Water Development FY2007 Appropriations bill

Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2007 - Title I: Department of Defense - Civil - Department of the Army - Makes FY2007 appropriations for: (1) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (civil functions of the Department of the Army pertaining to rivers and harbors, flood control, shore protection, storm damage reduction and aquatic ecosystem restoration); (2) general investigations (collection and study of basic information pertaining to rivers and harbors, flood control, shore protection, storm damage reduction, and related projects); (3) construction (river and harbor, flood control, shore protection, storm damage reduction, and related projects); (4) flood damage reduction for the Mississippi River alluvial valley below Cape Girardeau, Missouri; (5) operation and maintenance of existing river and harbor, flood and storm damage reduction, aquatic ecosystem restoration, and related projects; (6) administration of laws pertaining to regulation of navigable waters and wetlands; (7) clean up of contamination at U.S. sites resulting from work performed as part of the Nation's early atomic energy program; (8) flood control and coastal emergency support operations; (9) formerly utilized sites remedial action; and (10) general administration and related civil works functions in the headquarters of the Corps, the offices of the Division Engineers, the Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity, the Institute for Water Resources, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and the U.S. Corps of Engineers Finance Center.

States that no funds have been provided for the Office of Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works).

(Sec. 101) Denies the availability of funds through reprogramming for certain purposes, with specified exceptions under the Continuing Authorities Program.

(Sec. 102) Sets limitations upon agreements proposed for execution after the enactment of this Act by either the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

(Sec. 103) Prohibits use of appropriations for the following activities: (1) demonstration or implementation of any plans divesting or transferring any Civil Works missions, functions, or responsibilities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to other government agencies without specific direction in a subsequent Act of Congress; (2) closure or removal of the St. Georges Bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway, Delaware River to Chesapeake Bay, Delaware and Maryland; or (3) any water reallocation project or component under the Wolf Creek Project, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky.

(Sec. 107) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to: (1) construct the flood control project at Milton, West Virginia, substantially in accordance with the draft report of the Corps of Engineers dated April 2006; (2) construct a new Environmental Laboratory and improvements to the Information Technology Laboratory at the Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi; and (3) enter into cooperative agreements with any Indian Tribe whose lands are located in New Mexico and occupied by a flood control project owned and operated by the Corps of Engineers, to assist in carrying out associated Operation and Maintenance activities.

(Sec. 110) Instructs the Secretary of the Army to credit toward the nonfederal share of the cost of the Rio Grande Basin Watershed Study, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas, the cost of in-kind services contributed by the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, up to the full amount of the required non-federal share.

(Sec. 111) Amends the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2006 to replace the Secretary of the Army's authority to carry out and fund projects to comply with the 2003 Biological Opinion with authority to carry out and fund planning studies, watershed surveys and assessments, or technical studies at 100% federal expense to accomplish the purposes of the 2003 Biological Opinion. Authorizes the Secretary also to provide to the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program planning and administrative assistance, which shall not be subject to cost sharing requirements with nonfederal interests.

(Sec. 112) Declares that nothing in this or any other Act shall be construed to require a specific deadline for implementation of specified water control management regulations concerning: (1) necessary actions to keep approved water control plans up-to-date; or (2) clear documentation in appropriate water control manuals of water control plans for specific projects and reservoir systems.

(Sec. 113) Authorizes the construction or carrying out of flood damage reduction projects for: (1) Rio de Flag, Flagstaff, Arizona; (2) the Santa Ana River Mainstem, including Santiago Creek, California; and (3) the Upper Guadalupe River, California.

(Sec. 114) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to increase the authorization of appropriations for research and development activities for innovative methods and technologies for improving the survival of salmon, especially those in the Columbia/Snake River Basin.

(Sec. 117) Instructs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to convey, at no cost, to Tate County School District, Tate County, Mississippi, any real property interests, not to exceed 50 acres, at Arkabutla Lake deemed available by the Army and located adjacent to school district property in the vicinity of State Highway 306 west of Coldwater, Mississippi.

(Sec. 118) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to authorize funds for wastewater infrastructure, Clark County, Nevada, and Henderson, Nevada.

