This division may be cited as the “Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024”. Editorial note: The text above is the only information printed on this page of the signed law.
Division D — Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
DIVISION D Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
TITLE I Corps of Engineers—civil
Department of the Army
General Provisions—corps of Engineers—civil
Sec. 101.
None of the funds provided in title I of this Act, or provided by previous appropriations Acts to the agencies or entities funded in title I of this Act that remain available for obligation or expenditure in fiscal year 2024, shall be available for obligation or expenditure through a reprogramming of funds that:
creates or initiates a new program, project, or activity;
eliminates a program, project, or activity;
increases funds or personnel for any program, project, or activity for which funds have been denied or restricted by this Act, unless prior approval is received from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress;
proposes to use funds directed for a specific activity for a different purpose, unless prior approval is received from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress;
augments or reduces existing programs, projects, or activities in excess of the amounts contained in paragraphs (6) through (10), unless prior approval is received from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress;
Investigations.— For a base level over $100,000, reprogramming of 25 percent of the base amount up to a limit of $150,000 per project, study or activity is allowed: Provided, That for a base level less than $100,000, the reprogramming limit is $25,000: Provided further, That up to $25,000 may be reprogrammed into any continuing study or activity that did not receive an appropriation for existing obligations and concomitant administrative expenses;
Construction.— For a base level over $2,000,000, reprogramming of 15 percent of the base amount up to a limit of $3,000,000 per project, study or activity is allowed: Provided, That for a base level less than $2,000,000, the reprogramming limit is $300,000: Provided further, That up to $3,000,000 may be reprogrammed for settled contractor claims, changed conditions, or real estate deficiency judgments: Provided further, That up to $300,000 may be reprogrammed into any continuing study or activity that did not receive an appropriation for existing obligations and concomitant administrative expenses;
Operation and maintenance.— Unlimited reprogramming authority is granted for the Corps to be able to respond to emergencies: Provided, That the Chief of Engineers shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of these emergency actions as soon thereafter as practicable: Provided further, That for a base level over $1,000,000, reprogramming of 15 percent of the base amount up to a limit of $5,000,000 per project, study, or activity is allowed: Provided further, That for a base level less than $1,000,000, the reprogramming limit is $150,000: Provided further, That $150,000 may be reprogrammed into any continuing study or activity that did not receive an appropriation;
Mississippi river and tributaries.— The reprogramming guidelines in paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) shall apply to the Investigations, Construction, and Operation and Maintenance portions of the Mississippi River and Tributaries Account, respectively; and
Formerly utilized sites remedial action program.— Reprogramming of up to 15 percent of the base of the receiving project is permitted.
De Minimus Reprogrammings.— In no case should a reprogramming for less than $50,000 be submitted to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress.
Continuing Authorities Program.— Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to any project or activity funded under the continuing authorities program.
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress to establish the baseline for application of reprogramming and transfer authorities for the current fiscal year which shall include:
A table for each appropriation with a separate column to display the President’s budget request, adjustments made by Congress, adjustments due to enacted rescissions, if applicable, and the fiscal year enacted level;
A delineation in the table for each appropriation both by object class and program, project and activity as detailed in the budget appendix for the respective appropriations; and
An identification of items of special congressional interest.
Sec. 102.
The Secretary shall allocate funds made available in this Act solely in accordance with the provisions of this Act and in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act).
Sec. 103.
None of the funds made available in this title may be used to award or modify any contract that commits funds beyond the amounts appropriated for that program, project, or activity that remain unobligated, except that such amounts may include any funds that have been made available through reprogramming pursuant to section 101.
Sec. 104.
The Secretary of the Army may transfer to the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service may accept and expend, up to $8,200,000 of funds provided in this title under the heading “Operation and Maintenance” to mitigate for fisheries lost due to Corps of Engineers projects.
Sec. 105.
None of the funds in this Act shall be used for an open lake placement alternative for dredged material, after evaluating the least costly, environmentally acceptable manner for the disposal or management of dredged material originating from Lake Erie or tributaries thereto, unless it is approved under a State water quality certification pursuant to section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1341): Provided, That until an open lake placement alternative for dredged material is approved under a State water quality certification, the Corps of Engineers shall continue upland placement of such dredged material consistent with the requirements of section 101 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2211).
Sec. 106.
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to carry out any water supply reallocation study under the Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, project authorized under the Act of July 24, 1946 (60 Stat. 636, ch. 595).
Sec. 107.
Additional funding provided in this Act shall be allocated only to projects determined to be eligible by the Chief of Engineers.
Sec. 108.
