Doug LaMalfa Sacramento River Basin Water Security and Reliability Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9512 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9512

To reauthorize the water storage program under Subtitle J of the Water
     Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, to authorize
 environmental restoration and recovery in the Sacramento River Basin,
  to authorize nonreimbursable Federal contribution to operation and
   maintenance for public benefits of State-led storage projects, to
   establish a Federal Leadership Committee for the Sacramento River
 Basin, to authorize the retention of revenue from eligible temporary
water transfers for drought resilience, extraordinary maintenance, and
            dam safety investments, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2026

Mr. Gallagher introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To reauthorize the water storage program under Subtitle J of the Water
     Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, to authorize
 environmental restoration and recovery in the Sacramento River Basin,
  to authorize nonreimbursable Federal contribution to operation and
   maintenance for public benefits of State-led storage projects, to
   establish a Federal Leadership Committee for the Sacramento River
 Basin, to authorize the retention of revenue from eligible temporary
water transfers for drought resilience, extraordinary maintenance, and
            dam safety investments, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Doug LaMalfa Sacramento River Basin
Water Security and Reliability Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means the
        Commissioner of Reclamation.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
        of the Interior.
            (3) WIIN act.--The term ``WIIN Act'' means the Water
        Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (Public Law 114-
        322; 130 Stat. 1628).

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF WATER STORAGE PROGRAM.

    (a) Extension of Feasibility Deadline.--Section 4007(i) of the WIIN
Act (130 Stat. 1877) is amended by striking ``January 1, 2021'' and
inserting ``January 1, 2041''.
    (b) Continued Applicability.--Notwithstanding section 4013 of the
WIIN Act (130 Stat. 1883), section 4007 of such Act, as amended by
subsection (a), shall remain in effect.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION TO OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE FOR PUBLIC
              BENEFITS OF STATE-LED STORAGE PROJECTS.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner,
is authorized to contribute to the operations, maintenance, and
replacement costs associated with public benefits provided by State-led
water storage projects that receive financial assistance under section
4007 of the WIIN Act (130 Stat. 1872).
    (b) Eligible Costs.--Federal funds provided under this section may
be used only to cover operations, maintenance, and replacement costs
directly associated with the public benefits of eligible State-led
storage projects.
    (c) Cost-Share Limitation.--The Federal contribution toward
operations, maintenance, and replacement costs under this section shall
not exceed 50 percent of the total annual costs associated with the
public benefits of each eligible project.
    (d) Definition of Public Benefits.--In this section, the term
``public benefits'' means benefits that are in excess of express
mitigation and environmental compliance obligations under applicable
Federal and State law (including regulations, permits, contracts,
licenses, grants, or orders or decisions from Federal and State
courts), and that include ecosystem improvements, fish and wildlife
enhancements, water quality improvements, recreation, flood control,
and other similar benefits as determined by the Secretary.
    (e) Nonreimbursable.--Any Federal funds provided under this section
shall be nonreimbursable to the United States.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary to carry
out this section.

SEC. 5. SACRAMENTO RIVER BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION AND RECOVERY.

    (a) Amendment.--Section 4010(b) of the WIIN Act (Public Law 114-
322; 130 Stat. 1872) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting
the following:
            ``(2) Actions for benefit of endangered species, important
        habitat, and sacramento river basin recovery.--
                    ``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be
                appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior (acting
                through the Commissioner of Reclamation) $500,000,000
                for the period of fiscal years 2028 through 2037--
                            ``(i) for--
                                    ``(I) gravel and rearing area
                                additions, fish passage improvements,
                                barrier removal, and habitat
                                restoration to the Sacramento River,
                                its tributaries, or other rivers or
                                river basins affected by the operation
                                of Bureau of Reclamation facilities to
                                benefit species listed as threatened or
                                endangered under the Endangered Species
                                Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
                                including Chinook salmon and steelhead
                                trout;
                                    ``(II) scientifically improved and
                                increased real-time monitoring to
                                inform real-time operations of Bureau
                                of Reclamation facilities, and
                                alternative methods, models, and
                                equipment to improve temperature
                                modeling, science, and monitoring to
                                support flow benefits for fish species,
                                and related forecasted information for
                                purposes of predicting impacts to
                                salmon, salmon habitat, species listed
                                as threatened or endangered under the
                                Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
                                U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), or other species
                                of concern as a result of water
                                management at Bureau of Reclamation
                                facilities;
                                    ``(III) aquatic habitat restoration
                                activities, including floodplain
                                reconnection and reactivation projects
                                (such as off-channel and managed
                                floodplain inundation projects that
                                enhance biological productivity and
                                food web support for fish) that enhance
                                the ability of the Bureau of
                                Reclamation to meet contractual
                                obligations for water deliveries;
                                    ``(IV) fish hatchery modernization
                                and construction projects;
                                    ``(V) fish screen installations and
                                improvements;
                                    ``(VI) introduction or
                                reintroduction of native anadromous
                                fish into streams tributary to the
                                Sacramento River; and
                                    ``(VII) structural or operational
                                improvements, including temperature
                                control and associated facilities,
                                necessary to implement activities
                                described in subclauses (I) through
                                (VI); and
                            ``(ii) for planning, design, scientific
                        studies, resource and biological monitoring,
                        environmental reviews, permitting,
                        construction, implementation, and adaptive
                        management associated with any of the
                        activities described in clause (i).
                    ``(B) Nonreimbursable.--Any Federal funds provided
                by the Secretary under this paragraph shall be
                nonreimbursable to the United States.
                    ``(C) Contract treatment.--For purposes of section
                203 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C.
                390cc) or section 3404(a) of the Reclamation Projects
                Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (Public Law
                102-575; 106 Stat. 4708), a grant, cooperative
                agreement, partnership agreement, or other financial
                assistance instrument entered into pursuant to this
                paragraph shall not be treated as a new or amended
                contract.''.
    (b) Effect on Sunset.--Notwithstanding section 4013 of the WIIN Act
(Public Law 114-322; 130 Stat. 1883), section 4010(b)(2) of such Act
(as amended by subsection (a)) shall take effect on the date of
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. SACRAMENTO RIVER BASIN INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT FEDERAL
              LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) on October 23, 2024, the United States Bureau of
        Reclamation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the
        United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Land
        Management, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the
        National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the California Natural
        Resources Agency, the California Department of Fish and
        Wildlife, the California Department of Food and Agriculture,
        and the California Department of Water Resources entered into
        the Memorandum of Understanding Advancing Floodplain Forward in
        the Sacramento River Basin (in this section referred to as the
        ``Sacramento Floodplain MOU''), to coordinate planning, design,
        implementation, monitoring, and information sharing of
        conservation projects in the Sacramento River Basin;
            (2) the Sacramento Floodplain MOU contemplates Federal-
        State coordination at a scale that requires standing
        interagency leadership distinct from project-by-project
        coordination; and
            (3) a Federal leadership committee dedicated to the
        Sacramento River Basin is necessary to give effect to the
        Sacramento Floodplain MOU and to accelerate implementation of
        habitat restoration and water-supply reliability projects in
        the Basin.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Sacramento
        River Basin Integrated Water Management Federal Leadership
        Committee established under subsection (c).
            (2) Covered project.--The term ``covered project'' means a
        habitat restoration, floodplain reactivation, hatchery
        modernization, fish passage, fish screening, water
        infrastructure, groundwater recharge, working-lands habitat
        partnership, or fishery monitoring project located in the
        Sacramento River Basin that supports the recovery of native
        anadromous fish, improves water-supply reliability, or enhances
        ecosystem resilience.
            (3) Sacramento floodplain mou.--The term ``Sacramento
        Floodplain MOU'' means the Memorandum of Understanding
        Advancing Floodplain Forward in the Sacramento River Basin,
        dated October 23, 2024, or any successor instrument.
    (c) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a committee, to be
known as the Sacramento River Basin Integrated Water Management Federal
Leadership Committee, to provide assistance to eligible entities and
Federal agencies in advancing covered projects.
    (d) Chairperson.--The Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water
and Science shall serve as the chairperson of the Committee and shall
coordinate the activities of, and communication among, members of the
Committee.
    (e) Membership.--The Committee shall include representatives of
each of the Federal signatories to the Sacramento Floodplain MOU, and
such other Federal agency representatives as the chairperson determines
appropriate, including representatives of--
            (1) the Bureau of Reclamation;
            (2) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
            (3) the National Marine Fisheries Service;
            (4) the Corps of Engineers;
            (5) the Bureau of Land Management;
            (6) the Natural Resources Conservation Service;
            (7) the Environmental Protection Agency; and
            (8) the United States Geological Survey.
    (f) State and Tribal Participation.--The chairperson may invite
representatives of the State of California, affected Indian Tribes, and
other non-Federal entities to participate in the activities of the
Committee as the chairperson determines appropriate.
    (g) Duties.--The Committee shall--
            (1) facilitate interagency coordination with respect to
        covered projects, including by identifying and resolving
        regulatory, jurisdictional, and procedural obstacles to project
        implementation;
            (2) identify opportunities for Federal agencies to align
        existing programs, authorities, and funding streams in support
        of covered projects;
            (3) support implementation of the Sacramento Floodplain MOU
        and any successor instrument;
            (4) coordinate Federal agency activities with the NMFS
        Recovery Plan for Sacramento River Winter-Run Chinook, the
        Winter-Run Chinook Salmon Reintroduction Priority Action Plan,
        and other applicable recovery and restoration plans for native
        anadromous fish in the Sacramento River Basin;
            (5) recommend to Congress priorities for Federal investment
        in covered projects; and
            (6) submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the
        House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and
        Natural Resources of the Senate an annual report describing the
        activities of the Committee and the status of covered projects.
    (h) Administrative Support.--The Secretary shall provide such
staff, facilities, and other administrative support as may be necessary
to carry out the activities of the Committee.
    (i) Termination.--The Committee shall terminate on the date that is
15 years after the date of enactment of this Act, unless extended by an
Act of Congress.

SEC. 7. USE OF REVENUE FOR DROUGHT RESILIENCE INVESTMENTS,
              EXTRAORDINARY MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES, OR DAM SAFETY
              INVESTMENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Dam safety investment.--The term ``dam safety
        investment'' means a project undertaken to satisfy dam safety
        standards--
                    (A) under the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety
                issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or
                the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety;
                    (B) under the Bureau of Reclamation Dam Safety
                Program established pursuant to the Reclamation Safety
                of Dams Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 506 et seq.), including
                repayment of an obligation for a corrective action
                taken pursuant to that program; or
                    (C) required by the State for a non-Federal dam in
                which a Bureau of Reclamation project or facility is
                located.
            (2) Drought resilience investment.--The term ``drought
        resilience investment'' means an improvement or addition to an
        eligible facility that would increase drought resilience in a
        Reclamation State (as such term is defined in section 4014 of
        the WIIN Act (43 U.S.C. 390b note)).
            (3) Eligible facility.--The term ``eligible facility''
        means--
                    (A) a project or facility owned by the Bureau of
                Reclamation; and
                    (B) a non-Federal facility that stores, transports,
                or delivers water to or from a project or facility
                described in subparagraph (A).
            (4) Eligible temporary transfer.--The term ``eligible
        temporary transfer'' means the temporary and voluntary selling,
        leasing, or exchanging of water or water rights among
        individuals or agencies that is allowable under the reclamation
        laws and the water law of the applicable State.
            (5) Extraordinary maintenance activity.--The term
        ``extraordinary maintenance activity'' means annual payments on
        repayment obligations incurred under section 9603 of the
        Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 510b).
            (6) Reclamation act.--The term ``Reclamation Act'' means
        the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093).
            (7) Transferor.--The term ``transferor'' means the holder
        of a water service, transferred works, water repayment, or
        other contract that entitles the holder to water from a Bureau
        of Reclamation project or facility that undertakes an eligible
        temporary transfer.
    (b) Retention of Revenue.--A transferor may retain all amounts
derived from an eligible temporary transfer that would otherwise be
deposited in the reclamation fund established by the first section of
the Reclamation Act (43 U.S.C. 391), in accordance with this section.
    (c) Use of Funds.--Any funds retained by a transferor under
subsection (b) may be used on completion of the repayment of capital
attributable to the original construction of the project, if the funds
are--
            (1) used for a drought resilience investment, extraordinary
        maintenance activity, or dam safety investment; or
            (2) placed in the reserve account of the transferor, to be
        used for drought resilience investments, extraordinary
        maintenance activities, or dam safety investments, subject to
        subsection (d).
    (d) Transfer of Unused Funds to Reclamation Fund.--Any funds placed
in the reserve account of the transferor pursuant to subsection (c)(2)
that are not used for drought resilience investments, extraordinary
maintenance activities, or dam safety investments by the date that is
10 years after the date of the placement shall be transferred to the
reclamation fund established by the first section of the Reclamation
Act (43 U.S.C. 391) and shall be applied to the transferor's repayment
obligations in the same manner such funds would be applied outside of
this section.
    (e) Reporting.--The transferor shall report to the Commissioner,
from time to time as determined by the Commissioner, on the uses of
funds derived from an eligible temporary transfer.
    (f) Effect.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this section--
                    (A) affects any other authority of the Secretary to
                use amounts derived from revenues from a Bureau of
                Reclamation project; or
                    (B) creates, impairs, alters, or supersedes a State
                water right.
            (2) Applicable law.--Any eligible temporary transfer shall
        comply with all applicable--
                    (A) State water laws;
                    (B) Federal laws and policies; and
                    (C) interstate water compacts.
    (g) Applicability.--This section applies to the Reclamation Act and
Acts supplemental to and amendatory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et
seq.).

