[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 386 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 386
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide exemptions from
the consultation requirements required under that Act for agency
actions that fulfill critical human water needs, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 4, 2025
Ms. Lummis (for herself, Mr. Barrasso, and Mr. Sheehy) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide exemptions from
the consultation requirements required under that Act for agency
actions that fulfill critical human water needs, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Critical Water Resources
Prioritization Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. CRITICAL WATER RESOURCES EXEMPTIONS UNDER THE ENDANGERED
SPECIES ACT OF 1973.
(a) In General.--Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1536) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(q) Human Needs Exemptions for Water Resources.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Critical human water need.--The term
`critical human water need' means water required--
``(i) for a municipal drinking water
supply;
``(ii) for emergency services, including
firefighting;
``(iii) to maintain public health and
safety, as determined by the Secretary or a
relevant water management agency; or
``(iv) for food security, as determined by
the Secretary.
``(B) Water management agency.--The term `water
management agency' means any Federal, State, or local
agency with authority to manage or allocate water
resources.
``(2) Exemptions for critical human water needs.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary
may grant an exemption from the requirements of subsection
(a)(2) for any agency action carried out by a water management
agency to fulfill a critical human water need if--
``(A) those requirements would directly conflict
with the fulfillment of the critical human water need;
``(B) the water management agency has--
``(i) implemented all reasonable water
conservation measures;
``(ii) explored all feasible alternative
water sources; and
``(iii) determined no other reasonable
alternatives exist to meet the critical human
water need; and
``(C) the water management agency submits to the
Secretary--
``(i) documentation of the conditions
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B);
``(ii) a plan to minimize adverse impacts
on affected species; and
``(iii) a timeline for reinstating those
requirements.
``(3) Duration and renewal.--
``(A) Initial period.--An exemption granted by the
Secretary under paragraph (2) shall be valid for a
period of not more than 180 days.
``(B) Renewal.--The Secretary may renew an
exemption under paragraph (2) for additional 180-day
periods if the conditions described in subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of paragraph (2) continue to exist and the
applicable water management agency resubmits the
information described in subparagraph (C) of that
paragraph.
``(4) Reports.--
``(A) Water management agency reports.--A water
management agency operating under an exemption granted
under paragraph (2) shall submit to the Secretary
monthly reports describing--
``(i) the ongoing critical human water need
for which the exemption was made;
``(ii) efforts to develop alternative water
sources; and
``(iii)(I) impacts on affected species; and
``(II) measures taken to minimize those
impacts.
``(B) Secretary reports.--The Secretary shall
submit to Congress an annual report describing--
``(i) all exemption made under this
subsection;
``(ii) the cumulative impact of those
exemptions on affected species; and
``(iii) recommendations for improving the
balance between critical human water needs and
species protection.
``(5) Judicial review.--Any action taken under this
subsection shall be subject to judicial review only for
arbitrary and capricious agency action under section 706 of
title 5, United States Code.''.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary (as defined in section 3 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532)) shall promulgate
regulations to implement the amendments made by this section.
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