	Introduction

Several states are experiencing varying degrees of drought, with several western states experiencing severe to exceptional drought conditions. Notwithstanding recent rains, California is experiencing its third consecutive dry year, which has resulted in abnormally low reservoir levels, as well as low surface and groundwater levels. Current drought conditions in California and much of the West have fueled congressional interest in drought and its effects on water supplies, agriculture, and ecosystems. Several bills have been introduced in the 113 th Congress to address different aspects of drought in California and other regions. S. 2198 includes two titles:
Title I , "Emergency Drought Relief," contains 14 provisions ranging from mandating maximization of California water supplies—consistent with laws and regulations—through specific project development, management, and operations directives and addressing project environmental reviews, to reauthorizing several water resources management laws (CALFED, P.L. Title II , "Federal Disaster Assistance," expands the assistance potentially available under an emergency declaration for drought (or other emergency) pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended, and discusses in congressional findings the application of the act to drought. In relation to projects and operations that would address drought in California, S. 2198 would direct federal agencies to maximize water supplies and streamline environmental reviews while remaining "consistent" with law and regulations. This policy approach is aimed at addressing drought, and in doing so, touches upon many long-standing and controversial issues associated with operations of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP), managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (hereinafter referred to as Reclamation), and the State Water Project (SWP), managed by the California Department of Water Resources. The bill also would expand the Secure Water Act to include the state of Hawaii. In General

Section 103(a) would direct the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (together defined as "the Secretaries" under the act) to provide the maximum quantity of water supplies possible to CVP and Klamath Project agricultural, municipal and industrial (M&I), and refuge service and repayment contractors; SWP contractors; and any other locality or municipality in the state of California, by approving, consistent with applicable laws and regulations, the following types of projects and operations:
any project or operations to provide additional water supplies "if there is any possible way whatsoever that the Secretaries can do so," unless the project or operations result in a highly inefficient way of providing additional supplies; any project or operations "as quickly as possible" to address emergency conditions. Further, the actions specified in this section are only in effect until the governor of the state suspends the state of drought emergency declaration. This section also generates some potentially broad questions, discussed below.
Over the past five years, portions of the country have been gripped with extensive drought, including the state of California. Drought conditions in California are "exceptional" and "extreme" in much of the state, including in prime agricultural areas of the Central Valley, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Such conditions pose significant challenges to water managers who before this dry winter were already grappling with below-normal surface water storage in the state's largest reservoirs. Groundwater levels in many areas of the state also have declined due to increased pumping over the last three dry years. While recent rains have improved the water year outlook somewhat—moving the year from the driest on record in terms of precipitation to date to the third-driest—water managers are fearful of the long-term impacts of a relatively dry winter and little existing snowpack to refresh supplies later in the year.
Because of the extent of the drought in California, drought impacts are varied and widespread. Most of the San Joaquin Valley is in exceptional drought, and federal and state water supply allotments are at historic lows. Many farmers are fallowing lands and some are removing permanent tree crops. Cities and towns have also been affected, and the governor has requested voluntary water use cutbacks of 20%. The effects of the drought are also likely to be felt on fish and wildlife species and the recreational and commercial activities they support, potentially including North Coast salmon fisheries. The intensity of the drought in California has generated congressional interest.
Several bills have been introduced to address drought conditions in California. This report discusses S. 2198, which would address drought impacts in California and other states, and assist with drought response. This bill has two titles. Title I contains provisions ranging from mandating maximization of California water supplies through specific project development, management, and operations directives and addressing project environmental reviews—as long as actions are consistent with applicable law and regulations and not highly inefficient—to reauthorizing several water resources management laws. In addressing drought effects, Title I also would address project operations that relate to long-standing and controversial issues associated with management of the federal Bureau of Reclamation's Central Valley Project (CVP) and the California Department of Water Resources' State Water Project (SWP). Title II would expand the assistance potentially available under an emergency declaration for drought (or other emergency) pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended.