Water for Conservation and Farming Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2102 To provide for drought preparedness and improved water supply reliability. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 21, 2023 Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To provide for drought preparedness and improved water supply reliability. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Water for Conservation and Farming Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT Sec. 101. Bureau of Reclamation Infrastructure Fund. Sec. 102. Watersmart extension and expansion. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2102 IS TITLE II—ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION AND RESTORATION Sec. 201. Waterbird and shorebird habitat creation program. Sec. 202. Sustaining biodiversity during droughts. Sec. 203. Reauthorization of Cooperative Watershed Management Program. Sec. 204. Drought planning and preparedness for critically important fisheries. Sec. 205. Reauthorization of the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitiga- tion Act of 2000. Sec. 206. Reauthorization of reclamation climate change and water program. Sec. 207. Reauthorization of Deschutes River Conservancy Working Group. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Bu- 3 reau of Reclamation Infrastructure Fund established 4 by section 101(a). 5 (2) RECLAMATION STATE.—The term ‘‘Rec- 6 lamation State’’ has the meaning given the term in 7 section 4014 of the Water Infrastructure Improve- 8 ments for the Nation Act (43 U.S.C. 390b note; 9 Public Law 114–322). 10 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of the Interior. 12 TITLE I—INFRASTRUCTURE 13 DEVELOPMENT 14 SEC. 101. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION INFRASTRUCTURE 15 FUND. 16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 17 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 18 ‘‘Bureau of Reclamation Infrastructure Fund’’, consisting 19 of— 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2102 IS (1) such amounts as are deposited in the Fund 1 under subsection (b)(1); and 2 (2) any interest earned on investment of 3 amounts in the Fund under subsection (c)(1)(B). 4 (b) DEPOSITS TO FUND.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 6 2035 through 2065, the Secretary of the Treasury 7 shall deposit in the Fund $300,000,000 of the reve- 8 nues that would otherwise be deposited for the fiscal 9 year in the reclamation fund established by the first 10 section of the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, 11 chapter 1093), of which— 12 (A) $100,000,000 shall be expended by the 13 Secretary for water reclamation and reuse 14 projects authorized under— 15 (i) the Reclamation Wastewater and 16 Groundwater Study and Facilities Act (43 17 U.S.C. 390h et seq.); or 18 (ii) section 4(a)(2) of the Water De- 19 salination Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 10301 20 note; Public Law 104–298); 21 (B) $100,000,000 shall be expended by the 22 Secretary for grants authorized under section 23 9504 of the Omnibus Public Land Management 24 Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2102 IS (C) $100,000,000 shall be expended by the 1 Secretary to perform modifications to preserve 2 the structural safety of Bureau of Reclamation 3 dams and related facilities to ensure that Bu- 4 reau of Reclamation facilities do not present 5 unreasonable risks to public safety, property, or 6 the environment, if the expenditures— 7 (i) account for not more than 85 per- 8 cent of the total costs for any dam safety 9 project; and 10 (ii) are made in accordance with sec- 11 tion 3 of the Reclamation Safety of Dams 12 Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 507). 13 (2) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts de- 14 posited in the Fund under paragraph (1) shall— 15 (A) be made available in accordance with 16 this section, without further appropriation; and 17 (B) be in addition to amounts appropriated 18 for the purposes described in this section under 19 any other provision of law. 20 (c) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 22 for each of fiscal years 2035 through 2065, the Sec- 23 retary may expend from the Fund, in accordance 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2102 IS with this section, not more than an amount equal to 1 the sum of— 2 (A) the amounts deposited in the Fund for 3 the applicable fiscal year under subsection 4 (b)(1); and 5 (B) the amount of interest accrued in the 6 Fund for the fiscal year in which the expendi- 7 tures are made. 8 (2) ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ex- 10 pend more in any fiscal year than the amounts 11 described in paragraph (1) if the additional 12 amounts are available in the Fund as a result 13 of a failure of the Secretary to expend all of the 14 amounts available under paragraph (1) in 1 or 15 more prior fiscal years. 16 (B) RETENTION IN ACCOUNTS.—Any addi- 17 tional amounts referred to in subparagraph (A) 18 shall— 19 (i) accrue interest in accordance with 20 this section; and 21 (ii) only be expended for the purposes 22 for which expenditures from the Fund are 23 authorized. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2102 IS SEC. 102. WATERSMART EXTENSION AND EXPANSION. 1 (a) WATER MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT.—Section 2 9504(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 3 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364(a)) is amended— 4 (1) in paragraph (1)— 5 (A) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘, 6 including through temporary, voluntary, and 7 compensated transactions that decrease con- 8 sumptive water use at a regional or watershed 9 scale’’ after ‘‘imbalances’’; and 10 (B) in subparagraph (J), by striking clause 11 (i) and inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(i) to increase ecological resilience to 13 climate change by addressing climate-re- 14 lated impacts to, or vulnerabilities of, the 15 water supply of the United States, includ- 16 ing by enhancing natural water storage 17 within a floodplain or riparian wetland;’’; 18 and 19 (2) in paragraph (3)(B)(i), by striking sub- 20 clause (II) and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(II) to use the assistance pro- 22 vided under a grant or agreement to 23 increase the consumptive use of water 24 for agricultural operations above the 25 pre-project levels, as determined pur- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2102 IS suant to the law of the State in which 1 the operation of the eligible applicant 2 is located.’’. 3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 4 9504(e) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 5 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364(e)) is amended by striking 6 ‘‘$820,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’. 7 TITLE II—ECOSYSTEM PROTEC- 8 TION AND RESTORATION 9 SEC. 201. WATERBIRD AND SHOREBIRD HABITAT CRE- 10 ATION PROGRAM. 