[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3303-S3305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 3227. Mr. REID (for Mrs. Feinstein (for herself and Ms. 
Murkowski)) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 2198, to direct the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency to take actions to provide additional water supplies to the 
State of California due to drought, and for other purposes; as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency 
     Drought Relief Act of 2014''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Emergency projects.
Sec. 5. Emergency environmental reviews.
Sec. 6. State revolving funds.
Sec. 7. Effect on State laws.
Sec. 8. Termination of authorities.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) as established in the Proclamation of a State of 
     Emergency issued by the Governor of the State on January 17, 
     2014, the State is experiencing record dry conditions;
       (2) extremely dry conditions have persisted in the State 
     since 2012, and the drought conditions are likely to persist 
     into the future;
       (3) the water supplies of the State are at record-low 
     levels, as indicated by a statewide average snowpack of 12 
     percent of the normal average for winter as of February 1, 
     2014, and the fact that all major Central Valley Project 
     reservoir levels are at or below 50 percent of the capacity 
     of the reservoirs as of April 1, 2014;
       (4) the 2013-2014 drought constitutes a serious emergency 
     posing immediate and severe risks to human life and safety 
     and to the environment throughout the State;
       (5) the emergency requires--
       (A) immediate and credible action that respects the 
     complexity of the water system of the State and the 
     importance of the water system to the entire State; and
       (B) policies that do not pit stakeholders against one 
     another, which history has shown only leads to costly 
     litigation that benefits no one and prevents any real 
     solutions;
       (6) Federal law (including regulations) directly authorizes 
     expedited decisionmaking procedures and environmental and 
     public review procedures to enable timely and appropriate 
     implementation of actions to respond to such a type and 
     severity of emergency; and
       (7) the serious emergency posed by the 2013-2014 drought in 
     the State fully satisfies the conditions necessary for the 
     exercise of emergency decisionmaking, analytical, and public 
     review requirements under--
       (A) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
     seq.);
       (B) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
     U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
       (C) water control management procedures of the Corps of 
     Engineers described in section 222.5 of title 33, Code of 
     Federal Regulations (including successor regulations); and
       (D) the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 
     1991 (Public Law 102-250; 106 Stat. 53).

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Central valley project.--The term ``Central Valley 
     Project'' has the meaning given the term in section 3403 of 
     the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (106 Stat. 4707).
       (2) Klamath project.--The term ``Klamath Project'' means 
     the Bureau of Reclamation project in the States of California 
     and Oregon, as authorized under the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 
     Stat. 388, chapter 1093).
       (3) Reclamation project.--The term ``Reclamation Project'' 
     means a project constructed pursuant to the authorities of 
     the reclamation laws and whose facilities are wholly or 
     partially located in the State.
       (4) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
       (A) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
     Agency;
       (B) the Secretary of Agriculture;
       (C) the Secretary of Commerce; and
       (D) the Secretary of the Interior.
       (5) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of 
     California.
       (6) State water project.--The term ``State Water Project'' 
     means the water project described by California Water Code 
     section 11550 et seq., and operated by the California 
     Department of Water Resources.

     SEC. 4. EMERGENCY PROJECTS.

       (a) Water Supplies.--
       (1) In general.--In response to the declaration of a state 
     of drought emergency by the Governor of the State, the 
     Secretaries shall provide the maximum quantity of water 
     supplies possible to Central Valley Project agricultural, 
     municipal and industrial, and refuge service and repayment 
     contractors, State Water Project contractors, and any other 
     locality or municipality in the State, by approving, 
     consistent with applicable laws (including regulations), 
     projects and operations to provide additional water supplies 
     as quickly as possible based on available information to 
     address the emergency conditions.
       (2) Application.--Paragraph (1) applies to projects or 
     operations involving the Klamath Project if the projects or 
     operations would benefit Federal water contractors in the 
     State.
       (b) Limitation.--Nothing in this section allows agencies to 
     approve projects--
       (1) that would otherwise require congressional 
     authorization; or
       (2) without following procedures required by applicable 
     law.
       (c) Administration.--In carrying out subsection (a), the 
     Secretaries shall, consistent with applicable laws (including 
     regulations)--
       (1) authorize and implement actions to ensure that the 
     Delta Cross Channel Gates shall remain open to the greatest 
     extent possible, timed to maximize the peak flood tide period 
     and provide water supply and water quality benefits for the 
     duration of the drought emergency declaration of the State, 
     consistent with operational criteria and monitoring criteria 
     developed pursuant to the California State Water Resources 
     Control Board's Order Approving a Temporary Urgency Change in 
     License and Permit Terms in Response to Drought Conditions, 
     effective January 31, 2014, or a successor order;
       (2)(A) collect data associated with the operation of the 
     Delta Cross Channel Gates described in paragraph (1) and the 
     impact of the operation on species listed as threatened or 
     endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
     U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), water quality, and water supply; and
       (B) after assessing the data described in subparagraph (A), 
     require the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service 
     to recommend revisions to operations of the Central Valley 
     Project and the California State Water Project, including, if 
     appropriate, the reasonable and prudent alternatives 
     contained in the biological opinion issued by the National 
     Marine Fisheries Service on June 4, 2009, that are likely to 
     produce fishery, water quality, and water supply benefits;
       (3)(A) implement turbidity control strategies that allow 
     for increased water deliveries while avoiding jeopardy to 
     adult delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) due to 
     entrainment at Central Valley Project and State Water Project 
     pumping plants; and
       (B) manage reverse flow in the Old and Middle Rivers as 
     prescribed by the biological opinions issued by the United 
     States Fish and Wildlife Service on December 15, 2008, for 
     Delta smelt and by the National Marine Fisheries Service on 
     June 4, 2009, for salmonids, to minimize water supply 
     reductions for the Central Valley Project and the State Water 
     Project;
       (4) adopt a 1:1 inflow to export ratio for the increased 
     flow of the San Joaquin River, as measured as a 3-day running 
     average at Vernalis during the period from April 1 through 
     May 31, resulting from voluntary transfers and exchanges of 
     water supplies, among other purposes;

