3964 , the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act, as passed by the House of Representatives on February 5, 2014. 1837—The Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act , by [author name scrubbed]). 3964 is similar to H.R. Among other things, it would alter CVPIA in the following ways: broaden the purposes for which water previously dedicated to fish and wildlife can be used (by removing the directive to modify CVP operations to protect fish and wildlife with dedicated fish flows and making this action optional); add to the purposes a provision "to ensure" water dedicated to fish and wildlife purposes is replaced and provided to CVP contactors by the end of 2018 at the lowest "reasonably achievable" cost; changing the definitions of fish covered by the act; broaden purposes for which Central Valley Project Restoration Fund (CVPRF) monies can be used; reduce revenues into the CVPRF; mandate that the CVP be operated under a1994 interim agreement, the Bay-Delta Accord; and mandate development and implementation of a plan to increase CVP water yield by October 1, 2018. Title II , San Joaquin River Restoration. Title I—Central Valley Project Water Reliability

		Background

Title I of H.R. 3964 would make numerous changes to the CVPIA, and includes other provisions that are not alterations to CVPIA but relate to water availability in California's Central Valley. Compounding the controversy over CVP water allocation are other factors that limit water deliveries—namely state water quality control requirements, variable hydrological conditions, the state system of water rights priorities, and implementation of other laws. Some of these changes are controversial. Analysis

Many of the provisions in Title I have tradeoffs embedded in them. 3964 , which directs the Secretary to operate the CVP and SWP according to principles outlined in the 1994 Bay-Delta Accord, also would benefit some water users (e.g., to the extent that more water would be made available for use than under current law), but may harm other stakeholders (e.g., to the extent such operation would negatively affect Delta water quality or fish viability)
The provisions of the bill under Title I raises several key questions regarding CVP water supplies for users and the environment. What effects would it have on water quality, recreation, and commercial and sport fishing? Because increased water flows for restoring fisheries (known as restoration flows) reduce diversions of water for off-stream purposes, such as irrigation, hydropower, and municipal and industrial uses, the settlement and its implementation have been controversial. Consequently, how deliveries to Friant water contractors might be reduced in any given year depends on many factors. As noted above, there has been concern from some western states that the state and federal preemptions contained in H.R. 3964 might be used as precedent in other western states and threaten their allocation of state water rights, and this provision attempts to address these concerns. 3964 would make extensive changes to implementation of federal reclamation law under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, the contracting provisions under the 1939 Reclamation Project Act, restoration efforts under the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act, and state and federal relationships under Section 8 of the Reclamation Act of 1902. It would result in greater water deliveries by preempting federal and state law, including fish-and-wildlife protections and other CVP operational mandates, which are all tied to the coordinated operations of the CVP and SWP. While much attention has been paid to the effects of federal and state environmental laws on reductions in water supplies south of the Delta, the extent to which the bill would relieve current and ongoing water supply shortages, particularly in drought years, is uncertain. Limited increases in deliveries for water contractors may be garnered from a prohibition or alteration of some state and federal environmental restrictions (including the State's Public Trust Doctrine and other laws proposed under the bill. H.R. However, some argue that the bill would undermine efforts to achieve the "co-equal" goals of "providing for a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Bay-Delta ecosystem," which is the foundation of state and federal efforts in development of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
For most of the last 20 years, some water contractors in California's Central Valley have received less than their full contract water supplies from federal and state water resource facilities. Although such allocations are in part the result of the prior appropriation doctrine in western water law and are consistent with the expectation of a "junior" water user in times of drought, tensions over water delivery reliability have been exacerbated by reductions in deliveries even in non-drought years. Such reductions are significant because much of the California urban and agricultural economy operates under junior water rights, and reductions in water allocations can cause significant disruption and economic losses, particularly in drought years. At the same time, fish populations throughout the Central Valley have dramatically declined due to water diversions and other factors, and this has been accompanied by significant losses for fishing communities and others dependent on fish and wildlife resources. The state and federal governments have been working to address water supply reliability and ecosystem issues through the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP); however, the plan is not complete and remains controversial.
On February 5, 2014, the House enacted H.R. 3964, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act. It is similar to a bill in the 112th Congress that also passed the House (H.R. 1837, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Reliability Act). The bill would, among many other things, amend the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA) to potentially reduce some water allocations for fish and wildlife and redirect them to other purposes (i.e., agricultural and municipal and industrial uses). It would preempt "any" (including state and federal) law pertaining to operation of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) and California's State Water Project (SWP). It would also substitute for those laws operational principles from a 1994 interim agreement, known as the Bay-Delta Accord, which some believe would provide more reliable water supplies for federal and state water contractors. It would also repeal certain components of a 2010 law authorizing a settlement agreement for the San Joaquin River, and would make numerous other changes.
Proponents of H.R. 3964 argue that implementation of the CVPIA and the San Joaquin River Settlement, coupled with state and federal environmental laws (e.g., the federal Endangered Species Act, its state equivalent, and state regulations implementing the federal Clean Water Act), have compounded the impact of drought on water deliveries. Opponents argue that the bill would harm the environment and resource-dependent local economies, particularly coastal communities. Some also argue that it would undermine efforts to resolve environmental and water supply reliability issues through development of the BDCP.
Issues for Congress include the extent to which the bill changes decades of federal and state law, including state and federal environmental laws, and at what benefit and cost. For example, there are tradeoffs embedded in the bill's preemption of state water law, including fish and wildlife protections, as a means to increase the water deliveries to some irrigation contractors and municipalities. These changes might benefit water contractors in some areas, but potentially reduce environmental protections and improvements and the industries they support (e.g., recreational and fishing industries) in others. Congress may also consider the potential extent to which the bill would relieve water supply shortages, particularly in drought years. While much attention has been paid to the effects of federal and state environmental laws on reductions in water supplies south of the Bay-Delta, many factors affect pumping restrictions and the overall water allocation regime for CVP contractors. How H.R. 3964 would in practice affect these factors is uncertain.