11 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF HABITAT CREATION PRO- 12 GRAM.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 14 and (3), the Secretary shall establish a program 15 under which the Secretary shall provide financial as- 16 sistance to eligible agricultural producers in Rec- 17 lamation States, in the form of direct payments or 18 credits, as applicable, to compensate the eligible ag- 19 ricultural producers for the creation and mainte- 20 nance of waterbird and shorebird habitats. 21 (2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL AS- 22 SISTANCE.—Not more than a total of $3,500,000 of 23 financial assistance may be provided for each fiscal 24 year under paragraph (1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2102 IS (3) CONDITIONS.—Financial assistance shall be 1 provided under paragraph (1) only if the Secretary 2 determines that the activities receiving the financial 3 assistance would— 4 (A) create new habitat that would not oth- 5 erwise be created; or 6 (B) maintain existing habitat that would 7 not otherwise be maintained. 8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 9 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $3,500,000 10 to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2024 11 through 2029, to remain available until expended. 12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 2025, and 13 every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 14 Congress a report that describes the environmental per- 15 formance of activities that are receiving, or have received, 16 financial assistance under the program established under 17 subsection (a)(1) during the period covered by the report. 18 SEC. 202. SUSTAINING BIODIVERSITY DURING DROUGHTS. 19 Section 9503(b) of the Omnibus Public Land Man- 20 agement Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10363(b)) is amended— 21 (1) in paragraph (3)(D), by inserting ‘‘and na- 22 tive biodiversity’’ after ‘‘wildlife habitat’’; and 23 (2) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ‘‘and 24 drought biodiversity plans to address sustaining na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2102 IS tive biodiversity during periods of drought’’ after 1 ‘‘restoration plans’’. 2 SEC. 203. REAUTHORIZATION OF COOPERATIVE WATER- 3 SHED MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. 4 Section 6002(g) of the Omnibus Public Land Man- 5 agement Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 1015a(g)) is amended 6 by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following: 7 ‘‘(4) $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 8 through 2031.’’. 9 SEC. 204. DROUGHT PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS FOR 10 CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FISHERIES. 11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FISHERY.—The 13 term ‘‘critically important fishery’’ means— 14 (A) a fishery located in a Reclamation 15 State that is commercially, culturally, or 16 recreationally important; 17 (B) a fishery located in a Reclamation 18 State that contains fish species that are listed 19 as threatened or endangered pursuant to the 20 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 21 1531 et seq.); and 22 (C) a fishery located in a Reclamation 23 State that is used by 1 or more Indian Tribes 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2102 IS in the Reclamation State for ceremonial subsist- 1 ence or commercial purposes. 2 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 3 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 4 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 5 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 6 (3) QUALIFIED TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The 7 term ‘‘qualified Tribal Government’’ means any gov- 8 ernment of an Indian Tribe that the Secretary deter- 9 mines— 10 (A) is involved in fishery management and 11 recovery activities, including activities under the 12 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 13 1531 et seq.); and 14 (B) has the management and organiza- 15 tional capability to maximize the benefits of as- 16 sistance provided under subsection (c). 17 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 18 the Secretary, acting through the Director of the 19 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 20 (b) DROUGHT PLAN FOR CRITICALLY IMPORTANT 21 FISHERIES.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 23 2024, and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary, in 24 consultation with the Director of the National Ma- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2102 IS rine Fisheries Service, the Commissioner of Rec- 1 lamation, the Chief of Engineers, applicable State 2 fish and wildlife agencies, and qualified Tribal Gov- 3 ernments, shall prepare a plan to sustain the sur- 4 vival of critically important fisheries during future 5 periods of extended drought through— 6 (A) voluntary, compensated actions by pri- 7 vate landowners and water right holders; or 8 (B) other investments in drought prepared- 9 ness made by the Secretary. 10 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing the plan 11 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider— 12 (A) habitat restoration efforts designed to 13 provide drought refugia and increased fishery 14 resilience during droughts; 15 (B) relocating the release location and tim- 16 ing of hatchery fish to avoid predation and tem- 17 perature impacts; 18 (C) barging of hatchery release fish to im- 19 prove survival and reduce straying; 20 (D) coordination with water users, the 21 Commissioner of Reclamation, State fish and 22 wildlife agencies, qualified Tribal Governments, 23 and interested public water agencies regarding 24 voluntary water transfers, including through 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2102.IS S2102 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2102 IS groundwater substitution activities, to deter- 1 mine if water releases can be collaboratively 2 managed in a way that provides additional ben- 3 efits for critically important fisheries without 4 negatively impacting wildlife habitat; 5 (E) hatchery management modifications, 6 such as expanding hatchery production of fish 7 during periods of extended drought, if appro- 8 priate for a particular river basin; 9 (F) hatchery retrofit projects, such as the 10 installation and operation of filtration equip- 11 ment and chillers, to reduce disease outbreak, 12 egg mortality, and other impacts of droughts in 13 high water temperatures; 14 (G) increasing rescue operations of up- 15 stream migrating fish; 16 (H) improving temperature modeling and 17 related forecasted information to predict water 18 management impacts to the habitat of critically 19 important fisheries with a higher degree of ac- 20 curacy than current models; 21 (I) programs to reduce predation losses at 22 artificially created predation hot sp [Text truncated for display. 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