None of the funds made available by this Act or any prior Act may be used to alter the eligibility requirements for assistance under section 5 of the Act of August 18, 1941 (33 U.S.C. 701n) in effect on November 14, 2022, without express authorization by Congress.
Sec. 109.
Notwithstanding any other requirement, the remaining unobligated balances from amounts made available under the heading “Corps of Engineers—Civil—Construction” in division J of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58) for which spend plan allocations have not been announced as of the date of enactment of this Act (other than such balances otherwise repurposed by the third proviso under such heading in this title) may be made available for projects, in addition to amounts otherwise made available for such purposes and regardless of project purpose, that have previously received funds under the heading “Construction” in title IV of division B of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–123) subject to the terms and conditions of such title IV of division B as applicable and as specifically modified by section 111 of this Act, or in chapter 4 of title X of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (division A of Public Law 113–2) subject to the terms and conditions of such chapter 4 of title X as applicable and as specifically modified by section 111 of this Act, and for which non-Federal interests have entered into binding agreements with the Secretary as of the date of enactment of this Act: Provided, That amounts repurposed pursuant to this section that were previously designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to a concurrent resolution on the budget are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4001(a)(1) of S. Con. Res. 14 (117th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2022, and to legislation establishing fiscal year 2024 budget enforcement in the House of Representatives.
Sec. 110.
The remaining unobligated balances from amounts provided under the heading “Construction” in title IV of the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (division B of Public Law 117–43) for which spend plan allocations were announced prior to the date of enactment of this Act shall be reallocated to the same project, including modifications thereto, and in addition to amounts otherwise made available for such purpose, that has previously received funds under such heading in title IV of division B of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–123), subject to the terms and conditions of such title IV of division B of Public Law 115–123 as applicable and as specifically modified by section 111 of this Act: Provided, That amounts repurposed pursuant to this section that were previously designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to a concurrent resolution on the budget are designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Sec. 111.
Studies or projects receiving funds under the following headings in the following Acts as of the date of enactment of this Act are not required to be completed with such funds and may receive funds from this Act or future Acts, and any additional funds for such studies and projects shall be subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to the following headings in the following Acts—
“Investigations” or “Construction” in title IV of division B of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–123);
“Corps of Engineers—Civil—Construction” in chapter 4 of title X of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (division A of Public Law 113–2); and
“Corps of Engineers—Civil—Investigations” in title III of division J of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58).
Sec. 112.
Of the unobligated balances from prior year appropriations made available to “Corps of Engineers—Civil”, the following funds shall be transferred from the following accounts and programs in the specified amounts to “Corps of Engineers—Civil—Investigations” and, in addition to amounts otherwise made available for such purposes, shall be used for studies that have previously received funds provided under the heading “Investigations” in title IV of division B of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–123) or under such heading in title III of division J of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58) and for which non-Federal interests have entered into feasibility cost sharing agreements with the Secretary as of the date of enactment of this Act—
$371,293.38 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Construction” in chapter 3 of title I of division B of Public Law 109–148;
$562,613.89 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Operation and Maintenance” in chapter 3 of title I of division B of Public Law 109–148 that were provided for the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet channel;
$38,873.32 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Construction” in chapter 3 of title II of Public Law 109–234 that were provided for the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity project, the North Padre Island, Texas project, the Sacramento, California, Area project, and the Hawaii Water Systems Technical Assistance Program;
$95.55 from the combined unobligated balances under the “Construction” headings in chapter 3 of title IV and chapter 3 of title V of Public Law 110–28;
$83,734.13 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Construction” in chapter 3 of title III of Public Law 110–252, including amounts that were provided for the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity project, the West Bank and Vicinity project, and the Southeast Louisiana Urban Drainage project;
$2,122.56 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Operation and Maintenance” in chapter 3 of title III of Public Law 110–252;
$10.72 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Mississippi River and Tributaries” in chapter 3 of title III of Public Law 110–252;
$274,678.03 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Construction” in chapter 3 of title I of division B of Public Law 110–329 that were provided for the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity project, the West Bank and Vicinity project, and the Southeast Louisiana Urban Drainage project;
$267,434.81 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Operation and Maintenance” in chapter 3 of title I of division B of Public Law 110–329;
$0.02 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Operation and Maintenance” in title IV of Public Law 111–32;
$246,869.24 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Operation and Maintenance” in chapter 4 of title I of Public Law 111–212; and
$2,643,142.04 from the unobligated balances under the heading “Operation and Maintenance” in title I of Public Law 112–77:
Provided, That studies receiving funding pursuant to this section shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the heading “Investigations” in title IV of division B of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–123) or such heading in title III of division J of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58), as applicable and as specifically modified by section 111 of this Act: Provided further, That amounts repurposed or transferred pursuant to this section that were previously designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to a concurrent resolution on the budget or as being for disaster relief pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 are designated by the Congress as being an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 or as being for disaster relief pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(D) of such Act, respectively.
