“To provide for the establishment of a Water Project Navigators Program, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) disadvantaged community, as a community with an annual median income less than the statewide median according to the most recent decennial census; (2) eligible entity, as a State, Indian Tribe, acequia, land grant-merced, certain local governments or districts, specified authorities, nonprofit conservation organizations, or combinations thereof; (3) eligible State, as a state covered by the Reclamation Act of 1902 (43 U.S.C. 391), Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico; (4) Indian Tribe, as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304; (5) multi-benefit water project, as a project in an eligible State that enhances community resilience to climate impacts on water supplies, promotes water efficiency and recycling, addresses infrastructure risks, and provides ecosystem benefits such as habitat conservation and water quality improvement; (6) natural feature; (7) nature-based feature; (8) Program, as the Water Project Navigators Program established under section 3(a); (9) rural community, as a community or group of communities with populations of not more than 50,000 inhabitants, potentially including Indian Tribes or dispersed rural areas; and (10) Secretary, as the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation.
This section establishes the Water Project Navigators Program, to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior not later than 180 days after enactment, to support the development and implementation of multi-benefit water projects (i.e., projects providing water supply, flood control, ecosystem, or other benefits) in eligible states through grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities for creating or continuing navigator positions. The Secretary must develop award criteria considering entities' potential and history in accelerating such projects and prioritizing applications serving Indian Tribes, disadvantaged or rural communities, or those incorporating nature-based features, stakeholder support, job creation, or coordination with other Interior programs focused on drought resilience and watershed health; a public comment period is required, and awards may not fund existing environmental mitigation obligations. Navigators must assist with grant writing, project management, technical assistance (e.g., feasibility studies, design, preliminary environmental reviews), and related activities; grants or agreements are limited to 3 years (extendable by up to 2 years with additional funding for satisfactory performance), with continuous funding opportunities available. The federal share is capped at 75% (non-federal share may be cash or in-kind and reducible/waivable for Indian Tribes, acequias, land grants-mercedes, disadvantaged communities, or their partners facing financial hardship); the Secretary must coordinate with other federal, Tribal, state, and local technical assistance programs and ensure compliance with applicable laws. Not later than 5 years after enactment, the Secretary must report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.