Headwaters Protection Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1853 To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to reauthorize and improve the Water Source Protection Program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 7, 2023 Mr. BENNET (for himself, Mr. CRAPO, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. KELLY, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to reauthorize and improve the Water Source Protection Program, 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 ‘‘Headwaters Protection 4 Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM REAU- 6 THORIZATION AND IMPROVEMENTS. 7 Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 8 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1853 IS (1) in subsection (a)— 1 (A) in paragraph (1)— 2 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 3 (G) and (H) as subparagraphs (K) and 4 (L), respectively; and 5 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 6 (F) the following: 7 ‘‘(G) an acequia association; 8 ‘‘(H) a local, regional, or other public enti- 9 ty that manages stormwater or wastewater re- 10 sources or other related water infrastructure; 11 ‘‘(I) a land-grant mercedes; 12 ‘‘(J) a local, regional, or other private enti- 13 ty that has water delivery authority;’’; 14 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 15 through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re- 16 spectively; and 17 (C) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 18 so redesignated) the following: 19 ‘‘(1) ADJACENT LAND.—The term ‘adjacent 20 land’ means non-Federal land, including State, local, 21 and private land, that is adjacent to, and within the 22 same watershed as, National Forest System land on 23 which a watershed protection and restoration project 24 is carried out under this section.’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1853 IS (2) in subsection (b)— 1 (A) by inserting ‘‘and adjacent land’’ be- 2 fore the period at the end; 3 (B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 4 inserting the following: 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A watershed protection 8 and restoration project under the Program shall— 9 ‘‘(A) protect and restore watershed health, 10 water supply and quality, a municipal or agri- 11 cultural water supply system, and water-related 12 infrastructure; 13 ‘‘(B) protect and restore forest health from 14 insect infestation and disease or wildfire; or 15 ‘‘(C) advance any combination of the pur- 16 poses described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 17 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting watershed pro- 18 tection and restoration projects under the Program, 19 the Secretary shall give priority to projects that 20 would— 21 ‘‘(A) provide risk management benefits as- 22 sociated with drought, wildfire, post-wildfire 23 conditions, extreme weather, or flooding, includ- 24 ing minimizing risks to watershed health, water 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1853 IS supply and quality, and water-related infra- 1 structure, including municipal and agricultural 2 water supply systems; 3 ‘‘(B) be designed to support aquatic res- 4 toration and conservation efforts that com- 5 plement existing or planned forest restoration 6 or wildfire risk reduction efforts; 7 ‘‘(C) include— 8 ‘‘(i) partners with demonstrated ca- 9 pacity and success in designing and imple- 10 menting ecological restoration projects, 11 wildfire risk reduction efforts, or post-wild- 12 fire restoration projects; or 13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of disadvantaged 14 communities that have historically lacked 15 access to adequate resources, partners with 16 a strong likelihood of success in designing 17 and implementing a watershed protection 18 and restoration project; and 19 ‘‘(D)(i) include a contribution of funds or 20 in-kind support from non-Federal partners in 21 an amount greater than the amount required 22 under subsection (g)(2); 23 ‘‘(ii) provide quantifiable benefits to water 24 supply or quality and include the use of nature- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1853 IS based solutions, such as restoring wetland and 1 riparian ecosystems; 2 ‘‘(iii) be designed to improve— 3 ‘‘(I) resilience to climate change; or 4 ‘‘(II) watershed and fire resilience; or 5 ‘‘(iv) include such other characteristics as 6 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 7 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR PROJECTS ON ADJACENT 8 LAND.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No project or activity 10 may be carried out under this section on adja- 11 cent land unless the owner of the adjacent land 12 provides express support for, and is a willing 13 and engaged partner in, carrying out that 14 project or activity. 15 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 16 authorizes any change in— 17 ‘‘(i) the ownership of adjacent land on 18 which a project or activity is carried out 19 under this section; or 20 ‘‘(ii) the management of adjacent land 21 on which a project or activity is carried out 22 under this section, except during the car- 23 rying out of that project or activity.’’; 24 (3) in subsection (c)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1853 IS (A) in paragraph (1)— 1 (i) by inserting ‘‘and adjacent land’’ 2 after ‘‘watersheds’’; 3 (ii) by striking the period at the end 4 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 5 (iii) by striking ‘‘with end water 6 users’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘with— 7 ‘‘(A) end water users’’; and 8 (iv) by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(B) end waters users to protect and re- 11 store the condition of National Forest water- 12 sheds and adjacent land that provide water for 13 the benefit of another end water user.’’; 14 (B) in paragraph (2)— 15 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 16 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 17 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 18 (D) as subparagraph (E); and 19 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 20 (C) the following: 21 ‘‘(D) a good neighbor agreement entered 22 into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 23 of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); or’’; and 24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1853 IS ‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP BY NON-FEDERAL PART- 1 NERS.—The Secretary shall facilitate a leadership 2 role for non-Federal partners in carrying out assess- 3 ments, planning, project design, and project imple- 4 mentation under this section.’’; 5 (4) in subsection (d)— 6 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘shall be 7 conducted’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘shall 8 be— 9 ‘‘(A) designed to protect and restore eco- 10 logical integrity (as defined in section 219.19 of 11 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef- 12 fect on the date of enactment of this subpara- 13 graph)); 14 ‘‘(B) based on the best available scientific 15 information; and 16 ‘‘(C) conducted’’; and 17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(4) REDUCING REDUNDANCY.—An existing 19 watershed plan, such as a watershed protection and 20 restoration action plan developed under section 21 304(a)(3), or other applicable watershed planning 22 documents may be used as the basis for a water 23 source management plan under this subsection.’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1853 IS (5) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘purpose 1 of—’’ in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and 2 all that follows through the period at the end of sub- 3 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘purpose of advancing 4 any of the purposes described in subsection (b)(2).’’; 5 and 6 (6) in subsection (g)— 7 (A) in paragraph (2)— 8 (i) by striking ‘‘at least equal to’’ and 9 inserting ‘‘not less than 20 percent of’’; 10 (ii) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 11 inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 13 graph (B), the Secretary’’; and 14 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 17 the requirement under subparagraph (A) in the 18 discretion of the Secretary.’’; and 19 (B) in paragraph (4)— 20 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 21 ‘‘$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 22 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000,000 23 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 24 2033’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1853 IS (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘(D) SET-ASIDE FOR PARTNER PARTICIPA- 3 TION IN PLANNING AND CAPACITY.—Of the 4 amounts made available under subparagraph 5 (B) to carry out this section for each fiscal 6 year, the Secretary shall use not less than 10 7 percent for non-Federal partner technical as- 8 sistance participation and capacity-building ef- 9 forts in developing or implementing a water 10 source management plan under subsection 11 (d).’’. 12 SEC. 3. WATERSHED CONDITION FRAMEWORK IMPROVE- 13 MENTS. 14 Section 304 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 15 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6543) is amended— 16 (1) in subsection (a)— 17 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 18 the end; 19 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe- 20 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(7) that ensures that management activities 23 and authorizations do not result in long-term deg- 24 radation of watershed health or lower the classifica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1853 IS tion under paragraph (1) of any watershed in a Na- 1 tional Forest.’’; and 2 (2) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 4 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 5 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’. 6 SEC. 4. EFFECT. 7 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 8 Act shall be construed— 9 (1) to supersede or in any manner affect or 10 conflict with State water law, Federal water law, 11 interstate compacts, or treaty obligations; or 12 (2) to authorize any acquisition of land by the 13 Federal Government or any exertion of Federal con- 14 trol over non-Federal land. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1853.IS S1853 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS