Sec. 302. Emergency operations
1,800 words·~8 min read·
/bill/114/s/2533/is/section-302·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall provide the maximum quantity of water supplies practicable to Central Valley Project agricultural, municipal, and industrial contractors, water service or repayment contractors, water rights settlement contractors, exchange contractors, refuge contractors, and State Water Project contractors, by approving, in accordance with applicable Federal and State laws (including regulations), operations or temporary projects to provide additional water supplies as quickly as practicable, based on available information, to address the emergency conditions.
In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall, in accordance with applicable laws (including regulations)— in close coordination with the California Department of Water Resources and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, implement a pilot project to test and evaluate the ability to operate the Delta cross-channel gates daily or as otherwise may be appropriate to keep the gates open to the maximum extent practicable to protect out-migrating salmonids, manage salinities in the interior Delta and any other water quality issues, and maximize Central Valley Project and State Water Project pumping, subject to the condition that the pilot project shall be designed and implemented consistent with operational criteria and monitoring criteria required by the California State Water Resources Control Board, including its order, Order Approving a Temporary Urgency Change in License and Permit Terms in Response to Drought Conditions , effective on January 31, 2014 (or a successor order); and design, implement, and evaluate those real-time monitoring capabilities to enable effective real-time operations of the cross-channel in order efficiently to meet the objectives described in subparagraph (A); with respect to the operation of the Delta cross-channel gates described in paragraph (1), collect data on the impact of that operation 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 benefits; collaborate with the California Department of Water Resources to install a deflection barrier at Georgiana Slough and the Delta cross-channel gate to protect migrating salmonids, consistent with knowledge gained from related activities carried out during 2014 and 2015; not later than May 15, 2016, submit to the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a notice and explanation regarding the extent to which the gates are able to remain open pursuant to paragraphs
(1)through (3); implement turbidity control strategies that may allow for increased water deliveries while avoiding jeopardy to adult Delta smelt due consistent with the smelt biological opinion; adopt a 1:1 inflow-to-export ratio for the increment of increased flow, as measured as a 3-day running average at Vernalis during the period beginning on April 1 and ending on May 31, that results from the voluntary sale, transfer, or exchange, unless the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce determine in writing that the ratio will cause additional adverse effects on any salmonid listed fish species beyond the range of effects anticipated to occur to the listed fish species for the duration of the salmonid biological opinion using the best scientific and commercial data available and subject to the condition that any individual sale, transfer, or exchange using that ratio may only proceed if— the Secretary of the Interior determines that the environmental effects of the proposed sale, transfer, or exchange are consistent with effects permitted under applicable law (including the Endangered Species Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq. ), and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (California Water Code 13000 et seq.)); Delta conditions are suitable to allow movement of the acquired, transferred, or exchanged water through the Delta, in accordance with existing Central Valley Project and State Water Project permitted water rights and the requirements of section 3405(a)(1)(H) of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act ( Public Law 102–575 ; 106 Stat. 4711); and the voluntary sale, transfer, or exchange of water results in flow that is in addition to flow that otherwise would occur in the absence of the voluntary sale, transfer, or exchange; issue all necessary permit decisions under the authority of the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce by not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a completed application by the State of California 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 shall provide benefits for species protection and in-Delta water user water quality, subject to the condition that the barriers or gates shall be designed so that, if practicable, formal consultations under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1536 ) are not necessary; or take a longer period to issue the permit decisions described in subparagraph
(A)only if the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce determine in writing that an environmental impact statement is needed for the proposal to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ); allow and facilitate, consistent with existing priorities, water transfers through the C.W. Bill Jones Pumping Plant or the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant during the period beginning on April 1 and ending on November 30, subject to the condition that the transfers— are consistent with applicable Federal and State laws (including regulations), including the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code 21000–21177); and are consistent with the smelt biological opinion and the salmonid biological opinion; require the Director and the Commissioner— to determine whether a written transfer proposal is complete by not later than 30 days after the date of submission of the proposal; and if the proposal is determined to be incomplete, to State with specificity what shall be supplemented or revised to complete the proposal; and 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 in the State of California by— not later than 30 days after deeming the application complete pursuant to subparagraph (A); or such later date as the Director or the Commissioner determines to be necessary, only if the Director or the Commissioner determines in writing that an environmental impact statement is needed for the proposal to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ); and approve any water transfer request described in clause
(i)to maximize the quantity of water supplies, subject to the condition that actions associated with the water transfer comply with applicable Federal and State laws (including regulations) and are consistent with— existing permitted water rights; and the requirements of section 3405(a)(1)(H) of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act ( Public Law 102–575 ; 106 Stat. 4711); in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive study, to be completed not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, on the effectiveness and environmental impacts of saltcedar biological control efforts on increasing water supplies and improving riparian habitats of the Colorado River and its principal tributaries, in the State of California and elsewhere; pursuant to the research and adaptive management provisions of the smelt biological opinion and the salmonid biological opinion— use all available scientific tools to identify any changes to real-time operations of Bureau of Reclamation, State of California, or local water projects that could result in the availability of additional water supplies; and determine whether alternative operational or other management measures would meet applicable regulatory requirements for listed species while maximizing water supplies and water supply reliability; and continue to vary the averaging period of the maximum percent of Delta Inflow Diverted (Delta export-inflow ratio), to the extent consistent with any applicable California Water Resources Control Board orders under decision D–1641 (which sets water quality objectives for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary) to operate— to a ratio using a 3-day averaging period on the rising limb of a Delta inflow hydrograph; and to a 14-day averaging period on the falling limb of the Delta inflow hydrograph. To the extent that a Federal department or agency other than the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce has a role in approving a project described in subsection
(a)or (b), this section shall apply to the Federal department or agency. On request of the Governor of California, the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall use the expedited procedures under this subsection to make final decisions relating to Federal or federally approved projects or operational changes proposed pursuant to subsections
(a)and
(b)to provide additional water supplies or otherwise address emergency drought conditions. On request of the Governor of California, the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce or the head of another Federal department or agency responsible for carrying out a review of a project, as applicable, 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 or otherwise address emergency drought conditions. A meeting under subparagraph
(A)shall convene not later than 7 days after the date of receipt of the meeting request. On receipt of a request for a meeting under this subsection, the Secretary of the Interior shall notify the heads of all relevant Federal departments and agencies of the request, including a description of— 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 of the Interior 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). The expedited procedures under this subsection apply only— to proposed new Federal projects or operational changes pursuant to subsection
(a)or (b); and to the extent the procedures are consistent with applicable laws (including regulations). For any year during which this section is in effect, the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, in consultation with appropriate State officials, shall develop a drought operations plan that is consistent with this Act and other applicable Federal and State laws, including provisions intended to provide additional water supplies that could be of assistance during the drought in existence on the date of enactment of this Act.
Connectionstraces to 4
2 references not yet in our index
- Pub. L. 102-575
- 106 Stat. 4711
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 302
Emergency operations
Pub. L.Pub. L. 102-575
Stat.106 Stat. 4711
Cites 6Cited by 0 across 0 sources