This CRS report by Charles V. Stern, Pervaze A. Sheikh and Erin H. Ward gets updated periodically: 'Central Valley Project: Issues and Legislation'.
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Summary
The Central Valley Project (CVP), a federal water project owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is one of the world’s largest water supply projects. The CVP covers approximately 400 miles in California, from Redding to Bakersfield, and draws from two large river basins: the Sacramento and the San Joaquin. It is composed of 20 dams and reservoirs and numerous pieces of water storage and conveyance infrastructure. In an average year, the CVP delivers more than 7 million acre-feet of water to support irrigated agriculture, municipalities, and fish and wildlife needs, among other purposes. About 75% of CVP water is used for agricultural irrigation, including 7 of California’s top 10 agricultural counties. The CVP is operated jointly with the State Water Project (SWP), which provides much of its water to municipal users in Southern California.CVP water is delivered to users that have contracts with Reclamation, which is part of the Department of the Interior. These contractors receive varying levels of priority for water deliveries based on several factors, including hydrology, water rights, prior agreements with Reclamation, and regulatory requirements. The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers’ confluence with the San Francisco Bay (Bay-Delta or Delta) is a hub for CVP water deliveries; many CVP contractors south of the Delta receive water that is “exported” from north of the Delta.
Development of the CVP resulted in significant changes to the area’s natural hydrology. However, construction of most CVP facilities predated major federal natural resources and environmental protection laws. Much of the current debate related to the CVP revolves around how to deal with changes to the hydrologic system that were not significantly mitigated when the project was constructed. Dry conditions since the onset of these requirements—including a prolonged drought from 2012 to 2016 and dry conditions in 2020 and 2021—have once again led to curtailment of water supplies and increased the stakes of these debates.
Various state and federal proposals are currently under consideration and have generated controversy for their potential to affect CVP operations and allocations. In late 2018, the State of California finalized revisions to its Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan that would require more flows from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers to reach the Bay-Delta for water quality and fish and wildlife enhancement (i.e., reduced water supplies for other users). “Voluntary agreements” that might replace some or all of these requirements are currently being negotiated but have yet to be finalized. Concurrently, the Trump Administration attempted to increase CVP water supplies for users and made changes to long-term operations of the CVP in a 2019 biological opinion created under the Endangered Species Act (ESA, 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544). California and some environmental organizations opposed these efforts and filed lawsuits to prevent implementation of the changes. The court issued a preliminary injunction on May 11, 2020, temporarily prohibiting Reclamation from implementing the operational changes through May 31, 2020 (an extension was denied by the court). On September 30, 2021, Reclamation requested reinitiation of consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to assess the effects of proposed changes to CVP operations and to voluntarily reconcile CVP operations with SWP operational requirements under the California ESA permit. Reclamation and California submitted to the court a proposed revised interim operations plan for the October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022, water year while reinitiated consultation is ongoing. Other parties to the litigation have raised objections to the plan. Reclamation and California submitted motions requesting adoption of the interim operations plan and a stay of the litigation through September 30, 2022.
Congress has engaged in CVP issues through oversight and legislation, most recently in the form of provisions enacted under the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322). Among other things, this act authorized changes to CVP operations that are intended to provide increased water supplies for agricultural and municipal contractors under certain circumstances. In the same legislation, Congress also authorized funding for new water storage projects that are expected to benefit CVP operations. In the 117th Congress, legislators may consider bills and conduct oversight on efforts to increase CVP water exports compared with current baselines. Some in Congress have also weighed in on disagreements between state and federal project operators and the status of coordinated operations of the CVP and SWP. Congress is also considering whether to approve funding for new water storage projects and may consider legislation to extend or amend CVP authorities.
Introduction
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), part of the Department of the Interior (DOI), operates the multipurpose federal Central Valley Project (CVP) in California, one of the world’s largest water storage and conveyance systems. The CVP runs approximately 400 miles in California, from Redding to Bakersfield (Figure 1). It supplies water to hundreds of thousands of acres of irrigated agriculture throughout the state, including some of the most valuable cropland in the country. It also provides water to selected state and federal wildlife refuges, as well as to some municipal and industrial (M&I) water users. The CVP’s operations are coordinated with the state’s other largest water supply project, the state-operated State Water Project (SWP).This report provides information on hydrologic conditions in California and their impact on state and federal water management, with a focus on deliveries related to the federal CVP. It also summarizes selected issues for Congress related to the CVP.
Recent Developments
The drought of 2012-2016, widely considered to be among California’s most severe droughts in recent history, resulted in major reductions to CVP contractor allocations and economic and environmental impacts throughout the state. These impacts were of interest to Congress, which oversees federal operation of the CVP. Although the drought ended with the wet winter of 2017, dry conditions in 2020 and 2021 (the driest water year on record since 1977) have resulted in renewed water supply curtailments. Absent major changes to existing hydrologic, legislative, and regulatory baselines, most agree that at least some water users are likely to face constrained water supplies in water year 2022. Due to the limited available water supplies, proposed changes to the current operations and allocation system are controversial.Because of the relative scarcity of water in the West and the importance of federal water infrastructure to the region, western water issues are regularly of interest to many lawmakers. Legislation enacted in the 114th Congress (Title II of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation [WIIN] Act; P.L. 114-322) included several CVP-related sections. These provisions directed pumping to “maximize” water supplies for the CVP (including pumping or “exports” to CVP water users south of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers’ confluence with the San Francisco Bay, known as the Bay-Delta or Delta) in accordance with applicable biological opinions (BiOps) for project operations. They also allowed for increased pumping during certain storm events generating high flows, authorized actions to facilitate water transfers, and established a new standard for measuring the effects of water operations on species. In addition tooperational provisions, the WIIN Act authorized funding for construction of new federal and nonfederal water storage projects. CVP projects are among the most likely recipients of this funding.
Due to increased precipitation and disagreements with the state, among other factors, the WIIN Act’s operational authorities generally did not yield significant new water exports south of the Delta in 2017-2020. However, Reclamation received funding for WIIN Act-authorized water storage project design and construction in FY2017-FY2021, and the majority of this funding has gone to CVP-related projects.
Separate state and federal plans under the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act, respectively, would alter water allocation and operational criteria in markedly different ways and have generated controversy. In mid-2018, the State of California proposed revisions to its Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan (developed pursuant to the Clean Water Act [CWA; U.S.C. §§1251-138]). These changes would require that more flows from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers reach the California Bay-Delta for water quality and fish and wildlife enhancement (and would thus further reduce water supplies for CVP and SWP users). Separately, in February 2020, the Trump Administration finalized an operational plan to increase water supplies for users and issued a new biological opinion under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544) that reflects these changes. Both plans are the subject of ongoing litigation. On September 30, 2021, Reclamation requested reinitiation of consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under Section 7 of the ESA to address proposed changes to CVP operations and to voluntarily reconcile CVP operations to SWP operational requirements imposed by the permit issued pursuant to the California ESA. Reclamation and California proposed an interim operations plan for CVP and SWP operations during the October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022, water year while reinitiated consultation is ongoing. Other parties to the litigation have objected to the interim operations plan. On November 23, 2021, the federal defendants requested that the court approve a voluntary remand of the 2019 BiOps and 2020 record of decision (ROD) without vacating them and require implementation of the interim operations plan as injunctive relief through September 30, 2022.
Cutting to the chase...
Congressional Interest
Congress plays a role in CVP water management and has attempted to make available additional water supplies in the region by facilitating efforts such as water banking, water transfers, and the construction of new and augmented storage. In 2016, Congress enacted provisions aiming to benefit the CVP and the SWP, including major operational changes in the WIIN Act and additional appropriations for western drought response and new water storage that have benefited (or are expected to benefit) the CVP. Congress also continues to consider legislation that would further alter CVP operational authorities and responsibilities related to individual project units. The below section discusses some CVP-related issues that may receive congressional attention.CVP Operations Under the WIIN Act and Other Authorities
According to Reclamation, there was limited implementation of many of the WIIN Act’s operational authorities. Reportedly, pursuant to the WIIN Act, communication and transparency between Reclamation and other agencies have occasionally increased for some operational decisions, allowing for reduced or rescheduled pumping restrictions. Additionally, in spring 2018, WIIN Act allowances of relaxed restrictions on inflow-to-export ratios were used to effect a transfer resulting in additional exports of 50,000-60,000 AF of water. Reclamation noted, however, that hydrology during 2017 and 2018 affected the agency’s ability to implement some of the act’s provisions. In some cases, Reclamation proposed other federal operational changes pursuant to the WIIN Act that reportedly were deemed incompatible with state requirements.Most of the WIIN Act’s operational provisions are set to expire at the end of 2021 (five years after the bill’s enactment). However, the Trump Administration’s revised 2020 BiOps cited congressional direction to maximize water supplies in Section 4001 of the WIIN Act. During the Trump Administration, Reclamation also reported that the general principles in Sections 4002-4003 of the WIIN Act were incorporated into its operational changes. Thus, even if the WIIN Act’s CVP directives expire, many of them would remain manifest in CVP operations insofar as the Trump Administration BiOps continue to be implemented.