TITLE II Department of the Interior
Central Utah Project
Bureau of Reclamation
The following appropriations shall be expended to execute authorized functions of the Bureau of Reclamation:
General Provisions—department of the Interior
TITLE III Department of Energy
Energy Programs
Atomic Energy Defense Activities
Environmental and Other Defense Activities
Power Marketing Administrations
General Provisions—department of Energy
TITLE IV Independent Agencies
Appalachian Regional Commission
For expenses necessary to carry out the programs authorized by the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, as amended, and for expenses necessary for the Federal Co-Chairman and the Alternate on the Appalachian Regional Commission, for payment of the Federal share of the administrative expenses of the Commission, including services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, and hire of passenger motor vehicles, $200,000,000, to remain available until expended.
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Delta Regional Authority
Denali Commission
For expenses necessary for the Denali Commission including the purchase, construction, and acquisition of plant and capital equipment as necessary and other expenses, $17,000,000, to remain available until expended, notwithstanding the limitations contained in section 306(g) of the Denali Commission Act of 1998: Provided, That notwithstanding the limitations contained in section 307(c) of the Denali Commission Act of 1998, as amended, funds shall be available for construction projects for which the Denali Commission is the sole or primary funding source in an amount not to exceed 90 percent of total project cost for distressed communities, as defined by such section and by section 701 of appendix D, title VII, Public Law 106–113 (113 Stat. 1501A–280), and for Indian Tribes, as defined by section 5304(e) of title 25, United States Code, and in an amount not to exceed 50 percent for non-distressed communities: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law regarding payment of a non-Federal share in connection with a grant-in-aid program, amounts under this heading shall be available for the payment of such a non-Federal share for any project for which the Denali Commission is not the sole or primary funding source, provided that such project is consistent with the purposes of the Commission.
Northern Border Regional Commission
For expenses necessary for the Northern Border Regional Commission in carrying out activities authorized by subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, $41,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That such amounts shall be available for administrative expenses, notwithstanding section 15751(b) of title 40, United States Code.
Southeast Crescent Regional Commission
For expenses necessary for the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission in carrying out activities authorized by subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, $20,000,000, to remain available until expended.
Southwest Border Regional Commission
For expenses necessary for the Southwest Border Regional Commission in carrying out activities authorized by subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.
Great Lakes Authority
For expenses necessary for the Great Lakes Authority in carrying out activities authorized by subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
General Provisions—independent Agencies
TITLE V General Provisions
Sec. 501.
None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used in any way, directly or indirectly, to influence congressional action on any legislation or appropriation matters pending before Congress, other than to communicate to Members of Congress as described in 18 U.S.C. 1913.
Sec. 502.
None of the funds made available in title III of this Act may be transferred to any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government, except pursuant to a transfer made by or transfer authority provided in this Act or any other appropriations Act for any fiscal year, transfer authority referenced in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act), or any authority whereby a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government may provide goods or services to another department, agency, or instrumentality.
None of the funds made available for any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government may be transferred to accounts funded in title III of this Act, except pursuant to a transfer made by or transfer authority provided in this Act or any other appropriations Act for any fiscal year, transfer authority referenced in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act), or any authority whereby a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government may provide goods or services to another department, agency, or instrumentality.
The head of any relevant department or agency funded in this Act utilizing any transfer authority shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a semiannual report detailing the transfer authorities, except for any authority whereby a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government may provide goods or services to another department, agency, or instrumentality, used in the previous 6 months and in the year-to-date. This report shall include the amounts transferred and the purposes for which they were transferred, and shall not replace or modify existing notification requirements for each authority.
Sec. 503.
None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to maintain or establish a computer network unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography.
Nothing in subsection (a) shall limit the use of funds necessary for any Federal, State, Tribal, or local law enforcement agency or any other entity carrying out criminal investigations, prosecution, or adjudication activities.
Sec. 504.
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to admit any non-US citizen from Russia or China to any nuclear weapons production facility, as such term is defined in section 4002 of the Atomic Energy Defense Act, other than areas accessible to the general public, unless 30 days prior to facility admittance, the Department of Energy provides notification to the Committees on Appropriations and Armed Services of both Houses of Congress.