S. 5402 — Western Water Reinvestment Act

This section extends several Bureau of Reclamation authorizations. It reauthorizes the aquatic ecosystem restoration program through FY2031 (from FY2026). It reauthorizes the basin study program through FY2033 (from FY2023). It authorizes $40 million annually for the cooperative watershed management program for FY2027–2031. It increases the WaterSMART authorization to $1.4 billion (from $1 billion), adds eligibility for Indian tribes, raises first-phase grants to $150,000 per year with up to two years of continuation funding, and requires continuous enrollment for applications.

This section establishes a program under which the Secretary of the Interior provides financial assistance, in the form of direct payments or credits, to eligible agricultural producers in Reclamation States to create new waterbird and shorebird habitats or maintain existing habitats that would not otherwise be created or maintained. It limits total assistance to $3,500,000 per fiscal year, authorizes appropriations of that amount annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, and requires the Secretary to submit a report to Congress every two years beginning October 1, 2027, describing the environmental performance of funded activities.

This section requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare, every three years beginning January 1, 2027, a drought plan for sustaining critically important fisheries in Reclamation States through voluntary actions and investments, with public comment and $25 million authorized for fish recovery activities in fiscal year 2027. It incorporates native biodiversity into wildlife habitat and drought restoration plans under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. It also expands the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act definition to include terminal lakes and reauthorizes the program at $25 million annually for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from $15 million through 2021).

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to develop a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act for aquatic restoration projects within 1 year of enactment. The exclusion covers wetland and stream restoration, removal or modification of water control structures such as dams and culverts, limited road access, small habitat structures, and related activities, subject to extraordinary circumstances review.

This section reauthorizes the Deschutes River Conservancy Working Group through 2032 (from 2016) and increases the limit on administrative costs to 10 percent (from 5 percent). It requires the Working Group’s board of directors to consist of 10 to 15 members, including 2 representatives each from the environmental and irrigated agriculture communities in the Deschutes River Basin, 2 from the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and 1 each from the hydroelectric production community, a Federal agency, a State agency such as the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife or Oregon Water Resources Department, and a unit of local government.