H.R. 4419 — what changed

Purposes— The purposes of this section are—

a lack of local support;

a lack of available Federal or non-Federal resources; or

an authorized purpose that is no longer relevant or feasible;

to establish an efficient and transparent process for deauthorizing Bureau of Reclamation projects and programs that have failed to receive a minimum level of investment, thereby ensuring active projects can move forward while reducing the backlog of authorized projects;

to create an expedited and definitive process to deauthorize Reclamation projects and programs;

to allow the continued authorization of programs and projects that are feasible; and

to establish a process for identifying authorized Bureau of Reclamation projects and programs that are no longer—

in the Federal interest; or

feasible.

Definitions— In this section:

Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

Reclamation project or program— The term Reclamation project and program includes any project or program that is administered by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Minimum funding list— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, and make available on a publicly accessible Internet website in a manner that is downloadable, searchable, and sortable, a list of—

reclamation programs that are authorized and for which funding was obligated during the current fiscal year or any of the preceding 5 fiscal years;

projects or separable elements of projects authorized for construction for which funding has been obligated during the current fiscal year or any of the 5 preceding fiscal years; and

for each project or element of a project listed pursuant to subparagraph (B)—

the amount of funding obligated for each such project or separable element per fiscal year;

the current phase of each such project or separable element; and

the amount required to complete the current phase of each such project or separable element.

Backlog report— With the report required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, and make available on a publicly accessible Internet website in a manner that is downloadable, searchable, and sortable, a list of—

programs that are authorized and for which funding was not obligated during the current fiscal year or any of the preceding 5 fiscal years;

projects or separable elements that are authorized for construction but have not been completed; and

for each project or separable element listed pursuant to subparagraph (B)—

the date of authorization of the project or separable element, including any subsequent modifications to the original authorization;

the original budget authority for the project or separable element;

a brief description of the project or separable element;

the estimated date of completion of the project or separable element;

the estimated cost of completion of the project or separable element; and

any amounts appropriated for the project or separable element that remain unobligated.

In general— The Secretary shall develop an interim deauthorization list that identifies each Reclamation program or project, or separable element of a program or project, authorized 5 years prior to enactment of this Act, for which Federal and non-Federal funding was obligated to before the date of the enactment of this Act, but for which no Federal or non-Federal funds were obligated for the program, project, or separable element of the program or project during the current fiscal year or any of the 5 preceding fiscal years.

Special rule for projects receiving funds for post-authorization study— A project or separable element of a project may not be identified on the interim deauthorization list, or the final deauthorization list developed under subsection (d), if the project or separable element received Federal funding for a post-authorization study during the current fiscal year or any of the 5 preceding fiscal years.

Public comment and consultation— The Secretary shall solicit comments from the public and the Governors of each applicable State on the interim deauthorization list developed under paragraph (1). The public comment period shall be 90 days.

Submission to congress; publication— Not later than 90 days after the date of the submission of the list required by subsection (b), the Secretary shall—

submit the interim deauthorization list to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and

publish the interim deauthorization list in the Federal Register.

In general— The Secretary shall develop a final deauthorization list of each Reclamation program or project, or separable element of a program or project, described in subsection (c)(1) that is identified pursuant to this subsection.

In general— The Secretary shall identify projects and separable elements of projects for inclusion on the final deauthorization list according to the order in which the projects and separable elements of the projects were authorized, beginning with the earliest authorized projects and separable elements of projects and ending once the last project or separable element of a project necessary to meet the aggregate amount under paragraph (2) is identified.

Factors to consider— The Secretary may identify programs, projects, and separable elements of programs and projects for exclusion from the final deauthorization list if the Secretary determines, on a case-by-case basis, that a project or separable element of a project is critical for interests of the United States, based on the possible impact of the project or separable element of the project on public health and safety, the national economy, or the environment.

Consideration of public comments— In making determinations under clauses (i) and (ii), the Secretary shall consider any comments received under subsection (c)(3).

Appendix— The Secretary shall include as part of the final deauthorization list an appendix that—

identifies each program, project, and separable element of a program or project on the interim deauthorization list developed under subsection (c) that is not included on the final deauthorization list; and

describes the reasons why the program, project, or separable element is not included.

Submission to congress; publication— Not later than 120 days after the date on which the public comment period under subsection (c)(3) expires, the Secretary shall—

submit the final deauthorization list and the appendix to the final deauthorization list to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and

publish the final deauthorization list and the appendix to the final deauthorization list in the Federal Register.

In general— Subject to paragraph (2), after the date that is 180 days after the date of submission of the final deauthorization report under subsection (d), a program, project, or separable element of a program or project identified in the report is deauthorized, unless Congress passes a joint resolution disapproving the final deauthorization report prior to the end of that period.

Non-federal contributions— A program, project, or separable element of a program or project identified in the final deauthorization report under subsection (d) shall not be deauthorized under this subsection if, before the expiration of the 180-day period referred to in paragraph (1), the non-Federal interest of the program, project, or separable element of the project provides sufficient funds to complete the program, project, or separable element of the project.

Treatment of project modifications— For purposes of this section, if an authorized water resources development program, project, or separable element of the program or project has been modified by an Act of Congress, the date of authorization of the program, project, or separable element shall be deemed to be the date of the most recent modification.