible 23 works to be selected for inclusion in the pilot 24 project, a responsible party shall submit a writ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4659 IH ten request to the Secretary seeking a flood 1 control rule curve adjustment. 2 (B) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days 3 after the date on which the Secretary receives 4 a request under subparagraph (A), the Sec- 5 retary shall notify— 6 (i) each responsible party of that re- 7 quest, using lists maintained by the Bu- 8 reau; and 9 (ii) if applicable, the appropriate Fed- 10 eral power marketing administration. 11 (2) SELECTION.—Each year, the Secretary 12 shall— 13 (A) select 1 or more eligible works for in- 14 clusion in the pilot project; and 15 (B) submit a list of those eligible works 16 to— 17 (i) the Secretary of the Army; 18 (ii) the Committee on Natural Re- 19 sources of the House of Representatives; 20 and 21 (iii) the Committee on Energy and 22 Natural Resources of the Senate. 23 (3) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary shall not select 24 an eligible works for inclusion in the pilot project 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 4659 IH under paragraph (2)(A) if, not later than 60 days 1 after the date on which the notice is provided to 2 each responsible party under paragraph (1)(B)(i), a 3 majority of the responsible parties submit to the 4 Secretary an objection to the inclusion of the eligible 5 works in the pilot project. 6 (d) ADJUSTMENT OF A FLOOD CONTROL RULE.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The flood control rule curve 8 of an eligible works shall be adjusted pursuant to 9 section 7 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (33 10 U.S.C. 709), if the Secretary of the Army deter- 11 mines that the adjustment would enhance the au- 12 thorized purposes of the eligible works. 13 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In the adjustment of a 14 flood control rule curve under paragraph (1), the fol- 15 lowing factors shall be considered: 16 (A) Forecast-informed reservoir operations. 17 (B) Improved hydrologic forecasting for— 18 (i) precipitation; 19 (ii) snowpack; 20 (iii) runoff; and 21 (iv) soil moisture conditions. 22 (C) Any new watershed data, including 23 data provided by a responsible party for the eli- 24 gible works. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Oct 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4659.IH H4659 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 4659 IH (3) CONSULTATION.—In the adjustment of a 1 flood control rule curve under paragraph (1), the fol- 2 lowing entities shall be consulted: 3 (A) Each responsible party for the eligible 4 works. 5 (B) In the case of an eligible works that 6 produces power marketed by the Federal Gov- 7 ernment, the Federal power marketing adminis- 8 tration that markets the power. 9 (C) The Secretary. 10 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 11 with the Secretary of the Army with res [Text truncated for display. 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