(Sec. 119) Amends the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2003 to provide funds for a municipal water supply system for Devils Lake, North Dakota.

Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to prescribe implementation requirements for the system.

Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 120) Instructs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to: (1) utilize fully the federal dredging fleet in support of all Army Corps of Engineers missions; (2) maintain such fleet to technologically modern and efficient standards; and (3) utilize amounts from the revolving fund to undertake expeditiously necessary health and safety improvements to the dredge McFarland.

(Sec. 123) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to use funds appropriated under the Missouri River Recovery and Mitigation Program to assist the design and construction of facilities of the Bureau of Reclamation's Lower Yellowstone Project near Intake, Montana, for ecosystem restoration.

(Sec. 124) Limits the Corps of Engineers' share of the total cost for certain water projects and activities authorized for modification.

(Sec. 125) Amends the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2006 to repeal: (1) the applicability of specified requirements regarding the use of continuing contracts only to projects funded under certain accounts for Flood Control, Mississippi River and Tributaries; and (2) the prohibition against the use of funds under such Act to award or make modifications to continuing contracts that commit funds for a project in excess of the amounts appropriated.

(Sec. 126) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to: (1) extend from seven to 12 years the national shoreline erosion control development and demonstration program; and (2) increase the authorization of appropriations.

(Sec. 127) Requires that: (1) all budget documents and justification materials for the Corps of Engineers annual budget submission to Congress be assembled and presented based on the most recent annual appropriations Act; but (2) new budget proposals for FY2008 not be integrated into the budget justifications, but submitted separately to Congress.

(Sec. 128) Permits the Nature Conservancy to act as the nonfederal interest for purposes of carrying out the work detailed in the agreement executed between The Nature Conservancy and the Department of the Army on August 5, 2005, for the Connecticut River Watershed Study, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

(Sec. 129) Amends the Flood Control Act of 1968 to increase the maximum annual federal reimbursement to state or political subdivisions for work performed at water resources development projects authorized for construction under the Secretary of the Army.

(Sec. 130) Modifies the project for flood damage reduction, environmental restoration, and recreation, Johnson Creek, Arlington, Texas, to authorize the Secretary to construct the project substantially in accordance with the report entitled Johnson Creek: A Vision of Conservation, dated March 30, 2006, at a total cost of $80 million, with an estimated federal cost of $52 million and an estimated nonfederal cost of $28 million (cash, in-kind services, or materials), if the Secretary determines that the project is technically sound and environmentally acceptable.

(Sec. 131) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to increase the total cost, and 100% first federal cost, of the navigation project at the McAlpine Lock and Dam, Indiana and Kentucky.

(Sec. 132) Authorizes the secretary of a military department, during 2006, to waive certain limitations on total compensation of an employee who performs work in connection with an emergency that involves a direct threat to life or property, including work performed in the aftermath of such an emergency.

(Sec. 133) Directs the Secretary to reimburse local governments for expenses incurred in storm-proofing pumping stations, constructing safe houses for operators, and other interim flood control measures in and around the New Orleans metropolitan area.

(Sec. 134) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 regarding authorizations for the San Lorenzo River, California, flood control project to instruct the Secretary to credit toward the nonfederal share of the project the costs expended by nonfederal interests for the replacement and reconstruction of the Soquel Avenue Bridge, if integral to the project.

(Sec. 135) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to extend until federal FY2015 authorization of appropriations for the Missouri and Middle Mississippi Rivers Enhancement Project.

Title II: Department of the Interior - Makes FY2007 appropriations for: (1) activities authorized by the Central Utah Project Completion Act; (2) the Bureau of Reclamation; (3) management, development, and restoration of water and related natural resources and related activities; (4) programs, plans, habitat restoration, and acquisition under the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund; (5) federal share of the costs of the CALFED Program management; (6) California Bay-Delta Restoration; and (7) policy and administration in the Office of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.

(Sec. 201) Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to determine the final point of discharge for the interceptor drain for the San Luis Unit until development of a plan by the Secretary of the Interior and the State of California to minimize any detrimental effect of the San Luis drainage waters. Classifies costs of the Kesterson Reservoir Cleanup Program and the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program as reimbursable or nonreimbursable and collected until fully repaid. Makes any future obligations by the United States relating to drainage for the Unit fully reimbursable by Unit beneficiaries pursuant to federal reclamation law.

(Sec. 202) Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to purchase or lease water in the Middle Rio Grande or the Carlsbad Projects in New Mexico unless such purchase or lease is in compliance with specified requirements.

(Sec. 203) States that funds under this Act for Drought Emergency Assistance shall be made available primarily for leasing of water for specified drought related purposes from willing lessors, in compliance with existing state laws and administered under state water priority allocation.

(Sec. 204) Prescribes conditions under which the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, is authorized to enter into agreements and grants with irrigation or water districts and states to fund up to 50% of the cost of planning, designing, and constructing improvements that will conserve water, increase water use efficiency, or enhance water management through measurement or automation, at existing water supply projects within specified states.

(Sec. 205) Amends the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2004 to repeal the requirement that the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, establish an executive committee for the Endangered Species Act Collaborative Program Workgroup.

Directs the Secretary to establish an Executive Committee of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into grants, contracts, or agreements necessary to comply with the 2003 Biological Opinion.

(Sec. 206) Instructs the Secretary to: (1) continue to participate in implementation of the Project at Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead; (2) use specified funds for grants to the state of Nevada, the state of California, the Federal Watermaster, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to implement the Truckee River Settlement Act with respect to restoration of fish, wildlife, and associated habitats in watersheds of certain lakes; and (3) implement the All American Canal Lining Project identified as the preferred alternative in a certain Record of Decision.

Title III: Department of Energy - Makes FY2007 appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for expenses necessary for energy supply and conservation in carrying out the purposes of the Department of Energy Organization Act, including the acquisition or condemnation of real property and plant facility.

Rescinds and defers specified amounts previously designated for clean coal technology.

Makes FY2007 appropriations for: (1) fossil energy research and development; (2) naval petroleum and oil shale reserve activities, (3) Strategic Petroleum Reserve facility development and operations and program management; (4) Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve storage, operation, and management; (5) the Energy Information Administration; (6) non-defense environmental cleanup; (7) uranium enrichment facility decontamination and decommissioning and remedial actions; (8) science activities; and (9) nuclear waste disposal, including specified funds designated for the State of Nevada.

Makes FY2007 appropriations for: (1) salaries and expenses for departmental administration; (2) the Office of Inspector General; (3) atomic energy defense weapons activities; (4) atomic energy defense nuclear nonproliferation activities; (5) naval reactors; (6) the Office of the Administrator in the National Nuclear Security Administration; (7) atomic energy defense environmental cleanup, including the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at Hanford, Washington; and (8) nuclear waste disposal activities.

Makes FY2007 appropriations for: (1) certain fish hatcheries and other fishing enterprises from the Bonneville Power Administration Fund; and (2) operation and maintenance of power transmission facilities and marketing electric power and energy, subject to specified funding for the Southeastern, Southwestern, and Western Area Power Administrations.

Makes FY2007 appropriations for: (1) operation, maintenance, and emergency costs for the hydroelectric facilities at the Falcon and Amistad Dams; and (2) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(Sec. 301) Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to make payments for a "noncompetitive management and operating contract" (i.e., a contract awarded more than 50 years ago without competition for the management and operation of specified government laboratories) unless the Secretary of Energy has published in the Federal Register, and submitted to congressional Appropriations Committees, a written notification of the Secretary's decision to use competitive procedures for either the award or non-renewal of the contract, when its term expires.

Makes this prohibition inapplicable to an extension for up to two years of a noncompetitive management and operating contract, if the extension is to allow time to award competitively a new contract, to provide continuity of service between contracts, or to complete a contract that will not be renewed.

Prohibits the use of appropriated funds, for all management and operating contracts other than those listed above, to award a management and operating contract, or a significant extension or expansion to an existing management and operating contract, unless such contract is awarded using competitive procedures or the Secretary of Energy grants a waiver (on a case-by-case basis) to allow for such a deviation.

(Sec. 302) Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to: (1) develop or implement a workforce restructuring plan that covers DOE employees; or (2) provide enhanced severance payments or other benefits for DOE employees under the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 1993 (NDAA).

(Sec. 303) Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to augment funds made available for obligation by this or any other appropriations Act for FY2007 or any previous fiscal year for severance payments and other benefits and community assistance grants under NDAA unless DOE submits a reprogramming request subject to approval by the appropriate congressional committees.

(Sec. 304) Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to prepare or initiate Requests For Proposals for a program that has not been funded by Congress.

(Sec. 305) Permits: (1) the transfer to appropriations accounts for certain activities in this Act of unexpended balances of prior appropriations for the same activities; and (2) merger of such transferred balances with funds in established accounts, which may be accounted for as one fund.

(Sec. 306) Prohibits the use of funds by the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration to enter into any agreement to perform energy efficiency services outside the legally defined Bonneville service territory, except for services provided internationally, unless the Administrator certifies in advance that such services are not available from private sector businesses.

(Sec. 307) Requires DOE to: (1) ensure broad public notice when it either makes a user facility available to universities, or seeks input from universities or other potential users regarding significant facility characteristics or equipment; and (2) employ full and open competition in selecting a partner when it considers university participation in the establishment or operation of such facility.

(Sec. 308) Deems any funds appropriated for intelligence activities to be specifically authorized by Congress for purposes of the National Security Act of 1947 during FY2007, until the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY2007.

(Sec. 309) Authorizes specified funds for use by: (1) government-owned, contractor-operator operated laboratories for laboratory-directed research and development; and (2) the plant manager of a covered nuclear weapons production plant, or the manager of the Nevada Site Office, for plant or site-directed research and development.

(Sec. 310) Authorizes funds for the cost of guaranteed loans as authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, derived from amounts received from certain borrowers pursuant to that Act.

(Sec. 311) Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to take title to spent fuel from civilian nuclear power reactors and to transport and store it at a site to evaluate the technical feasibility of advanced recycling technologies.

(Sec. 312) Directs the Administrators of the Southeastern Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and the Western Area Power Administration to use, for FY2007, the "yield" rate in computing interest during construction and interest on the unpaid balance of the costs of federal power facilities.

(Sec. 313) Requires the Secretary of Energy to assume title to and storage responsibility for high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel remaining at a civilian nuclear power reactor facility at the end of its useful life or after its permanent shutdown, until the waste or spent fuel is moved to another site.

Directs the Secretary to designate a Director of Consolidation and Preparation, who shall: (1) evaluate the feasibility and desirability of locating a consolidation and preparation facility within each state containing a civilian nuclear power reactor; and (2) make recommendations about methods to locate such a facility most efficiently and expeditiously.

Prescribes licensing and design requirements.

Authorizes appropriations.

States that the Secretary's statutory obligation to develop a repository provides sufficient and independent grounds for any further Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) findings of reasonable assurance that spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste will be disposed of safely and timely for purposes of its decision to grant or amend any license to operate a civilian nuclear power reactor.

(Sec. 314) Directs the Secretary, for FY2007, to use specified funds provided by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for nuclear medicine research within the Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research program.

Title IV: Independent Agencies - Makes FY2007 appropriations to: (1) the Appalachian Regional Commission; (2) the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board; (3) the Delta Regional Authority; (4) the Denali Commission; (5) the NRC; (6) the Office of Inspector General; and (7) the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

(Sec. 402) Amends the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999 to authorize appropriations to the Denali Commission through FY2011.

Title V: General Provisions - (Sec. 503) Declares that a legal nonconforming sign constructed in a commercial or industrial area damaged or destroyed as a result of a natural disaster after August 1, 2004, may be repaired, replaced, or reconstructed at the same location to its original height and size using like materials, if permitted by state law.

Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from reducing or withholding federal-aid highway funds apportioned to a state that complies with these provisions.

(Sec. 504) Sets the deadline for FY2008 budget justifications to Senate Appropriations subcommittees as no later than the day the President's FY2008 budget is released.

(Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act to undertake engineering evaluations or other studies of the potential for multi-purpose storage facilities downstream of the confluence of the North and Middle Forks of the American River (California) until the Bureau of Reclamation completes its special report to update the cost-benefit analysis of the Auburn-Folsom South Unit of the Central Valley Project, including assessments of estimates of specified matters.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov