[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2807 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2807
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the
heads of relevant Federal agencies, to carry out watershed pilots, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 22 (legislative day, September 21), 2021
Mr. Wyden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the
heads of relevant Federal agencies, to carry out watershed pilots, and
for other purposes.
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 ``Watershed Results Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Advance watershed analytics.--The term ``advance
watershed analytics'' means the technical analysis that is--
(A) conducted before making funding available for a
watershed pilot; and
(B) necessary--
(i) to identify specific high-impact
outcome projects across an entire watershed;
(ii) to identify project costs and
implementation feasibility constraints;
(iii) to identify how different groups of
projects impact overall watershed targets; and
(iv) to develop scenarios that--
(I) maximize outcomes; and
(II) are feasible to quickly
implement at scale.
(2) Federal financial source.--The term ``Federal financial
source'' means an award, grant, loan, guarantee, incentive, or
credit enhancement funding available to Federal agencies
participating in watershed pilots.
(3) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means an Environmental
Outcomes Fund established by the head of a Federal department
or agency under section 4(c)(1).
(4) Management team.--The term ``management team'' means
the management team for a watershed pilot designated under
section 3(c)(2).
(5) Outcome.--The term ``outcome'' means--
(A) a quantifiable reduction in nutrient or
sediment runoff;
(B) a quantifiable reduction in thermal load;
(C) a quantifiable increase in dissolved oxygen;
(D) a quantifiable increase in surface water or
groundwater that functionally benefits fish and
wildlife species; or
(E) any other quantifiable benefit identified by
the management team as being desirable in the
applicable watershed.
(6) Pay-for-performance contract.--The term ``pay-for-
performance contract'' means a contract to purchase
successfully implemented outcomes at a negotiated per-unit
price.
(7) Plan.--The term ``plan'' means an actionable
implementation and funding plan developed for a watershed pilot
under section 3(d)(1).
(8) Qualifying project.--The term ``qualifying project''
means a project that efficiently achieves 1 or more outcomes in
pursuit of a plan, as prioritized through advance watershed
analytics.
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(10) Watershed pilot.--The term ``watershed pilot'' means a
watershed pilot established under section 3(a).
SEC. 3. WATERSHED PILOTS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act and subject to subsection (i), the Secretary,
acting in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish a
total of not less than 2 and not more than 5 watershed pilots.
(b) Consultation.--In establishing a watershed pilot under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
(1) consult with the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality in implementing the watershed pilot; and
(2) regularly submit to the Chair of the Council on
Environmental Quality reports describing the status and
implementation of the watershed pilot.
(c) Management of Watershed Pilots.--
(1) Management by secretary.--Management and responsibility
for each watershed pilot shall be led by the Secretary.
(2) Management team.--The Secretary shall designate a
management team for the watershed pilot, which shall be
composed of--
(A) representatives appointed by the Secretary; and
(B) representatives from 1 or more other Federal
departments or agencies participating in the watershed
pilot.
(3) Consultation.--In establishing and carrying out a
watershed pilot, the Secretary and the management team shall
consult with--
(A) State, local, and Tribal representatives;
(B) nongovernmental organizations;
(C) private sector representatives; and
(D) such other individuals or entities as the
Secretary and the management team determine to be
appropriate.
(d) Plan.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which a watershed pilot is established, the management team for
the applicable watershed pilot shall develop and implement a 5-
year plan for carrying out the watershed pilot.
(2) Requirements.--A plan shall incorporate--
(A) advance watershed analytics to establish
milestones, outcome targets, an implementation plan,
and a timeline for achieving the milestones, targets,
and full implementation;
(B) a coordinated cross-agency funding strategy
that will--
(i) achieve the milestones and outcome
targets established under subparagraph (A) in
an effective and flexible manner by efficiently
and quickly delivering Federal financial
sources to qualifying projects;
(ii) leverage amounts made available under
sections 4(c)(4) and 7 with existing Federal
financial sources;
(iii) use Federal financial sources and
amounts from the Fund to leverage and attract
investments from private or philanthropic
sources to accelerate greater outcomes-based
results; and
(iv) concentrate Federal financial source
commitments from multiple agencies in a
watershed pilot during the period of the
watershed pilot;
(C) annually updated progress tracking against
milestones and targets; and
(D) such other information as the Secretary
determines to be relevant to achieve outcomes on an
accelerated timeline.
(3) Consultation and review.--A plan shall be--
(A) developed in consultation with the head of each
Federal department and agency participating in the
watershed pilot; and
(B) reviewed annually by the management team.
(e) Notification.--On adoption of each plan, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a
notification that the watershed pilot has been established and the plan
has been adopted.
(f) Disbursement of Funds to Qualifying Projects.--Not later than
30 days after the date on which the management team for a watershed
pilot verify outcomes from the qualifying project, the Secretary and
the management team for the watershed pilot shall disburse amounts from
Federal financial sources, including amounts made available under
sections 4(c)(4) and 7, to a qualifying project, through pay-for-
performance contracts, at agreed upon outcome prices.
(g) Minimum Outcome Prices.--Not later than 1 year after the date
on which a watershed pilot is established, the Secretary and the
management team for the watershed pilot shall set and publish minimum
per-unit outcome prices.
(h) Use of Advance Watershed Analytics.--The Secretary and the
management team for each watershed pilot shall use advance watershed
analytics throughout the planning, implementation, measuring, and
monitoring of outcomes within the watershed pilot.