SEC. 8. SAVINGS CLAUSES; RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) WIIN Act Section 4012.--Nothing in this Act, or any amendment
made by this Act, modifies, supersedes, or otherwise alters the
protections and limitations set forth in section 4012 of the WIIN Act
(Public Law 114-322; 130 Stat. 1882).
    (b) Central Valley Project Improvement Act.--Nothing in this Act,
or any amendment made by this Act, modifies, supersedes, or otherwise
alters--
            (1) any obligation of the Secretary under the Central
        Valley Project Improvement Act (title XXXIV of Public Law 102-
        575; 106 Stat. 4706); or
            (2) the obligation of the Secretary, acting through the
        Commissioner, to make water available to managed wetlands and
        wildlife refuges under section 3406(d) of that Act (106 Stat.
        4722).
    (c) Settlement and Exchange Contractor Rights.--Nothing in this
Act, or any amendment made by this Act, modifies or amends--
            (1) the rights and obligations of the United States and the
        Sacramento River Settlement Contractors under their settlement
        contracts with the United States;
            (2) the rights and obligations under the Purchase Contract
        between Miller and Lux and the United States and the Second
        Amended Exchange Contract between the United States, Department
        of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, and Central California
        Irrigation District, San Luis Canal Company, Firebaugh Canal
        Water District, and Columbia Canal Company; or
            (3) the priority of the Friant Division of the Central
        Valley Project over other Central Valley Project divisions.
    (d) State Water Law.--Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by
this Act, preempts or modifies any obligation of the United States or
any other person to act in conformance with applicable State law,
including applicable State water law.
    (e) Tribal Trust and Treaty Rights.--Nothing in this Act, or any
amendment made by this Act, modifies, supersedes, or otherwise
affects--
            (1) the trust responsibility of the United States to Indian
        Tribes;
            (2) any treaty right of any Indian Tribe;
            (3) any reserved water right of any Indian Tribe; or
            (4) any right or obligation under the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et
        seq.), including any right or obligation under title V of that
        Act (25 U.S.C. 5381 et seq.).
    (f) Endangered Species Act.--Nothing in this Act, or any amendment
made by this Act, modifies the applicability of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to any Federal action.
    (g) Biological Opinions.--Nothing in this Act, or any amendment
made by this Act, modifies, supersedes, or otherwise alters any
requirement of any biological opinion issued under section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) governing the
coordinated long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and the
State Water Project, or any successor biological opinion.
    (h) Reclamation Fund Repayment Obligations.--Nothing in section 7
of this Act, including the authority to retain amounts derived from
eligible temporary transfers under that section, modifies, supersedes,
or otherwise alters the underlying repayment obligations of any
transferor under any contract with the United States or under any other
provision of law, except as expressly provided in section 7.
    (i) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, or the application
of any provision of this Act to any person or circumstance, is held to
be invalid, the application of such provision to other persons or
circumstances, and the remainder of this Act, shall not be affected.
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