[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 11273-11274]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04089]



[[Page 11271]]

Vol. 85

Wednesday,

No. 38

February 26, 2020

Part IV





The President





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Memorandum of February 19, 2020--Developing and Delivering More Water 
Supplies to California
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  Federal Register / Vol. 85 , No. 38 / Wednesday, February 26, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 11273]]

                Memorandum of February 19, 2020

                
 Developing and Delivering More Water Supplies to 
                California

                Memorandum for the Secretary of the Interior[,] the 
                Secretary of Commerce[, and] the Chair of the Council 
                on Environmental Quality

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, I hereby direct the following:

                Section 1. Policy. For decades, many of our Federal 
                western water infrastructure investments have been 
                undermined by fragmented and outdated regulatory 
                actions. In a memorandum dated October 19, 2018 
                (Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in 
                the West), I directed the Secretary of the Interior and 
                the Secretary of Commerce to work together, to the 
                extent practicable and consistent with applicable law, 
                to complete the review of the long-term coordinated 
                operations of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the 
                California State Water Project (SWP), and subsequently 
                to issue an updated Plan of Operations (Plan) and 
                Record of Decision (ROD). It is the policy of the 
                United States to modernize our Federal western water 
                infrastructure to deliver water and power in an 
                efficient, cost-effective way.

                Sec. 2. Enhancing Water Supplies While Appropriately 
                Protecting Species and Habitats. In response to my 
                memorandum, a Plan and ROD were issued today. The new 
                framework set forth in these documents is expected to 
                deliver more water to communities while using science 
                and investments appropriately to protect affected 
                species and their habitats. This is a good first step, 
                but I believe more can be done. Therefore, I direct the 
                Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce 
                to build upon the success of the Plan and ROD by 
                supplementing the resulting operations, consistent with 
                applicable law, to make deliveries of water more 
                reliable and bountiful. To help develop and deliver 
                water supplies in the Central Valley of California, I 
                direct those Secretaries to coordinate efforts to:

                    (a) implement the relevant authorities of subtitle 
                J of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the 
                Nation Act (Public Law 114-322), which include 
                provisions focused on (1) developing water storage, (2) 
                capturing more water during storm events, and (3) 
                giving agricultural and municipal water users more 
                regulatory certainty;
                    (b) fully implement, with respect to future agency 
                actions, recent Administration improvements to 
                management of programs established pursuant to the 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-205); and
                    (c) provide quarterly updates to the Chair of the 
                Council on Environmental Quality and, at the request of 
                other components of the Executive Office of the 
                President, to each such component, regarding progress 
                in carrying out sections 2(a) and (b) of this 
                memorandum.

                Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 11274]]

                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.
                    (d) The Secretary of the Interior is hereby 
                authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in 
                the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, February 19, 2020

[FR Doc. 2020-04089
Filed 2-25-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4310-10-P