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1 [1] (March 22, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveosd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research 9ervic~ informing the legislative debdW since 1914 Updated March 22, 2024 Bureau of Reclamation Funding in the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169) In August 2022, Congress enacted P.L. 117-169, popularly known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Among its funding provisions, the law provided approximately $4.6 billion in mandatory appropriations for four new authorities of the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation, part of the Department of the Interior). IRA mandatory appropriations are available from FY2022 through FY2026 or FY2031 (depending on the provision). The majority of IRA funding is for drought mitigation in Reclamation States and Territories, with priority given to the Colorado River and areas experiencing long-term drought. Congress provided Reclamation's IRA funding in addition to another major emergency supplemental appropriation, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117- 58), enacted in November 2021. For its part, the IIJA included $8.3 billion in mandatory emergency supplemental appropriations for Reclamation, in equal installments from FY2022 to FY2026. The IIJA provided funding for 13 new and existing Reclamation authorities (Figure 1). Figure I. Bureau of Reclamation Funding in the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. II 7-169) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. II 7-58) IRA IIJA CA ; k;.inn SSA hillio New Exsting Prngrams Programs/Funding with New Funding Source: CRS, based on P.L. 117-169 and P.L. 117-58. Notes: IRA = Inflation Reduction Act; IIJA = Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; m = millions; CO River = Colorado River; DCP = drought contingency plan. Reclamation updates on IRA implementation have been compiled on Reclamation's IRA website and in the January 2023 White House IRA guidebook. The remainder of this In Focus discusses Reclamation IRA funding for each of the four authorities receiving funds. Drought Mkiigation Section 50233 of the IRA provided $4.00 billion in funding, available through FY2026, to mitigate drought in the 17 semiarid western Reclamation States (as authorized in the Reclamation Act of 1902). Reclamation is to make this funding available to public entities and Indian tribes in the form of grants, contracts, or financial assistance agreements. Congress also specified that priority for these funds shall be provided to the Colorado River Basin and other areas experiencing comparable long-term drought. Congress specified several potential uses of these funds: 1. Compensation for a temporary or multiyear voluntary reduction in diversion of water or consumptive water use. 2. Voluntary system conservation projects that achieve verifiable reductions in use of or demand for water supplies or provide environmental benefits in the Lower Basin or Upper Basin of the Colorado River. 3. Ecosystem and habitat restoration projects to address issues directly caused by drought in a river basin or inland water body. Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program Reclamation has announced several programs in the Colorado River Basin to be funded by Section 50233 (Table 1). In October 2022, the bureau announced a new program, the Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program, that expands on previous pilots of this concept. The first component (referred to as Component la) is to pay Colorado River or Central Arizona Project (CAP) water delivery contract or entitlement holders a set amount per acre-foot (AF) over the next one to three years for efforts that are to result in additional water in Lake Mead. Under the program, one- year agreements receive $330 per AF, two-year agreements receive $365 per AF, and three-year agreements receive $400 per AF. Reclamation also announced a separate component for short-term, consumptive use reduction agreements proposed by contractors (Component 1b). As of March 2024, 24 conservation agreements across California 0