Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Highlights:

This bill provides FY2017 appropriations for:

• the civil works projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;
• the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project;
• the Department of Energy (DOE); and
• several independent agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The bill increases overall FY2017 Energy and Water Development funding above FY2016 levels and includes increases for both DOE and the Army Corps of Engineers. The bill decreases funding for the Bureau of Reclamation below the FY2016 level.

Within the DOE budget, the bill increases funding above FY2016 levels for:

• Science,
• the National Nuclear Security Administration,
• Nuclear Energy,
• Fossil Energy Research and Development,
• Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability,
• the Power Marketing Administrations, and
• Nuclear Waste Disposal.

The bill decreases DOE funding below FY2016 levels for:

• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
• Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup, and
• Defense Environmental Cleanup.

The bill also includes provisions that affect policies in areas such as:

• federal jurisdiction under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act),
• the definition of "fill material" or "discharge of fill material" under the Clean Water Act,
• the possession of firearms on Corps of Engineers lands,
• nuclear nonproliferation projects in Russia, and
• the drought and water policy in California.

Full Summary:

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

TITLE I--CORPS OF ENGINEERS--CIVIL

Provides appropriations to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for authorized civil functions pertaining to rivers and harbors, flood and storm damage reduction, shore protection, aquatic ecosystem restoration, and related efforts.

Provides appropriations to the Corps of Engineers for:

• Investigations;
• Construction;
• Mississippi River and Tributaries, including flood damage reduction projects in the Mississippi River alluvial valley below Cape Girardeau, Missouri;
• Operation and Maintenance;
• the Regulatory Program pertaining to navigable waters and wetlands;
• the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program for clean-up of early atomic energy program contamination;
• Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies, including hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters;
• Expenses, necessary for the supervision and general administration of the civil works program; and
• the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

(Sec. 101) Prohibits the reprogramming of funds provided by this title except in specified circumstances.

(Sec. 102) Prohibits funds provided by this title from being used for a contract that commits funds beyond the amounts appropriated for that program, project, or activity that remain unobligated. Includes exception for funds made available through reprogramming.

(Sec. 103) Permits the Corps of Engineers to transfer to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service up to $5.4 million in Operation and Maintenance funds to mitigate for fisheries lost due to Corps of Engineers civil works projects.

(Sec. 104) Prohibits funds provided by this bill from being used for an open lake placement of dredged material originating from Lake Erie or its tributaries, unless it is approved under a state water quality certification. Requires the Corps to continue upland placement of the dredged material until an open lake placement for dredged materials is approved under a state water quality certification.

(Sec. 105) Requires acquisitions funded by this title to comply with regulations that prohibit the Department of Defense from purchasing a certain anchor and mooring chain unless it is procured from a U.S. manufacturer.

(Sec. 106) Prohibits funds provided by this bill from being used for a water supply reallocation study under the Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, project authorized under the Act of July 24, 1946.

(Sec. 107) Permits the Corps of Engineers to accept specified payments from the Trinity River Authority of Texas as payment in full for amounts owed to the United States for water supply storage space in Joe Pool Lake, Texas (previously known as Lakeview Lake) under a specified contract.

(Sec. 108) Prohibits the Corps of Engineers from using funds to develop, adopt, implement, administer, or enforce any change to regulations in effect on October 1, 2012, pertaining to the definitions of "fill material" or "discharge of fill material" for the purposes of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act).

(Sec. 109) Prohibits funds made available by this bill from being used to require a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill material under the Clean Water Act for specified agricultural activities.

(Sec. 110) Prohibits funds from being used to develop, adopt, implement, administer, or enforce any change to the regulations and guidance in effect on October 1, 2012, pertaining to the definition of waters under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, including provisions of specified rules pertaining to the jurisdiction.

(Sec. 111) Permits individuals to possess firearms at Corps of Engineers water resources development projects if: (1) the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm; and (2) the possession of the firearm complies with the law of the state in which the project is located. (The Corps of Engineers currently prohibits private individuals from possessing firearms and other weapons at the projects unless the weapons are being used for hunting, at authorized shooting ranges, or with written permission of the Corps District Commander.)

TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Provides appropriations to the Department of the Interior for the Central Utah Project.

Provides appropriations to the Bureau of Reclamation for:

• Water and Related Resources,
• the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund,
• California Bay-Delta Restoration, and
• Policy and Administration.

Permits appropriations to the Bureau of Reclamation to be used for purchasing replacements for up to five passenger motor vehicles.

(Sec. 201) Specifies the circumstances in which Reclamation may reprogram or transfer funds provided by this title.

(Sec. 202) Prohibits funds provided by this bill from being used to determine the final point of discharge for the interceptor drain for the San Luis Unit until Interior and California develop a plan to minimize any detrimental effect of the San Luis drainage waters. Requires the plan to conform to California water quality standards as approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Directs Interior to classify the costs of the Kesterson Reservoir Cleanup Program and the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program as either reimbursable or nonreimbursable and collected until fully repaid pursuant to specified alternative repayment plans.

Requires future federal obligations of funds regarding drainage service or drainage studies for the San Luis Unit to be fully reimbursable by San Luis Unit beneficiaries of the service or studies.

(Sec. 203) Extends the deadline for Reclamation to complete and submit to Congress feasibility studies for specified water storage projects in California.

(In response to the drought in California, Sec. 204 and Sec. 205 require Reclamation to alter pumping restrictions related to certain endangered species. The restrictions govern how much water the federal Central Valley Project [CVP] and the California State Water Project [SWP] can send south of the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta.)

(Sec. 204) Sets the reverse flow rate of the Old and Middle Rivers (OMR) at -5,000 cubic feet per second unless Reclamation concludes, using the best scientific and commercial data available, that a lower flow rate (less pumping) is necessary to avoid a significant negative impact on the long-term survival of certain species of smelt and salmon.

(Sec. 205) Requires Reclamation and the Department of Commerce to authorize the CVP and the SWP, combined, to operate at levels that result in negative OMR flows at -7,500 cubic feet per second to capture peak flows during storm events unless the action would jeopardize the long-term survival of certain species of smelt and salmon.

(Sec. 206) Sets forth requirements for protecting certain water rights and allocating water if California revokes its consistency determination under California environmental laws between the SWP and the CVP as a result of the provisions of this bill. (A consistency determination applies to threatened and endangered species protected under both federal and California law and determines whether federal actions are consistent with state laws.)

(Sec. 207) Prohibits funds provided by this bill from being used to implement the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Agreement.

(Sec. 208) Prohibits funds provided by this bill from being used to purchase water in California to supplement instream flow within a river basin that has suffered a drought within the last two years.

(Sec. 209) Requires Reclamation to work with local water and irrigation districts in the Stanislaus River Basin to ascertain the water storage made available by the Draft Plan of Operations in New Melones Reservoir to maximize water storage and ensure the beneficial use of the water resources in the Stanislaus River Basin.

TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Provides appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for Energy Programs, including:

• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
• Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability,
• Nuclear Energy,
• Fossil Energy Research and Development,
• the Office of Technology Transitions,
• Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves,
• the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,
• the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve,
• the Energy Information Administration,
• Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup,
• the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund,
• Science,
• Nuclear Waste Disposal,
• the Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy,
• the Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Loan Program,
• the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program,
• Departmental Administration, and
• the Office of the Inspector General.

Provides appropriations for the Atomic Energy Defense Activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), including:

• Weapons Activities,
• Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation,
• Naval Reactors, and
• Federal Salaries and Expenses.

Provides appropriations for Environmental and Other Defense Activities, including:

• Defense Environmental Cleanup, and
• Other Defense Activities.

Provides appropriations for the Power Marketing Administrations, including:

• the Bonneville Power Administration Fund;
• Southeastern Power Administration Operation and Maintenance;
• Southwestern Power Administration Operation and Maintenance;
• Western Area Power Administration Operation and Maintenance, Construction, and Rehabilitation; and
• the Falcon and Amistad Operating and Maintenance Fund.

Provides appropriations for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(Sec. 301) Prohibits the use of funds provided in this title for programs, projects, or activities that have not been funded by Congress.

Prohibits specified grants, contracts, allocations, and agreements unless Congress is notified in advance.

Prohibits funds from being used for certain multiyear Department of Energy--Energy Programs activities unless specified conditions are met and Congress is notified.

Establishes requirements and restrictions for the reprogramming of funds provided in this title.

(Sec. 302) Permits unexpended balances of prior appropriations provided for activities in this bill to be transferred and merged with appropriations accounts established in this bill.

(Sec. 303) Deems funds appropriated by this bill for intelligence activities to be specifically authorized by Congress during FY2017 until the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY2017.

(Sec. 304) Prohibits funds provided by this tile from being used to construct specified high-hazard nuclear facilities unless independent oversight is conducted by the Office of Independent Enterprise Assessments to ensure compliance with nuclear safety requirements.

(Sec. 305) Prohibits funds provided by this title from being used to approve certain critical decisions for construction projects exceeding $100 million until a separate independent cost estimate has been developed.

(Sec. 306) Prohibits Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation funds from being used for contracts with or agreements for federal assistance to the Russian Federation. Permits DOE to waive the prohibition if the activity is in the national security interests of the United States and a report justifying the waiver is submitted to Congress.

(Sec. 307) Prohibits DOE from establishing any new regional petroleum product reserve unless funding is explicitly requested in advance and approved by Congress in an appropriations Act.

(Sec. 308) Rescinds specified unobligated balances of funds provided to the NNSA.

(Sec. 309) Permits up to $2 million of the funds provided by this title to be used for project engineering and design of the Consolidated Emergency Operations Center.

TITLE IV--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES

Provides appropriations for independent agencies, including:

• the Appalachian Regional Commission,
• the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board,
• the Delta Regional Authority,
• the Denali Commission,
• the Northern Border Regional Commission,
• the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission,
• the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and
• the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

(Sec. 401) Requires the NRC to comply with specified internal procedures when responding to congressional requests for information.

(Sec. 402) Specifies the circumstances in which funds provided by this title may be reprogrammed.

TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS

(Sec. 501) Prohibits funds provided by this bill from being used to influence congressional action on any legislation or appropriation matters pending before Congress.

(Sec. 502) Prohibits transfers of funds made available in title III (Department of Energy) of this bill except pursuant to specified authorities for transferring funds or providing goods and services to another entity of the U.S. government. Requires agencies that utilize transfer authority to provide a semiannual report to Congress detailing the transfer authority used, including the amounts transferred and the purposes for which they were transferred.

(Sec. 503) Prohibits the use of funds to contravene Executive Order No. 12898 of February 11, 1994 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations).

(Sec. 504) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this bill for a computer network that does not block pornography, except for law enforcement purposes

(Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds provided by this bill: (1) to conduct closure of adjudicatory functions, technical review, or support activities associated with the Yucca Mountain geologic repository license application; or (2) for actions that irrevocably remove the possibility that Yucca Mountain may be a repository option in the future.

(Sec. 506) Prohibits funds provided by this bill from being used for further implementation of the coastal and marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management components of the National Ocean Policy developed under Executive Order 13547 (Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes).

(Sec. 507) Prohibits funds provided by this bill from being used for the removal of any federally owned or operated dam.

(Sec. 508) Establishes a spending reduction account for the amount by which spending proposed in this bill exceeds the subcommittee's allocation under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Specifies that the amount is $0. (Under the Rules of the House of Representatives, any savings included in the spending reduction account are not available for further appropriation during consideration of the bill.)

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