I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 331
To amend the Aquifer Recharge Flexibility Act to clarify a provision relating
to conveyances for aquifer recharge purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY13, 2025
Mr. F
ULCHER(for himself and Mr. SIMPSON) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the Aquifer Recharge Flexibility Act to clarify
a provision relating to conveyances for aquifer recharge
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE FOR AQUIFER RECHARGE PUR-3
POSES. 4
(a) I
NGENERAL.—Subsection (c)(3) of the Aquifer 5
Recharge Flexibility Act (43 U.S.C. 390g–9) is amend-6
ed— 7
(1) by striking ‘‘The holder’’ and inserting the 8
following: 9
‘‘(A) I
N GENERAL.—The holder’’; 10
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H331.IH H331
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
•HR 331 IH
(2) in subparagraph (A) (as so designated), by 1
striking ‘‘may transport water for aquifer recharge 2
purposes without requiring additional authorization 3
from the Secretary where the use does not expand 4
or modify the operation’’ and inserting ‘‘may, acting 5
for the holder or on behalf of a State, political sub-6
division of a State, Indian Tribe, or public entity 7
and subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), use the 8
existing right-of-way, easement, permit, or other au-9
thorization for the purpose of aquifer recharge and 10
the transport and use of water rights for aquifer re-11
charge without requiring additional authorization 12
from the Secretary, which use shall not be consid-13
ered an expansion, modification, major Federal ac-14
tion, or substantial deviation’’; and 15
(3) by adding at the end the following: 16
‘‘(B) N
OTICE REQUIRED.— 17
‘‘(i) I
N GENERAL.—Not less than 30 18
days before using an existing right-of-way, 19
easement, permit, or other authorization 20
for the purpose of aquifer recharge under 21
subparagraph (A), the holder of the right- 22
of-way, easement, permit, or other author-23
ization shall submit to the Bureau of Land 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H331.IH H331
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
•HR 331 IH
Management notice of the intended use, in 1
accordance with clause (ii). 2
‘‘(ii) R
EQUIREMENTS.—A notice sub-3
mitted under clause (i) shall— 4
‘‘(I) identify the State, political 5
subdivision of the State, Indian Tribe, 6
or public entity intending to use the 7
existing right-of-way, easement, per-8
mit, or other authorization for the 9
purpose of aquifer recharge; 10
‘‘(II) identify the existing right- 11
of-way, easement, permit, other au-12
thorization, or recognized authorized 13
use for ditches and canals constructed 14
on public land before or on October 15
21, 1976, under the authority of sec-16
tions 2339 and 2340 of the Revised 17
Statutes (43 U.S.C. 661) intended to 18
be used; 19
‘‘(III) provide details on the in-20
tended use and scope of use for the 21
purpose of aquifer recharge of the ex-22
isting right-of-way, easement, permit, 23
or other authorization; and 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H331.IH H331
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
•HR 331 IH
‘‘(IV) provide a copy of the 1
agreement between the State, political 2
subdivision of the State, Indian Tribe, 3
or public entity and the holder of the 4
right-of-way, easement, permit, or 5
other authorization to use the existing 6
right-of-way, easement, permit, or 7
other authorization for the purpose of 8
aquifer recharge. 9
‘‘(C) E
XEMPTION FROM PAYMENT OF AD -10
DITIONAL RENT.— 11
‘‘(i) I
N GENERAL.—Except as pro-12
vided in clause (ii), any use of an existing 13
right-of-way, easement, permit, or other 14
authorization for the purpose of aquifer re-15
charge under subparagraph (A) shall be 16
exempt from the payment of additional 17
rent to the Bureau of Land Management. 18
‘‘(ii) F
OR-PROFIT USES AND ENTI -19
TIES.—Clause (i) shall not apply to— 20
‘‘(I) any for-profit uses of aquifer 21
recharge; or 22
‘‘(II) any for-profit entities.’’. 23
(b) E
FFECT.—Subsection (c)(4) of the Aquifer Re-24
charge Flexibility Act (43 U.S.C. 390g–9) is amended— 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H331.IH H331
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5
•HR 331 IH
(1) by striking ‘‘Act creates’’ and inserting 1
‘‘section— 2
‘‘(A) creates’’; 3
(2) in subparagraph (A) (as so designated), by 4
striking the period at the end and inserting a semi-5
colon; and 6
(3) by adding at the end of the following: 7
‘‘(B) waives the obligation of the holder of 8
a right-of-way, easement, permit, or other au-9
thorization described in paragraph (3)(A) to 10
comply with— 11
‘‘(i) the Federal Water Pollution Con-12
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 13
‘‘(ii) the Endangered Species Act of 14
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 15
‘‘(iii) the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 16
(16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.); or 17
‘‘(C) provides authority to construct, mod-18
ify, or expand any existing infrastructure cov-19
ered under subsection (c)(3).’’. 20
(c) T
ECHNICALAMENDMENTS.—The Aquifer Re-21
charge Flexibility Act (43 U.S.C. 390g–9) is amended in 22
each of subsections (a) and (c)(5) by striking ‘‘Act’’ each 23
place it appears and inserting ‘‘section’’. 24
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H331.IH H331
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS