[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 109 (Thursday, June 22, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA:
  S. 2166. A bill to amend the Reclamation States Emergency Drought 
Relief Act of 1991 and the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 
to provide grants to States and Indian Tribes for programs to 
voluntarily repurpose agricultural land to reduce consumptive water 
use, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Voluntary 
Agricultural Land Repurposing Act to support voluntary efforts to 
repurpose agricultural land to multibenefit uses. Enactment of this 
legislation would provide new tools for States, producers, water users, 
and Federal partners to adapt to long-term water scarcity at the basin 
scale.
  The bill would modernize existing Federal programs at the Bureau of 
Reclamation to support long-term drought planning and resiliency by 
stakeholders.
  Specifically, the bill would authorize funding for States that choose 
to pilot and implement their own multibenefit land repurposing 
programs. Eligible State-run programs must be basin-scale, reduce 
consumptive water use, and repurpose irrigated agricultural land for at 
least 10 years. Programs must also provide one or more other measurable 
benefits to the environment or community, including the restoration 
habitat or floodplains connection to streams or rivers, the creation of 
dedicated recharge areas, the facilitation of renewable energy 
projects, the creation of parks or recreational areas, and other listed 
uses. The bill would also prioritize State programs that provide direct 
benefits to disadvantaged communities or were developed through a 
multistakeholder planning process.
  Because it may take time for States to stand up or pilot programs, 
the bill would also make multibenefit land repurposing an eligible use 
under the WaterSMART Program so that individual water users could apply 
and compete for funding for multibenefit land repurposing projects.
  Water scarcity at the basin scale demands widespread changes in water 
use across the West. The Colorado River Basin's water storage shortage, 
Utah's decline to record low levels of the Great Salt Lake, and 
California's subsidence due to groundwater overdraft in the Central 
Valley are just a few of the many examples of long-term, basin-scale 
water scarcity demanding change in our water use.
  Through the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction 
Act, Congress has stepped up and invested billions of dollars in new 
technologies to shore up our water supplies, including large-scale 
water recycling and desalination. But a historic megadrought and the 
climate crisis are unfortunately forcing Western States and water users 
to reimagine how to allocate and govern water and forcing producers to 
be more efficient with water or make do with less.
  One tool to bolster drought resilience is to retire irrigation from 
some agricultural lands, particularly where soils or productivity is 
marginal, where non-irrigated agricultural uses can sustainably 
contribute to an operation, or where important public benefits such as 
fish and wildlife habitat, watershed health and aquifer recharge, or 
renewable energy can be supported in a conversion from irrigated 
agriculture.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the Voluntary 
Agricultural Land Repurposing Act as quickly as possible.
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