Headwaters Protection Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4018 To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to reauthorize and improve the Water Source Protection Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 12, 2023 Mr. COSTA (for himself and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined 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 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4018 IH SEC. 2. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM REAU- 1 THORIZATION AND IMPROVEMENTS. 2 Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 3 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542) is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (a)— 5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 6 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 7 (G) and (H) as subparagraphs (K) and 8 (L), respectively; and 9 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 10 (F) the following: 11 ‘‘(G) an acequia association; 12 ‘‘(H) a local, regional, or other public enti- 13 ty that manages stormwater or wastewater re- 14 sources or other related water infrastructure; 15 ‘‘(I) a land-grant mercedes; 16 ‘‘(J) a local, regional, or other private enti- 17 ty that has water delivery authority;’’; 18 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 19 through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re- 20 spectively; and 21 (C) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 22 so redesignated) the following: 23 ‘‘(1) ADJACENT LAND.—The term ‘adjacent 24 land’ means non-Federal land, including State, local, 25 and private land, that is adjacent to, and within the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4018 IH same watershed as, National Forest System land on 1 which a watershed protection and restoration project 2 is carried out under this section.’’; 3 (2) in subsection (b)— 4 (A) by inserting ‘‘and adjacent land’’ be- 5 fore the period at the end; 6 (B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 7 inserting the following: 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A watershed protection 11 and restoration project under the Program shall— 12 ‘‘(A) protect and restore watershed health, 13 water supply and quality, a municipal or agri- 14 cultural water supply system, and water-related 15 infrastructure; 16 ‘‘(B) protect and restore forest health from 17 insect infestation and disease or wildfire; or 18 ‘‘(C) advance any combination of the pur- 19 poses described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 20 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting watershed pro- 21 tection and restoration projects under the Program, 22 the Secretary shall give priority to projects that 23 would— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4018 IH ‘‘(A) provide risk management benefits as- 1 sociated with drought, wildfire, post-wildfire 2 conditions, extreme weather, or flooding, includ- 3 ing minimizing risks to watershed health, water 4 supply and quality, and water-related infra- 5 structure, including municipal and agricultural 6 water supply systems; 7 ‘‘(B) be designed to support aquatic res- 8 toration and conservation efforts that com- 9 plement existing or planned forest restoration 10 or wildfire risk reduction efforts; 11 ‘‘(C) include— 12 ‘‘(i) partners with demonstrated ca- 13 pacity and success in designing and imple- 14 menting ecological restoration projects, 15 wildfire risk reduction efforts, or post-wild- 16 fire restoration projects; or 17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of disadvantaged 18 communities that have historically lacked 19 access to adequate resources, partners with 20 a strong likelihood of success in designing 21 and implementing a watershed protection 22 and restoration project; and 23 ‘‘(D)(i) include a contribution of funds or 24 in-kind support from non-Federal partners in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4018 IH an amount greater than the amount required 1 under subsection (g)(2); 2 ‘‘(ii) provide quantifiable benefits to water 3 supply or quality and include the use of nature- 4 based solutions, such as restoring wetland and 5 riparian ecosystems; 6 ‘‘(iii) be designed to improve— 7 ‘‘(I) resilience to climate change; or 8 ‘‘(II) watershed and fire resilience; or 9 ‘‘(iv) include such other characteristics as 10 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 11 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR PROJECTS ON ADJACENT 12 LAND.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No project or activity 14 may be carried out under this section on adja- 15 cent land unless the owner of the adjacent land 16 provides express support for, and is a willing 17 and engaged partner in, carrying out that 18 project or activity. 19 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 20 authorizes any change in— 21 ‘‘(i) the ownership of adjacent land on 22 which a project or activity is carried out 23 under this section; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4018 IH ‘‘(ii) the management of adjacent land 1 on which a project or activity is carried out 2 under this section, except during the car- 3 rying out of that project or activity.’’; 4 (3) in subsection (c)— 5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 6 (i) by inserting ‘‘and adjacent land’’ 7 after ‘‘watersheds’’; 8 (ii) by striking the period at the end 9 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 10 (iii) by striking ‘‘with end water 11 users’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘with— 12 ‘‘(A) end water users’’; and 13 (iv) by adding at the end the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘(B) end waters users to protect and re- 16 store the condition of National Forest water- 17 sheds and adjacent land that provide water for 18 the benefit of another end water user.’’; 19 (B) in paragraph (2)— 20 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 21 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 22 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 23 (D) as subparagraph (E); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4018 IH (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 1 (C) the following: 2 ‘‘(D) a good neighbor agreement entered 3 into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 4 of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); or’’; and 5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP BY NON-FEDERAL PART- 7 NERS.—The Secretary shall facilitate a leadership 8 role for non-Federal partners in carrying out assess- 9 ments, planning, project design, and project imple- 10 mentation under this section.’’; 11 (4) in subsection (d)— 12 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘shall be 13 conducted’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘shall 14 be— 15 ‘‘(A) designed to protect and restore eco- 16 logical integrity (as defined in section 219.19 of 17 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef- 18 fect on the date of enactment of this subpara- 19 graph)); 20 ‘‘(B) based on the best available scientific 21 information; and 22 ‘‘(C) conducted’’; and 23 (B) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4018 IH ‘‘(4) REDUCING REDUNDANCY.—An existing 1 watershed plan, such as a watershed protection and 2 restoration action plan developed under section 3 304(a)(3), or other applicable watershed planning 4 documents may be used as the basis for a water 5 source management plan under this subsection.’’; 6 (5) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘purpose 7 of—’’ in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and 8 all that follows through the period at the end of sub- 9 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘purpose of advancing 10 any of the purposes described in subsection (b)(2).’’; 11 and 12 (6) in subsection (g)— 13 (A) in paragraph (2)— 14 (i) by striking ‘‘at least equal to’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘not less than 20 percent of’’; 16 (ii) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 17 inserting the following: 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 19 graph (B), the Secretary’’; and 20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 23 the requirement under subparagraph (A) in the 24 discretion of the Secretary.’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4018 IH (B) in paragraph (4)— 1 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 2 ‘‘$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 3 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000,000 4 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 5 2033’’; and 6 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(D) SET-ASIDE FOR PARTNER PARTICIPA- 9 TION IN PLANNING AND CAPACITY.—Of the 10 amounts made available under subparagraph 11 (B) to carry out this section for each fiscal 12 year, the Secretary shall use not less than 10 13 percent for non-Federal partner technical as- 14 sistance participation and capacity-building ef- 15 forts in developing or implementing a water 16 source management plan under subsection 17 (d).’’. 18 SEC. 3. WATERSHED CONDITION FRAMEWORK IMPROVE- 19 MENTS. 20 Section 304 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 21 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6543) is amended— 22 (1) in subsection (a)— 23 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 24 the end; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4018 IH (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe- 1 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 2 (C) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(7) that ensures that management activities 4 and authorizations do not result in long-term deg- 5 radation of watershed health or lower the classifica- 6 tion under paragraph (1) of any watershed in a Na- 7 tional Forest.’’; and 8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 10 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 11 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’. 12 SEC. 4. EFFECT. 13 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 14 Act shall be construed— 15 (1) to supersede or in any manner affect or 16 conflict with State water law, Federal water law, 17 interstate compacts, or treaty obligations; or 18 (2) to authorize any acquisition of land by the 19 Federal Government or any exertion of Federal con- 20 trol over non-Federal land. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4018.IH H4018 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS