WASHINGTON – Today,
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke cheered
President Trump’s memorandum on western water. The
memorandum directs the Department of the Interior
and the Department of Commerce to work together to
deliver western communities the water supplies they
need to irrigate millions of acres of farmland and
provide water and power to millions of Americans.
“Water is the lifeblood of any
thriving economy, and its importance in the West
cannot be overstated,” said
Secretary Zinke. “We want to use water in
the most practical sense, and make sure our water
infrastructure is in world class shape for all uses.
Working to get our farms the water they need is key
to rural prosperity, and I applaud President Trump
for making this key issue a top priority of his
administration.”
There is widespread
recognition that a 'status quo' approach to the
longstanding imbalances in the supply and demand of
water will not be effective. Under President Trump,
Secretary Zinke and Secretary Ross, federal agencies
are taking a proactive approach to tackling the
water supply challenges that confront western
communities. This has entailed operational changes
as well as specific new investments in water and
power infrastructure. The active collaboration by
Interior and Commerce on the areas described in the
Memorandum will position western communities to have
the most abundant water and power supplies possible,
assuring their place in a secure and prosperous
American economy.
The Memorandum directs the
Interior and Commerce Departments to take a number
of specific actions, including:
-
Expediting regulatory
actions essential to the operation of water
infrastructure
-
Improving the information
and modeling capabilities related to water
availability
-
Expanding use of water
desalination and water recycling
-
Accelerating and
clarifying requirements for compliance with the
Endangered Species Act and National
Environmental Policy Act
-
Removing unnecessary
burdens unique to the operation of the Columbia
River Basin’s water infrastructure
“For too long, the tail has
wagged the dog when it comes to our infrastructure
and western water,” said
Secretary Zinke. “The environmental laws
and regulations that have been in place over decades
can be implemented in such a way that supports our
economy while still enhancing our environment. That
challenge is something that motivates President
Trump and this leadership team, and we are taking
decisive action.”
The Memorandum on Western
Water will re-prioritize agency funding toward
accelerated completion of regulatory actions that,
in the past, have been drawn out over several years,
and result in better outcomes sooner.
In addition to helping safeguard the local tourism
and recreation economy, the withdrawal also
conserves important habitat for migrating big game
species like elk and mule deer. The conservation of
these routes has been one of Zinke's priorities as
reflected in Secretarial
Order 3362,
which was signed in January 2018.
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Text of proclamation:
October 19, 2018
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
SUBJECT:
Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water
in the West
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, I hereby direct the following:
Section 1. Policy.
During the 20th Century, the Federal Government
invested enormous resources in water infrastructure
throughout the western United States to reduce flood
risks to communities; to provide reliable water
supplies for farms, families, businesses, and fish
and wildlife; and to generate dependable
hydropower. Decades of uncoordinated, piecemeal
regulatory actions have diminished the ability of
our Federal infrastructure, however, to deliver
water and power in an efficient, cost‑effective way.
Unless addressed, fragmented regulation of
water infrastructure will continue to produce
inefficiencies, unnecessary burdens, and conflict
among the Federal Government, States, tribes, and
local public agencies that deliver water to their
citizenry. To meet these challenges, the Secretary
of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce
should, to the extent permitted by law, work
together to minimize unnecessary regulatory burdens
and foster more efficient decision-making so that
water projects are better able to meet the demands
of their authorized purposes.
Sec. 2. Streamlining
Western Water Infrastructure Regulatory Processes
and Removing Unnecessary Burdens. To address
water infrastructure challenges in the western
United States, the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Commerce shall undertake the following
actions:
(a) Within 30 days of the date of this
memorandum, the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Commerce shall:
(i) identify major water infrastructure projects
in California for which the Department of the
Interior and the Department of Commerce have joint
responsibility under the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (ESA) (Public Law 93-205) or individual
responsibilities under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (Public Law 91-190); and
(ii) for each such project, work together to
facilitate the designation of one official to
coordinate the agencies' ESA
and NEPA compliance responsibilities. Within the
30-day time period provided by this subsection, the
designated official shall also identify regulations
and procedures that potentially burden the project
and develop a proposed plan, for consideration by
the Secretaries, to appropriately suspend, revise,
or rescind any regulations or procedures that unduly
burden the project beyond the degree necessary to
protect the public interest or otherwise comply with
the law. For purposes of this memorandum, "burden"
means to unnecessarily obstruct, delay, curtail,
impede, or otherwise impose significant costs on the
permitting, utilization, transmission, delivery, or
supply of water resources and infrastructure.