Congress may be interested in oversight of CVP operational questions, including the status of the BiOps and the process underpinning any alterations to operations. Some also may propose extension of the WIIN Act operational provisions, thereby extending legislatively mandated requirements and authorities on CVP operations. In the 117th Congress, H.R. 737 (the RENEW WIIN Act), would extend the WIIN act’s CVP operational authorities through the end of 2031. The Biden Administration also may evaluate and act within its authority on CVP-related operations actions, such as withdrawing or changing the Trump Administration BiOps.
In debating CVP operations issues, stakeholders likely will focus on the extent to which the changes provide for increased water deliveries relative to pre-reconsultation baselines for CVP and SWP contractors and any related effects on species and water quality. Congress also may be interested in recent disagreements between state and federal project operators related to proposed operating procedures and species protections, including how these disagreements may affect the historical norms of coordinated project operations and what this might mean for water deliveries. Proposed voluntary agreements under the Bay Delta Water Quality Plan also may receive congressional attention in this context.
New Water Storage Projects
As noted, Reclamation and the State of California have funded the study of new water storage projects in recent years. Congress may opt to provide additional direction for these and otherefforts to develop new water supplies for the CVP in future appropriations acts and reports. In addition, Congress may consider oversight, authorization, and/or funding for these projects. Some projects, such as the Shasta Dam and Reservoir Enlargement Project, could augment CVP water supplies but have generated controversy for their potential to conflict with the intent of certain state laws. Although Reclamation has indicated its interest in pursuing the Shasta Dam project, the state opposed the project under Governor Brown’s Administration and has continued its opposition during Governor Newsom’s Administration; it is unclear how such a project might proceed absent state regulatory approvals and financial support. As noted above, in early 2018, Reclamation proposed and Congress agreed to $20 million in design and preconstruction funding for the project. The Trump Administration recommended an additional $172 million for the Shasta Project in subsequent proposals to Congress for Section 4007 projects, but Congress did not approve this funding.Apart from the Shasta Dam and Reservoir Enlargement Project, Congress approved Reclamation-recommended study funding for other projects that could add flexibility to CVP operations, including the Sites Reservoir Project, the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Phase 2 Project, and the Friant-Kern Canal Subsidence Challenges Project, among others. Overall, from FY2017 to FY2021, Congress appropriated a total of $603 million to Reclamation for new and augmented water storage projects authorized under Section 4007 of the WIIN Act. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58 ), enacted in November 2021, appropriated an additional $1.05 billion for these projects. A significant share of this funding is likely to be allocated for projects that benefit the CVP and other areas in California.
In the 117th Congress, H.R. 737 would reauthorize the WIIN Act’s storage authorities through the end of 2031 (most of these authorities expire in late 2021). In the 116th Congress, proposals were advanced that would have extended some aspects of the Section 4007 authority while altering the underlying process authorized by Congress for these projects.
Concluding Observations
The CVP is one of the largest, most complex water storage and conveyance projects in the world. Congress has regularly expressed interest in CVP operations and allocations, in particular pumping in the Bay-Delta. In addition to ongoing oversight of project operations and previously enacted authorities, a number of developing issues and proposals related to the CVP may be of interest to congressional decisionmakers. These issues include study and approval of new water storage and conveyance projects, updates to the state’s Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan, and the status of efforts by the Trump Administration to make available more water for CVP water contractors, in particular those south of the Delta. Drought or other stressors on California water supplies are likely to magnify these issues.
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