LegiStorm

Summary:

The 113th Congress faces many issues related to water resource development, management, and protection. Such issues include how to make investment decisions in the context of fiscal constraints; how to maintain and reinvest in aging federal infrastructure (e.g., locks, dams, and levees); how to effectively respond to and prepare for flood and drought emergencies; and how to distribute investments between activities to meet new demands for water supplies and aquatic ecosystem restoration and protection. These issues often arise at the regional level, but have a federal connection. For example, the second session of the 113th Congress is likely to face questions related to regional or widespread drought (e.g., what policies, programs, and funding are in place or lacking?). Congress also may continue to address issues related to past flooding (e.g., Hurricane Sandy, Midwest floods), navigation and water supply challenges due to drought-induced low river flows, and balancing water supply needs among farm and urban communities, hydropower production, recreational use, and protection of threatened and endangered species. The water resource issues of the 113th Congress are in part shaped by the actions of past Congresses, including the 112th Congress. In addition to holding numerous oversight hearings on agency policies, each Congress provides appropriations for major federal water research agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). The 112th Congress did not formally consider an omnibus Corps project authorization and policy bill—typically called a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA); however, both Houses of Congress passed a version of a WRDA bill during the first session of the 113th Congress. The first session of the 113th Congress also considered legislation to augment developed water supplies (e.g., water storage, water reuse), settle Indian water rights claims, and facilitate small conduit hydropower development (P.L. 113-23 and P.L. 113-24). The first session also considered bills related to aquatic ecosystem restoration throughout the country (e.g., Everglades, Great Lakes, Klamath Basin, and Chesapeake Bay). The 113th Congress may also consider legislation or oversight activities related to the energy sector's water use and the water sector's energy use, as well as water research and development legislation, including research related to climate change, water resource availability, drought indicators and streamflow. Measures being considered in the second session of the 113th Congress include those left pending from the first session, as well as other proposals. Because of current water conditions, disasters, or legal or agency developments, certain basin issues are particularly likely to receive congressional attention (e.g., operation of federal reservoirs in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin, Columbia River Basin, Missouri River Basin, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins [Central Valley Project]). Other related legislation may include the energy-water nexus and environmental policy, and emergency legislation related to drought or flood issues. This report discusses recent congressional activity and possible topics for the second session of the 113th Congress. It provides an overview of the federal role in water resources development, management, and protection, with focus on two major federal water resources agencies and related legislation. It also discusses overarching policy issues, such as drought and flood management and response; project funding and authorization priorities; and aquatic ecosystem restoration.