(b) Within 40 days of the date of this
memorandum, the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Commerce shall develop a timeline for
completing applicable environmental compliance
requirements for projects identified under
section 2(a)(i) of this memorandum. Environmental
compliance requirements shall be completed as
expeditiously as possible, and in accordance with
applicable law.
(c) To the maximum extent practicable and
consistent with applicable law, including the
authorities granted to the Secretary of the Interior
and the Secretary of Commerce under the Water
Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (Public
Law 114-322):
(i) The Secretary of the Interior and
the Secretary of Commerce shall ensure that the
ongoing review of the long-term coordinated
operations of the Central Valley Project and the
California State Water Project is completed and an
updated Plan of Operations and Record of Decision is
issued.
(ii) The Secretary of the Interior
shall issue final biological assessments for the
long-term coordinated operations of the Central
Valley Project and the California State Water
Project not later than January 31, 2019.
(iii) The Secretary of the Interior and
the Secretary of Commerce shall ensure the issuance
of their respective final biological opinions for
the long-term coordinated operations of the Central
Valley Project and the California State Water
Project within 135 days of the deadline provided in
section 2(c)(ii) of this memorandum. To the extent
practicable and consistent with law, these shall be
joint opinions.
(iv) The Secretary of the Interior and
the Secretary of Commerce shall complete the joint
consultation presently underway for the Klamath
Irrigation Project by August 2019.
(d) The Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Commerce shall provide monthly updates
to the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
and other components of the Executive Office of the
President, as appropriate, regarding progress in
meeting the established timelines.
Sec. 3. Improve
Forecasts of Water Availability. To facilitate
greater use of forecast-based management and use of
authorities and capabilities provided by the Weather
Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017
(Public Law 115-25) and other applicable laws, the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Commerce shall convene water experts and resource
managers to develop an action plan to improve the
information and modeling capabilities related to
water availability and water infrastructure
projects. The action plan shall be completed by
January 2019 and submitted to the Chair of the
Council on Environmental Quality.
Sec. 4. Improving
Use of Technology to Increase Water Reliability.
To the maximum extent practicable, and pursuant to
the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and
Facilities Act (Public Law 102-575, title XVI), the
Water Desalination Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-298),
and other applicable laws, the Secretary of the
Interior shall direct appropriate bureaus to promote
the expanded use of technology for improving the
accuracy and reliability of water and power
deliveries. This promotion of expanded use should
include:
(a) investment in technology and reduction of
regulatory burdens to enable broader scale
deployment of desalination technology;
(b) investment in technology and reduction of
regulatory burdens to enable broader scale use of
recycled water; and
(c) investment in programs that promote and
encourage innovation, research, and development of
technology that improve water management, using best
available science through real-time monitoring of
wildlife and water deliveries.
Sec. 5. Consideration
of Locally Developed Plans in Hydroelectric Projects
Licensing. To the extent the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Commerce participate
in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing
activities for hydroelectric projects, and to the
extent permitted by law, the Secretaries shall give
appropriate consideration to any relevant
information available to them in locally developed
plans, where consistent with the best available
information.
Sec. 6. Streamlining
Regulatory Processes and Removing Unnecessary
Burdens on the Columbia River Basin Water
Infrastructure. In order to address water and
hydropower operations challenges in the Columbia
River Basin, the Secretary of the Interior, the
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and
the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
under the direction of the Secretary of the Army,
shall develop a schedule to complete the Columbia
River System Operations Environmental Impact
Statement and the associated Biological Opinion due
by 2020. The schedule shall be submitted to the
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality within
60 days of the date of this memorandum.
Sec. 7. General
Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed
to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an
executive department or agency, or the head thereof;
or
(ii) the functions of the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget relating to
budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This memorandum shall be implemented
consistent with applicable law and subject to the
availability of appropriations.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and
does not, create any right or benefit, substantive
or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by
any party against the United States, its
departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,
employees, or agents, or any other person.
(d) The Secretary of the Interior is hereby
authorized and directed to publish this memorandum
in the Federal
Register.
DONALD J. TRUMP