[[Page S3304]]

       (5) issue all necessary permit decisions under the 
     authority of the Secretaries within 30 days of receiving a 
     completed application by the State to place and use temporary 
     barriers or operable gates in Delta channels to improve water 
     quantity and quality for State Water Project and Central 
     Valley Project South of Delta water contractors and other 
     water users, which barriers or gates should provide benefits 
     for species protection and in-Delta water user water quality 
     and shall be designed such that formal consultations under 
     section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
     1536) would not be necessary;
       (6)(A) require the Director of the United States Fish and 
     Wildlife Service and the Commissioner of the Bureau of 
     Reclamation to complete all requirements under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 
     the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
     necessary to make final permit decisions on water transfer 
     requests associated with voluntarily fallowing nonpermanent 
     crops in the State, within 30 days of receiving such a 
     request; and
       (B) require the Director of the United States Fish and 
     Wildlife Service to allow any water transfer request 
     associated with fallowing to maximize the quantity of water 
     supplies available for nonhabitat uses as long as the 
     fallowing and associated water transfer are in compliance 
     with applicable Federal laws (including regulations);
       (7) participate in, issue grants, or otherwise provide 
     funding for, as soon as practicable after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, under existing authority available to 
     the Secretary of the Interior, pilot projects to increase 
     water in reservoirs in regional river basins experiencing 
     extreme, exceptional, or sustained drought that have a direct 
     impact on the water supply of the State, including the 
     Colorado River Basin, provided that any participation, grant, 
     or funding by the Secretary with respect to the Upper 
     Division shall be with or to the respective State;
       (8) maintain all rescheduled water supplies held in the San 
     Luis Reservoir and Millerton Reservoir for all water users 
     for delivery in the immediately following contract water year 
     unless precluded by reservoir storage capacity limitations;
       (9) to the maximum extent possible based on the 
     availability of water and without causing land subsidence or 
     violating water quality standards--
       (A) meet the contract water supply needs of Central Valley 
     Project refuges through the improvement or installation of 
     water conservation measures, water conveyance facilities, and 
     wells to use groundwater resources, which activities may be 
     accomplished by using funding made available under the Water 
     Assistance Program or the WaterSMART program of the 
     Department of the Interior; and
       (B) make a quantity of Central Valley Project surface water 
     obtained from the measures implemented under subparagraph (A) 
     available to Central Valley Project contractors;
       (10) in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, 
     enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences 
     to conduct a comprehensive study, to be completed not later 
     than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, on the 
     effectiveness and environmental impacts of saltcedar 
     biological control efforts on increasing water supplies and 
     improving riparian habitats of the Colorado River and its 
     principal tributaries, in the State and elsewhere;
       (11) make any WaterSMART grant funding allocated to the 
     State available on a priority and expedited basis for 
     projects in the State that--
       (A) provide emergency drinking and municipal water supplies 
     to localities in a quantity necessary to meet minimum public 
     health and safety needs;
       (B) prevent the loss of permanent crops;
       (C) minimize economic losses resulting from drought 
     conditions; or
       (D) provide innovative water conservation tools and 
     technology for agriculture and urban water use that can have 
     immediate water supply benefits;
       (12) implement offsite upstream projects in the Delta and 
     upstream Sacramento River and San Joaquin basins, in 
     coordination with the California Department of Water 
     Resources and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 
     that offset the effects on species listed as threatened or 
     endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
     U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) due to actions taken under this Act; and
       (13) use all available scientific tools to identify any 
     changes to real-time operations of Bureau of Reclamation, 
     State and local water projects that could result in the 
     availability of additional water supplies.
       (d) Other Agencies.--To the extent that a Federal agency 
     other than agencies headed by the Secretaries has a role in 
     approving projects described in subsections (a) and (c), this 
     section shall apply to those Federal agencies.
       (e) Accelerated Project Decision and Elevation.--
       (1) In general.--Upon the request of the State, the heads 
     of Federal agencies shall use the expedited procedures under 
     this subsection to make final decisions relating to a Federal 
     project or operation to provide additional water supplies or 
     address emergency drought conditions pursuant to subsections 
     (a) and (c).
       (2) Request for resolution.--
       (A) In general.--Upon the request of the State, the head of 
     an agency referred to in subsection (a), or the head of 
     another Federal agency responsible for carrying out a review 
     of a project, as applicable, the Secretary of the Interior 
     shall convene a final project decision meeting with the heads 
     of all relevant Federal agencies to decide whether to approve 
     a project to provide emergency water supplies.
       (B) Meeting.--The Secretary of the Interior shall convene a 
     meeting requested under subparagraph (A) not later than 7 
     days after receiving the meeting request.
       (3) Notification.--Upon receipt of a request for a meeting 
     under this subsection, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
     notify the heads of all relevant Federal agencies of the 
     request, including the project to be reviewed and the date 
     for the meeting.
       (4) Decision.--Not later than 10 days after the date on 
     which a meeting is requested under paragraph (2), the head of 
     the relevant Federal agency shall issue a final decision on 
     the project.
       (5) Meeting convened by secretary.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior may convene a final project decision meeting under 
     this subsection at any time, at the discretion of the 
     Secretary, regardless of whether a meeting is requested under 
     paragraph (2).

     SEC. 5. EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.

       To minimize the time spent carrying out environmental 
     reviews and to deliver water quickly that is needed to 
     address emergency drought conditions in the State, the head 
     of each applicable Federal agency shall, in carrying out this 
     Act, consult with the Council on Environmental Quality in 
     accordance with section 1506.11 of title 40, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (including successor regulations) to develop 
     alternative arrangements to comply with the National 
     Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
     during the emergency.

     SEC. 6. STATE REVOLVING FUNDS.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, in allocating amounts for each of the 
     fiscal years during which the emergency drought declaration 
     of the State is in force to State water pollution control 
     revolving funds established under title VI of the Federal 
     Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) and the 
     State drinking water treatment revolving loan funds 
     established under section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 300j-12), shall, for those projects that are 
     eligible to receive assistance under section 603 of the 
     Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383) or 
     section 1452(a)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300j-12(a)(2)), respectively, that the State determines will 
     provide additional water supplies most expeditiously to areas 
     that are at risk of having an inadequate supply of water for 
     public health and safety purposes or to improve resiliency to 
     drought--
       (1) require the State to review and prioritize funding for 
     such projects;
       (2) issue a determination of waivers within 30 days of the 
     conclusion of the informal public comment period pursuant to 
     section 436(c) of title IV of division G of Public Law 113-
     76; and
       (3) authorize, at the request of the State, 40-year 
     financing for assistance under section 603(d)(2) of the 
     Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(d)(2)) or 
     section 1452(f)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300j-12(f)(2)).
       (b) Effect of Section.--Nothing in this section authorizes 
     the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
     modify any funding allocation, funding criteria, or other 
     requirement relating to State water pollution control 
     revolving funds established under title VI of the Federal 
     Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) and the 
     State drinking water treatment revolving loan funds 
     established under section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 300j-12) for any other State.

     SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS.

       Nothing in this Act preempts any State law in effect on the 
     date of enactment of this Act, including area of origin and 
     other water rights protections.

     SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITIES.

       The authorities under section 4(a), paragraphs (1) through 
     (6) of section 4(c), paragraphs (8) and (9) of section 4(c), 
     paragraphs (11) through (13) of section 4(c), section 5, and 
     section 6 permanently expire on the date on which the 
     Governor of the State suspends the state of drought emergency 
     declaration.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 3228. Mr. REID (for Mrs. Feinstein (for herself and Ms. 
Murkowski)) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 2198, to direct the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency to take actions to provide additional water supplies to the 
State of California due to drought, and for other purposes; as follows:

       Amend the title to read as follows: ``To direct the 
     Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the 
     Secretary of Agriculture, and the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency to take actions to provide 
     additional water supplies to the State of California due to 
     drought, and for other purposes.''.

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