[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6484 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6484

   To amend the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act to authorize the 
    Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to non-Federal 
     interests for levee stability improvements located within the 
 Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta related to Bureau of Reclamation Central 
        Valley Project water deliveries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2012

   Mr. Garamendi (for himself, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. 
 Thompson of California, Mr. McNerney, and Ms. Matsui) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act to authorize the 
    Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to non-Federal 
     interests for levee stability improvements located within the 
 Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta related to Bureau of Reclamation Central 
        Valley Project water deliveries, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Shielding Against Flood Emergencies 
Levee Act'' or ``SAFE Levee Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) For over 60 years, the Bureau of Reclamation has used 
        the channels and sloughs of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to 
        facilitate the delivery of water to the Federal Central Valley 
        Project pumps located in the southern edge of the Delta.
            (2) The movement of water through these waterways has 
        created stress, degradation, and weakening of the levees that 
        are intended to protect adjacent land from flooding.
            (3) On July 25, 2012, the Secretary of the Interior 
        announced details of Federal support for a proposed water 
        project entitled the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which calls 
        for a dual conveyance system that would transport water around 
        the Delta using an isolated conveyance facility, while also 
        continuing to move water through the Delta's interior.
            (4) Under the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, the Bureau of 
        Reclamation will continue to rely on the Delta and its levees 
        to facilitate water deliveries to exporters until and after an 
        isolated conveyance facility is built.
            (5) Despite the Bureau of Reclamation's vested stake in the 
        stability of these levees, the Department of the Interior has 
        failed to address levee stability in the Bay Delta Conservation 
        Plan or through any other rudimentary maintenance measures.
            (6) To ensure that Central Valley Project water deliveries 
        are not disrupted due to levee failure, the Bureau of 
        Reclamation should provide financial assistance to public levee 
        owners for maintenance and levee improvements.

SEC. 3. SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA LEVEE STABILITY IMPROVEMENTS 
              RELATED TO BUREAU OF RECLAMATION CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT 
              WATER DELIVERIES.

    Section 103 of the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act (title I of 
Public Law 108-361; 118 Stat. 1683) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ``paragraphs (1), 
        (2), and (4) of subsection (f)'' and inserting ``paragraphs 
        (1), (2), (4), and (5) of subsection (f)''; and
            (2) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the following 
        new paragraph:
            ``(5) Delta levee stability maintenance and improvements 
        related to bureau of reclamation central valley project water 
        deliveries.--
                    ``(A) Program required.--The Secretary shall 
                establish a program to provide assistance to non-
                Federal interests for stability maintenance and 
                improvement on levees within the Sacramento-San Joaquin 
                Delta (as defined in Cal. Water Code Sec. 12220) that 
                facilitate Bureau of Reclamation water deliveries to 
                Central Valley Project contractors. The Secretary shall 
                prioritize the projects for which assistance will be 
                provided under this paragraph based on the extent to 
                which the levees covered by the projects are necessary 
                for Bureau of Reclamation water deliveries.
                    ``(B) Form of assistance.--Assistance provided 
                under this paragraph may be in the form of financial 
                assistance for water-supply reliability related levee 
                maintenance and improvements within the Delta.
                    ``(C) Limitations; continued liability.--The 
                Secretary may provide assistance for a levee stability 
                maintenance and improvement project under this 
                paragraph only if the levee directly facilitates 
                deliveries of water for the Central Valley Project and 
                is publically owned. The provision of Federal 
                assistance shall not be construed to change liability 
                associated with the levee.
                    ``(D) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost 
                of a levee stability maintenance and improvement 
                project under this paragraph may not exceed 50 percent 
                of the total project costs. The assistance may be 
                provided in the form of grants or reimbursements of 
                project costs.
                    ``(E) Implementation costs.--Costs associated with 
                implementation of the program under this paragraph may 
                be considered a reimbursable Federal expenditure 
                allocable to Central Valley Project subunits south of 
                the Delta that receive and benefit from water conveyed 
                through the Delta. Such costs shall be repayable by 
                water service contractors within those subunits.
                    ``(F) Authorization of appropriations.--There is 
                authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
                necessary to carry out this paragraph.''.

SEC. 4. EVALUATION OF BENEFITS AND COSTS OF CONVEYANCE ALTERNATIVES 
              BEING CONSIDERED UNDER THE BAY DELTA CONSERVATION 
              PLANNING PROCESS.

    (a) Benefits and Costs Analysis and Evaluation.--The Secretary of 
the Interior shall carry out an analysis and evaluation of the costs 
and benefits of options for facilitating conveyance of water deliveries 
to Central Valley Project contractors being considered in the Bay Delta 
Conservation Planning process, including at least one option that does 
not require the construction of one or more water conveyance tunnels.
    (b) Required Elements.--The analysis and evaluation under 
subsection (a) shall include at a minimum the following:
            (1) The total project costs, including environmental 
        review, planning, design, construction, mitigation, and all 
        related expenses, and the methods for paying those costs.
            (2) The expected impacts of the project on taxpayers, water 
        ratepayers, and the general fund of the Treasury.
            (3) Whether the analysis of the costs and benefits 
        determines that the direct social and environmental benefits of 
        any proposed project or plan outweigh its social and 
        environmental costs over the analysis period.
    (c) Presentation.--The analysis conducted under subsection (a) 
shall be displayed as either the quotient of benefits divided by costs 
representing the benefit to cost ratio, the difference between benefits 
and costs representing the net benefits, or both. The analysis shall 
include whether the present value of the proposed project exceeds the 
present value of its net benefits over the life of the project or plan.
    (d) Submission.--The Secretary shall report the findings of the 
analysis and evaluation conducted under subsection (a) to the Committee 
on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate no later than June 30, 
2013.
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