Sec. 103. Emergency projects
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/bill/113/s/2016/is/section-103A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
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 and Klamath 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)— any project or operations to provide additional water supplies if there is any possible way whatsoever that the Secretaries can do so unless the project or operations constitute a highly inefficient way of providing additional water supplies; and any projects or operations as quickly as possible based on available information to address the emergency conditions.
In carrying out subsection (a), the applicable agency heads described in that subsection shall, consistent with applicable laws (including regulations)— 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 State's drought emergency declaration, 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; collect data associated with the operation of the Delta Cross Channel Gates described in paragraph
(1)and its impact 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 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; 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 manage reverse flow in Old and Middle Rivers as prescribed by the biological opinion issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and dated December 15, 2008, to minimize water supply reductions for the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project; 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; 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; 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 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); allow North of Delta water service contractors with unused 2013 Central Valley Project contract supplies to take delivery of those unused supplies through April 15, 2014, if— the contractor requests the extension; and the requesting contractor certifies that, without the extension, the contractor would have insufficient supplies to adequately meet water delivery obligations; 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; to the maximum extent possible based on the availability of water and without causing land subsidence— meet the contract water supply needs of Central Valley Project refuges through the improvement or installation of wells to use groundwater resources and the purchase of water from willing sellers, which activities may be accomplished by using funding made available under section 104 or the Water Assistance Program or the WaterSMART program of the Department of the Interior; and make a quantity of Central Valley Project surface water obtained from the measures implemented under subparagraph
(A)available to Central Valley Project contractors; make WaterSMART grant funding administered by the Bureau of Reclamation available for eligible projects within the State on a priority and expedited basis— to provide emergency drinking and municipal water supplies to localities in a quantity necessary to meet minimum public health and safety needs; to prevent the loss of permanent crops; to minimize economic losses resulting from drought conditions; and to provide innovative water conservation tools and technology for agriculture and urban water use that can have immediate water supply benefits; 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; for reserved works only, authorize annual operation and maintenance deficits, owed to the Federal Government and incurred due to delivery of contract water supplies to a Central Valley Project or Klamath Project water contractor during each fiscal year the State emergency drought declaration is in force, to accrue without interest for a period of 5 years and then to be repaid, notwithstanding section 106 of Public Law 99–546 (100 Stat. 3052), to the Federal Government over a period of not more than 10 years at the lesser of— the project interest rate; and the rate specified in section 106 of Public Law 99–546 (100 Stat. 3052); and use all available scientific tools to identify and implement 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. 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 (b), the provisions of this section shall apply to those Federal agencies. 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 (b). 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. The Secretary of the Interior shall convene a meeting requested under subparagraph
(A)not later than 7 days after receiving the meeting request. 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. 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. The Secretary 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).
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2 references not yet in our index
- Pub. L. 99-546
- 100 Stat. 3052
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cites case law
Sec. 103
Emergency projects
Pub. L.Pub. L. 99-546
Stat.100 Stat. 3052
Cites 5Cited by 0 across 0 sources