(i) Authority for Additional Pilots and Agencies.--The Chair of the
Council on Environmental Quality, in consultation with the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives, shall approve--
(1) the establishment of more than 5 watershed pilots under
this section; and
(2) the participation in watershed pilots under this
section of a Federal department or agency other than those
described in subsection (a).
SEC. 4. FINANCING AND FUNDING OF WATERSHED PILOTS.
(a) Use of Pay-For-Performance Contracts.--In carrying out a
watershed pilot, the head of a Federal department or agency
participating in the watershed pilot shall enter into a pay-for-
performance contract to achieve outcome-based goals described in the
plan developed for the watershed pilot.
(b) Flexibility Under Existing Programs.--The head of each Federal
department or agency participating in a watershed pilot shall modify,
expand, or streamline eligibility and verification criteria for
existing Federal financial sources to maximize flexibility, speed, and
use of Federal funds in the most effective manner to achieve outcomes
under the watershed pilot.
(c) Environmental Outcomes Funds.--
(1) In general.--The head of each Federal department or
agency participating in a watershed pilot shall establish an
Environmental Outcomes Fund.
(2) Use of fund.--Amounts in a Fund shall only be expended
on pay-for-performance contracts under a watershed pilot.
(3) Criteria.--Amounts in a Fund shall be expended in
accordance with--
(A) this Act, including the plan developed for the
applicable watershed pilot; and
(B) criteria established by the Secretary and the
management team for the applicable watershed pilot,
which shall include criteria for--
(i) eligibility of qualifying projects;
(ii) types of qualifying projects;
(iii) the timing of the disbursement of
funds; and
(iv) such other matters as the Secretary
and the management team determine to be
appropriate.
(4) Mandatory funding.--
(A) In general.--Out of any funds in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, on October 1, 2022, and on
each October 1 thereafter through October 1, 2027, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer $15,000,000 to
the head of each Federal department or agency to be
deposited in the Fund.
(B) Receipt and acceptance.--The head of a Federal
department or agency described in subparagraph (A)
shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall
deposit into the Fund for use in accordance with this
subsection the funds transferred under subparagraph
(A), without further appropriation.
(5) Report to congress.--If a watershed pilot is
established as a permanent program, the Secretary may submit to
Congress recommendations for modifications to funding levels
and a permanent authorization of funding for the permanent
program.
(d) Cost-Share Waiver.--Any otherwise applicable cost-share
requirements for existing Federal financial resources, including under
section 212(a)(1) of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C.
1729(a)(1)), shall be waived for watershed pilots carried out using
amounts made available under this Act.
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
(a) Definition of Appropriate Committees of Congress.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(1) of the Senate--
(A) the Committee on Appropriations;
(B) the Committee on Environment and Public Works;
and
(C) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry; and
(2) of the House of Representatives--
(A) the Committee on Appropriations;
(B) the Committee on Natural Resources;
(C) the Committee on Agriculture; and
(D) the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
(b) Annual Reports.--The Secretary shall, not later than the date
on which the budget of the United States Government is submitted by the
President under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for each
fiscal year for which the watershed pilot is being carried out, submit
to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the
status of each watershed pilot, including progress towards the
milestones described in section 3(d)(2)(A).
(c) 5-Year Report.--Not later than October 1 of the fifth fiscal
year in which a watershed pilot is carried out under section 3, the
Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report describing, in accordance with the plan developed for the
applicable watershed pilot--
(1) a summary of--
(A) the projected results of the watershed pilot in
meeting the milestones described in section 3(d)(2)(A);
(B) the projected outcomes of the watershed pilot
described in that section;
(C) the total amount of funds made available under
the watershed pilot;
(D) the type of funding expended under the
watershed pilot; and
(E) such other information as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate; and
(2) recommendations for continuing, terminating, or making
permanent the watershed pilot.
(d) Environmental Outcomes Funds.--
(1) Agency heads.--The head of each Federal department or
agency participating in a watershed pilot shall, not later than
the date on which the budget of the United States Government is
submitted by the President under section 1105 of title 31,
United States Code, for each fiscal year for which the
watershed pilot is being carried out, submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report describing the outcomes
achieved using amounts made available from, management of, and
expenditures from, the Fund established by the agency head.
(2) Inspectors general.--
(A) Audit.--The Inspector General of each Federal
department or agency participating in a watershed pilot
shall conduct a biannual audit of the management of,
and funding (including expenditures) relating to, the
Fund established by the agency head for the purpose of
ensuring proper and effective use of Federal funding by
evaluating the effectiveness of the watershed pilot in
achieving the plan developed for the watershed pilot,
including an evaluation of the outcomes achieved and
the Federal financial sources used to achieve those
outcomes.
(B) Reports.--The Inspector General of each Federal
department or agency participating in a watershed pilot
shall, not later than the date on which the budget of
the United States Government is submitted by the
President under section 1105 of title 31, United States
Code, for each fiscal year for which the watershed
pilot is being carried out, submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report describing the 2 audits
most recently conducted under subparagraph (A).
SEC. 6. DURATION.
Each watershed pilot shall terminate on the date that is 5 years
after the date on which the notification is submitted under section
3(e) with respect to that watershed pilot.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated--
(1) for each watershed pilot, $15,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2022 through 2027, which shall be in addition to
the amounts made available under section 4(c)(4); and
(2) to carry out advance watershed analytics for each
watershed pilot, $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022
through 2024.
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