[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 123 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3055-S3056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 879. Mr. PADILLA submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:
SEC. 10___. GRANTS TO STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES FOR
MULTIBENEFIT PROGRAMS TO VOLUNTARILY REPURPOSE
AGRICULTURAL LAND TO REDUCE CONSUMPTIVE WATER
USE.
(a) Authorization of Grants.--
(1) In general.--Section 101 of the Reclamation States
Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 (43 U.S.C. 2211) is
amended--
(A) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) as
subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
``(b) Grants to States and Indian Tribes for Multibenefit
Programs to Voluntarily Repurpose Agricultural Land.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Basin-scale.--The term `basin-scale' means an
eligible landscape area or sub-basin that--
``(i) includes multiple water users; or
[[Page S3056]]
``(ii) aligns with the boundaries of a State, Tribal,
regional, or local land or water management agency.
``(B) Covered program.--The term `covered program' means an
existing program of an eligible entity or a pilot program
proposed to be carried out by an eligible entity, the purpose
of which is to voluntarily repurpose or provide for the
transition of, over a period of years, irrigated agricultural
land to reduce consumptive water use, while providing
community health, economic wellbeing, water supply, habitat,
and climate benefits.
``(C) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(i) a State (including a designated State agency); or
``(ii) a Tribal government.
``(2) Authorization of grants.--The Secretary shall carry
out a program under which the Secretary shall provide
competitive matching grants to eligible entities, in
accordance with this subsection, to carry out covered
programs.
``(3) Eligible programs.--To be eligible for a grant under
paragraph (2), a covered program shall--
``(A) be basin-scale;
``(B) reduce consumptive water use;
``(C) repurpose or transition irrigated agricultural land
for not less than 10 years;
``(D) provide, for not less than 10 years, 1 or more other
measurable benefits to the environment or community in which
the program is being carried out, including--
``(i) restoring upland habitat;
``(ii) restoring riparian habitat;
``(iii) creating pollinator habitat;
``(iv) restoring flood plains connection to stream or river
channels;
``(v) creating dedicated multibenefit recharge areas;
``(vi) dry-land farming or planting non-irrigated or water-
saving cover crops;
``(vii) switching from irrigated agriculture to non-
irrigated rangeland;
``(viii) creating park or community recreation areas;
``(ix) acquiring a conservation easement on land taken out
of irrigated agricultural production to permanently protect a
new use of the land;
``(x) facilitation of renewable energy projects that have
an overall greenhouse gas reduction; and
``(xi) reestablishment of Tribal land uses.
``(4) Application.--To be eligible for a grant under
paragraph (2), an eligible entity shall submit to the
Secretary an application in such form, at such time, and
containing such information as the Secretary may require,
including a description of the manner in which the eligible
entity would use the grant funds to carry out projects under
the covered program that reduce consumptive water use by
converting irrigated agricultural land to a new use that--
``(A) reduces groundwater withdrawals or consumptive water
use for not less than 10 years; and
``(B) provides other measurable benefits to the environment
or communities in which the covered program is being carried
out.
``(5) Priority.--In providing grants under paragraph (2),
the Secretary shall give priority to covered programs that--
``(A) provide direct benefits to disadvantaged communities;
or
``(B) were developed through a multi-stakeholder planning
process.
``(6) Voluntary conservation agreements.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C), the
Secretary (acting through the Director of the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service) or the Secretary of Commerce
(acting through the Director of the National Marine Fisheries
Service), as applicable, shall seek to enter into voluntary
conservation agreements, with the individuals and entities
described in subparagraph (B), under which the individuals
and entities entering into the agreements would carry out on
formerly irrigated agricultural land converted under a
covered program carried out under this subsection or on
associated aquatic resources actions that contribute to the
recovery of species listed as endangered or threatened under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
``(B) Entities and individuals described.--The individuals
and entities referred to in subparagraph (A) are the
following:
``(i) Eligible entities provided grants to carry out a
covered program under paragraph (2).
``(ii) Owners of irrigated agricultural land converted
under a covered program carried out under this subsection.
``(iii) Owners of land adjacent to irrigated agricultural
land converted under a covered program carried out under this
subsection.
``(7) Annual report to congress.--Annually, the Secretary
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report that describes the status of covered programs for
which grant funds have been provided under this subsection
during the period covered by the report, including a
description of--
``(A) the achievements and effectiveness of each covered
program with respect to reducing groundwater withdrawals and
reducing consumptive water use;
``(B) the quantity of groundwater or surface water that was
conserved; and
``(C) the community agricultural sustainability or
environmental benefits that were achieved under each covered
program.
``(8) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this subsection $250,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
``(B) Reservation of funds.--Of the amounts made available
for a fiscal year under subparagraph (A), 50 percent shall be
used--
``(i) to provide grants for covered programs that are pilot
programs; or
``(ii) if no applications for grants for a pilot program
for the applicable fiscal year are submitted, to provide
grants to eligible covered programs that are existing
programs.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) Section 102(c) of the Reclamation States Emergency
Drought Relief Act of 1991 (43 U.S.C. 2212) is amended, in
the first sentence of the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ``section 101(c)'' and inserting ``section 101(d)''.
(B) Section 301 of the Reclamation States Emergency Drought
Relief Act of 1991 (43 U.S.C. 2241) is amended by striking
``section 303 of this Act'' and inserting ``section
101(b)(7)(A) or 303''.
(b) Applicable Period of Drought Program.--Section 104 of
the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991
(43 U.S.C. 2214) is amended by striking subsection (a) and
inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--The programs and authorities established
under this title shall only become operative in a Reclamation
State or in the State of Hawaii if--
``(1)(A) the Governor of the affected State, or the
governing body of the affected Indian Tribe with respect to a
reservation, has made a request for temporary drought
assistance; and
``(B) the Secretary has determined that the temporary
assistance is merited;
``(2) a drought emergency has been declared by the Governor
of the affected State;
``(3) a drought contingency plan has been approved in
accordance with title II;
``(4) for purposes of subsection (b) of section 101, the
affected State has implemented a covered program under that
subsection; or
``(5) in the case of a Colorado River Basin State, by
operation of the Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency
Plan executed in accordance with the Colorado River Drought
Contingency Plan Authorization Act (Public Law 116-14; 133
Stat. 850).''.
SEC. 10__. GRANTS TO SUPPORT AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY TO
REDUCE RELIANCE ON GROUNDWATER AND REDUCE
CONSUMPTIVE WATER USE.
Section 9504(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act
of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(J)--
(A) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) to reduce groundwater withdrawals and otherwise
reduce consumptive water use to respond to drought.'';
(2) in paragraph (2)(B)--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in clause (ii)(II), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) for a project to carry out on an activity described
in paragraph (1)(J)(iv)--
``(I) a proposal to repurpose irrigated agricultural land
for not less than 10 years to reduce consumptive water use,
while providing community health, economic wellbeing, water
supply, habitat, and climate resilience benefits, including--
``(aa) restoring upland habitat;
``(bb) restoring riparian habitat;
``(cc) creating pollinator habitat;
``(dd) restoring the connection of floodplains to stream or
river channels;
``(ee) creating dedicated multi-benefit recharge areas;
``(ff) dry-land farming or planting nonirrigated cover
crops;
``(gg) switching from irrigated agriculture to nonirrigated
rangeland;
``(hh) creating park or community recreation areas;
``(ii) acquiring a conservation easement on land taken out
of irrigated agricultural production to permanently protect
any of the new uses;
``(jj) facilitation of renewable energy projects that have
an overall greenhouse gas reduction; and
``(kk) reestablishment of Tribal land uses; and
``(II) a demonstration of the manner in which the proposed
activity would--
``(aa) reduce groundwater withdrawals or consumptive water
use for not less than 10 years; and
``(bb) provide other measurable benefits to the environment
or disadvantaged communities.''; and
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) by striking ``In providing'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--In providing''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Grants to repurpose agricultural land.--For purposes
of evaluating applications for grants described in paragraph
(2)(B)(iii), the Secretary shall give priority to
applications for proposals that provide direct benefits to
disadvantaged communities.''.
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