[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1800 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1800
To require the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a report
on the efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation to manage its
infrastructure assets.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 11, 2013
Mr. Barrasso (for himself and Mr. Schatz) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a report
on the efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation to manage its
infrastructure assets.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bureau of Reclamation Transparency
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the water resources infrastructure of the Bureau of
Reclamation provides important benefits related to irrigated
agriculture, hydropower, and recreation in the 17 Reclamation
States;
(2) as of 2013, the combined replacement value of the
infrastructure assets of the Bureau of Reclamation was
$94,500,000,000;
(3) the majority of the water resources infrastructure
facilities of the Bureau of Reclamation are at least 60 years
old;
(4) the Bureau of Reclamation has previously undertaken
efforts to better manage the assets of the Bureau of
Reclamation, including an annual review of asset maintenance
activities of the Bureau of Reclamation known as the ``Asset
Management Plan''; and
(5) actionable information on infrastructure conditions at
the project level, including information on maintenance needs
and potential public safety threats at individual projects due
to aging infrastructure, is needed for Congress to conduct
oversight of Reclamation facilities and meet the needs of the
public.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Asset management report.--The term ``Asset Management
Report'' means--
(A) the annual plan prepared by the Bureau of
Reclamation known as the ``Asset Management Plan''; and
(B) any publicly available information relating to
the plan described in subparagraph (A) that summarizes
the efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation to evaluate
and manage infrastructure assets of the Bureau of
Reclamation.
(2) Major repair and rehabilitation need.--The term ``major
repair and rehabilitation need'' means a significant
maintenance need at a Reclamation facility, including
maintenance related to the safety of dams, extraordinary
operations at and maintenance of dams, deferred maintenance,
and all other significant repairs and extraordinary
maintenance.
(3) Reclamation facility.--The term ``Reclamation
facility'' means each of the infrastructure assets that are
owned by the Bureau of Reclamation at a Reclamation project.
(4) Reclamation project.--The term ``Reclamation project''
means a project that is owned by the Bureau of Reclamation,
including all reserved works and transferred works owned by the
Bureau of Reclamation.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. ASSET MANAGEMENT REPORT ENHANCEMENTS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that--
(1) describes the efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation--
(A) to manage all Reclamation facilities; and
(B) to standardize and streamline data reporting
and processes across regions and areas for the purpose
of managing Reclamation facilities; and
(2) expands on the information otherwise provided in Asset
Management Reports, in accordance with subsection (b).
(b) Infrastructure Maintenance Needs Assessment.--
(1) In general.--The report submitted under subsection (a)
shall include--
(A) a detailed assessment of major repair and
rehabilitation needs at all Reclamation projects; and
(B) to the extent practicable, an itemized list of
major repair and rehabilitation needs of individual
Reclamation facilities at each Reclamation project.
(2) Inclusions.--To the extent practicable, the itemized
list of major repair and rehabilitation needs under paragraph
(1)(B) shall include--
(A) a cost estimate of the expenditures needed to
complete each item; and
(B) an assignment of a categorical rating of 1, 2,
3, 4, or 5 for each item, consistent with paragraph
(3).
(3) Rating requirements.--
(A) In general.--The system for assigning ratings
under paragraph (2)(B) shall be--
(i) consistent with existing uniform
categorization systems for the safety of dams
projects; and
(ii) subject to any regulations issued
under subparagraph (B).
(B) Regulations.--As soon as practicable after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
issue regulations that describe the applicability of
the rating system applicable under paragraph (2)(B) to
Reclamation facilities.
(4) Public availability.--Except as provided in paragraph
(5), the Secretary shall make publically available, including
on the Internet, the report required under subsection (a).
(5) Confidentiality.--Subject to the discretion of the
Secretary, the Secretary may exclude from the public version of
the report made available under paragraph (4) any information
that the Secretary identifies as sensitive or classified, but
shall make available to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources
of the House of Representatives a version of the report
containing the sensitive or classified information.
(c) Updates.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which the
report is submitted under subsection (a) and biennially thereafter, the
Secretary shall update the report, subject to the requirements of
subsection (b).
(d) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary
of the Army (acting through the Chief of Engineers) to the extent that
the consultation would assist the Secretary in preparing the report
under subsection (a) and updates to the report under subsection (c).
<all>