BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Recommendations on Federal Legislation: HR 1621 (McClintock) - Water Supply Permitting Coordination Act; HR 2313 (Huffman) - Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act; S 923 (Feinstein) - Fighting Homelessness Through Services and Housing Act; and Other Legislation That May Require Urgent Consideration for a Position by the Board.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Adopt a position of "Support" on HR 1621(McClintock) - Water Supply Permitting Coordination Act;
B. Adopt a position of "Support" on HR 2313 (Huffman) - Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act; and
C. Adopt a position of "Support" on S 923 (Feinstein) - Fighting Homelessness Through Services and Housing Act.
Body
SUMMARY:
A. H.R. 1621 (McClintock) - Water Supply Permitting Coordination Act
Recommendation: Support
Priority: 2
This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to coordinate federal and state permitting for constructing new surface water storage projects on lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture. The Bureau of Reclamation would be designated the lead agency for permit processing, establishing a project schedule and coordinating preparation of unified environmental documentation that will serve as the basis for all federal decisions. The unified environmental review document for each qualifying project must be prepared according to the following timelines:
* No more than one year after acceptance of a completed application when there is a finding of no significant impact under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); and
* No more than one year and 30 days after the close of public comment for a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) under NEPA when an EIS is required.
Qualifying surface water storage projects would include "State-led storage projects" as defined under Section 4007 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act. A state i...
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