[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3259-S3260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6047. Mr. PADILLA submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2027 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. 1094. PROJECT PLANNING IN SUPPORT OF INNOVATIVE
VOLUNTARY WATER SHARING AGREEMENTS AND
VOLUNTARY USE OF WATER-THRIFTY CROPS.
Title II of the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief
Act of 1991 (43 U.S.C. 2221 et seq.) is amended by inserting
after section 201 the following:
``SEC. 201A. PROJECT PLANNING IN SUPPORT OF INNOVATIVE
VOLUNTARY WATER SHARING AGREEMENTS AND
VOLUNTARY USE OF WATER-THRIFTY CROPS TO PREPARE
FOR AND RESPOND TO DROUGHT.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in order to prepare for
and respond to drought conditions, may, using funds made
available to carry out this title and under subsection (g),
provide to qualified applicants technical and financial
assistance to provide planning support for the implementation
of voluntary projects incorporating innovative approaches
that--
``(1)(A) keep agricultural land in production; and
``(B) support income and employment levels in rural
communities;
``(2) provide affordable water supplies, redundant water
supplies, shared storage, or other benefits; and
``(3) rely over the long term on sources other than Federal
funding for implementation.
``(b) Description of Innovative Approach.--An innovative
approach referred to in subsection (a)--
``(1) shall--
``(A) be new; or
``(B) lack a well-established track record in the
applicable area;
``(2) shall include an approach that--
``(A) insulates agricultural water users from the risk of
crop failures or water shortages through voluntary financial,
water storage, or water sharing agreements between at least 1
party described in subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) and 1 party
described in subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii);
``(B) brings water-saving commodities or practices into
production; or
``(C) involves voluntary methods for reducing agricultural
consumptive water use, including--
``(i) hydroponics;
``(ii) agrovoltaics;
``(iii) agroforestry;
``(iv) innovative irrigation technologies, including
gravity-powered drip irrigation and automated high-efficiency
surface irrigation;
``(v) root-zone-based irrigation management systems;
``(vi) implementation of regenerative agricultural
practices that decrease net water consumption; or
``(vii) concentration of crop production on a reduced
irrigated acreage that results in an equal or greater
financial return; and
``(3) shall not include an approach that--
``(A) fallows agricultural land for--
``(i) the majority of the growing season in the applicable
area; or
``(ii) in the case of a drought-year agreement, is
reasonably anticipated to result in fallowing for the
majority of years under the drought-year agreement; or
``(B) involves crops in the applicable area (other than
crops using an approach described in paragraph (2)) that
are--
``(i) widely used or planted; or
``(ii) well understood in terms of yield, cost, and other
key production factors.
``(c) Qualified Applicants.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), to
qualify for financial or technical assistance under this
section, an applicant shall--
``(A) propose a voluntary partnership among--
``(i) 1 or more agricultural entities or irrigation
districts, which shall include any relevant water right
holder, contractor, or permittee, the authorization of which
is required under subsection (d)(2); and
[[Page S3260]]
``(ii) 1 or more--
``(I) State, municipal, or other community water providers;
``(II) industrial or commercial entities, including data
centers;
``(III) States, State agencies, or subdivisions of a State;
or
``(IV) nonprofit conservation organizations; and
``(B) submit to the Secretary an application signed by at
least 1 party described in subparagraph (A)(i) and 1 party
described in subparagraph (A)(ii).
``(2) No limits on participation of tribal entities.--Each
of the parties described in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph
(1)(A) may be Tribal entities.
``(3) Projects without voluntary partnerships.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the
Secretary may award, with the authorization of the water
right holder, contractor, or permittee, if required under
subsection (d)(2), to a State, State agency, or subdivision
of a State, Indian Tribe, or agricultural entity that is not
in a voluntary partnership with other entities described in
paragraph (1)(A) a portion of the financial assistance
authorized under this section for the planning or conduct of
a voluntary project that--
``(i) uses an innovative approach described in paragraphs
(1) and (2) of subsection (b); or
``(ii) with respect to a voluntary project conducted by a
State, State agency, or Indian Tribe, would advance other
long-term efforts to reverse declining--
``(I) groundwater supplies; or
``(II) freshwater inflows to inland lakes.
``(B) Priority consideration.--The Secretary shall give
priority consideration to an application for financial
assistance under this paragraph for which the following
thresholds have been met or are projected to be met:
``(i) In the case of an application from an agricultural
entity or subdivision of a State, a reduction of 40 percent
or more in the annual water supply of the agricultural entity
or subdivision of the State, due to factors outside the
control of the agricultural entity or subdivision of the
State.
``(ii) In the case of an application from a State, State
agency, or Indian Tribe, a reduction of 40 percent or more
in--
``(I) groundwater supplies; or
``(II) freshwater inflows to inland lakes.
``(d) Application Requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure
that applications for financial or technical assistance under
this section--
``(1) shall be limited to--
``(A) a brief description of why the proposed approach to
be provided assistance is consistent with this section and
the priorities described in subsection (e); and
``(B) any basic information on the applicant that the
Secretary determines to be necessary;
``(2) shall require, in the case in which a water user
applicant is located within an irrigation district,
authorization from the water right holder, contractor, or
permittee, if different from the applicant; and
``(3) shall not require any preparation of supporting
reports by the applicant or other entities.
``(e) Priority.--The Secretary shall prioritize
applications for financial or technical assistance under this
section based on--
``(1) for projects involving a voluntary partnership under
subsection (c)(1), whether the proposed project would
dedicate a portion of the water saved in the project area to
increase water supplies for--
``(A) other members of the water district within which the
project is located; or
``(B) in the case of a project not within a water district,
other members of the municipality, Indian Tribe, acequia, or
other community unit within which the project is located;
``(2) the extent to which the proposed approach is
innovative in terms of--
``(A) the practices implemented or the crops planted;
``(B) the financial or other aspects of the voluntary
partnership among the agricultural entities and municipal or
industrial entities or nonprofit conservation organizations;
or
``(C) a combination of the factors described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B);
``(3) the extent to which the proposed approach is
preliminarily estimated to reduce consumptive agricultural
water use compared to existing practices while keeping
agricultural land in production;
``(4) the extent to which the proposed approach is
preliminarily estimated to support income and employment
levels in the relevant agricultural community compared to
existing practices (whether due to increased yields, lower
input costs, or other factors);
``(5) the assessment of the Secretary of the likelihood
that the proposed approach is likely to be successfully
implemented as proposed;
``(6) whether the voluntary water sharing agreements among
the agricultural entities and municipal or industrial
entities or nonprofit conservation organizations are proposed
for a period of not less than 5 years;
``(7) the likelihood of the project to sustain the project
long-term without the need for additional Federal funding
after the project demonstration phase; and
``(8) such other factors as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate, consistent with subsection (c)(3).
``(f) Cost-sharing Requirement.--
``(1) In general.--The Federal share of activities provided
financial assistance under this section shall not exceed 75
percent of the cost of the activities.
``(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the cost-sharing
requirement under paragraph (1) for Tribal entities.
``(g) Funding.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the Secretary may use not more than 10 percent of the
amounts made available under section 9504(e) of the Omnibus
Public Land Management Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364(e)) to
carry out this section, including any reasonable
administrative expenses.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to any
amounts otherwise made available to carry out this title and
amounts made available under paragraph (1), there is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out
this section, including any reasonable administrative
expenses, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2028 through
2034.''.
______