California Ag Network

Tag: The Department of the Interior

  • $328 Million Available for Drought and Climate Resiliency Projects with Focus on the West

    The Department of the Interior recently announced up to $328 million in funding opportunities available through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, a key pillar of Bidenomics, to help communities address impacts of climate change through water recycling, water storage and desalination projects. The funds come primarily from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s WaterSMART and Small Storage programs, as well as through annual appropriations, and the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act.

    President Biden’s Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation’s history and is providing much-needed resources to enhance Western communities’ resilience to drought and climate change, including protecting the short- and long-term sustainability of the Colorado River System. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing a total of $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including water purification and reuse, water storage and conveyance, desalination and dam safety. The Inflation Reduction Act is investing an additional $4.6 billion to address the historic drought.

    “In the wake of severe drought conditions throughout the West, the Department is bringing every tool and resource to bear — including significant investments through President Biden’s Investing America agenda — to help build community resilience to drought and climate change for generations to come,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Through today’s funding, we are partnering with local communities to advance innovative solutions for water conservation and expand local water storage supplies.”

    “Through these historic investments in climate resilience, Reclamation is offering a variety of opportunities to assist communities and irrigation districts in fully utilizing their current water supplies and tapping into potential new supplies,” said Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “As we work with our stakeholders to address impacts of climate change, these projects will diversify water portfolios and help provide flexibility.”

    Reclamation is implementing an overall $1 billion investment for WaterSMART grants and $100 million for Small Storage Program grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide financial assistance to water managers to help conserve and use water more efficiently, implement renewable energy projects, investigate and develop water marketing strategies, mitigate conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict, and accomplish other benefits that contribute to sustainability in the Western United States.

    These programs also advance the Justice40 Initiative, part of the Biden administration’s historic commitment to environmental justice, which aims to ensure 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that have been marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

    As part of the announcement, Reclamation is opening three funding opportunities for water recycling and reuse, desalination construction and small water storage projects:

    Water Recycling Projects

    Through Reclamation’s Title XVI Program, a total of $239 million is available for water reclamation and reuse projects. Reclamation will provide financial assistance to local water agencies for the planning, design, and construction of water reclamation and reuse projects. Water recycling is an important tool used to stretch limited water supplies.

    Desalination Construction Projects

    Reclamation is making up to $64 million available for desalination construction projects. Desalination projects develop and supplement municipal and irrigation water supplies through the treatment of ocean or brackish water, thereby providing a local supply, providing flexibility during water shortages, and diversifying the water supply. These projects provide growing communities with new sources of clean water and increase water management flexibility, making water supplies more reliable.

    Small Water Storage Projects

    Reclamation is making up to $25 million available for small surface water and groundwater storage projects in the 17 Western states, Hawaii and Alaska. Surface water and groundwater storage projects are essential tools in stretching the limited water supplies caused by a changing climate. Funding is available for projects with a water storage capacity between 200 and 30,000 acre-feet that increase surface water or groundwater storage.

    Information on these funding opportunities is available at grants.gov or Reclamation’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law webpage.

    About the U.S. Department of the Interior

    The Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help them prosper.

  • Infrastructure Law to Help Safeguard Water Supplies in Wake of Western Drought

    The Department of the Interior announced a $36.1 million investment, including $26.7 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, to safeguard local water supplies in the wake of record drought across the West.

    Twenty-seven projects in 12 states and the first-ever in Puerto Rico will be awarded funding to advance quantifiable and sustained water savings by protecting watersheds impacted by wildland fire, restoring aquatic habitats and stream beds, and advancing other environmental restoration projects to mitigate drought-related impacts. These investments will be leveraged through partnerships with local communities to address regional water challenges, including projects to address damage left by the Caldor Fire in California and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. These funds follow a $25.5 million investment announced last month allocated for 14 water efficiency projects across eight western states.

    “President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is advancing locally-led initiatives to address severe and historic western drought,” said Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo. ”Through the Water Smart program funded under this law, we are addressing a variety of regional challenges to increase water reliability and accessibility for families, farmers and Tribes. Today’s investment will conserve water, restore riparian habitat and stream function, and improve watershed health to benefit local supplies and the surrounding environment.”

    “Adequate and safe water supplies are fundamental to the health, economy and security of the country. By restoring ecosystems and improving the health of rivers and watersheds, we can provide more local communities reliable access to water,” said Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “These grants invest in water management projects that will directly benefit plant and animal species, fish and wildlife habitat and ecosystems.”

    Overall, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $8.3 billion to address water and drought challenges for the nation’s western water and power infrastructure by repairing aging water delivery systems, securing dams, completing rural water projects, protecting aquatic ecosystems and fulfilling Indian Water Rights Settlements.

    The funding announced today is part of the $160 million in WaterSMART grants provided by the Law in 2022. Local governments in states set to receive funding must complete their project within three years. Through a 25 percent cost-share, a total of $56.2 million in federal and non-federal investments will be leveraged to support selected projects.

    For more than 100 years, Reclamation and its partners have developed sustainable water and power solutions for the West. This Department’s WaterSMART Program focuses on collaborative efforts to plan and implement actions to increase water supply sustainability, including investments to modernize infrastructure.

    More information about the Environmental Water Restoration Projects is available on Reclamation’s website.

    Selected projects:

    Recipient 

    State

    Title 

    Federal Funding 

    Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District 

    AZ 

    Roosevelt Watershed Protection and Forest Thinning Project 

    $560,250 

    Marin Municipal Water District 

    CA 

    Lagunitas Creek Stream Channel Restoration Project 

    $1,400,000

    San Bernadino Valley Municipal Water District 

    CA 

    Anza Creek Aquatic and Riparian Habitat Restoration Project 

    $2,000,000

    Resource Conservation District of Monterey County 

    CA 

    Salinas River Arundo Eradication Project Phase V 

    $1,479,262

    El Dorado County Water Agency 

    CA 

    Post Caldor Fire Watershed Restoration for Securing Water Supply for the Grizzly Flats Community 

    $1,875,000

    The Nature Conservancy 

    CO 

    Modernization of the Maybell Irrigation District’s Diversion from the Yampa River in Colorado 

    $1,920,900

    Trout Unlimited 

    CO 

    Pagosa Gateway Project 

    $375,000 

    State of Hawai’i DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife 

    HI 

    Protecting Forests for Water Supply Sustainability in Kohala Hawaii Phase 1 

    $996,487 

    State of Hawai’i DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife 

    HI 

    Protecting Forests for Water Supply Sustainability in Kohala Hawaii Phase 2 

    $931,783 

    Friends of the Teton River, Inc. 

    ID 

    Reconnecting Canyon Creek 

    $2,000,000

    Board of Control for Triangle Irrigation and Wood River 

    ID 

    Board of Control Diversion 45 Stabilization and Fish Passage Remediation 

    $629,000 

    The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation 

    ID 

    Battle Creek Ecological Restoration at Sowo Gahni 

    $1,999,711

    Sun River Watershed 

    MT 

    Muddy Creek Restoration and Resilience Project Phase I 

    $1,769,323

    Southern Nevada Water Authority 

    NV 

    Las Vegas Wash Riparian Restoration Project 

    $900,500 

    Rogue Valley Council of Governments 

    OR 

    Bear Creek Fish Passage Barriers Removal 

    $784,151 

    East Fork Irrigation District 

    OR 

    Oanna & Yasui Sublateral Efficiency Project 

    $2,000,000

    Curry Watersheds Nonprofit 

    OR 

    Sixes Riverbank Restoration and Estuary Enhancement 

    $268,789 

    Protectores de Cuencas Inc 

    PR 

    Accelerating Recovery and Increasing Resiliency of Coastal Wetlands in Punta Tuna Natural Reserve in Maunabo Puerto Rico 

    $509,694 

    Cameron County Water Improvement District No. 10 

    TX 

    Pipeline Improvements and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Water Management Improvements 

    $1,500,000

    Cache Water District 

    UT 

    Lower Logan River Trapper Park River Restoration Project 

    $2,000,000

    Trout Unlimited 

    UT 

    Weber River Ecological Resiliency Project 

    $1,864,032

    Trout Unlimited 

    UT 

    Paris Creek Hydropower Decommissioning and Instream Flow Restoration 

    $900,798 

    Kittitas Reclamation District 

    WA 

    South Branch Piping 

    $2,000,000

    Clallam Conservation District 

    WA 

    Irrigation Efficiency and Improvement Project 

    $1,535,937

    Clallam County 

    WA 

    Dungeness Reservoir Irrigation Conveyance Improvement Project 

    $1,813,275

    Wyoming Game and Fish Department 

    WY 

    New Fork River Gas Wells River Restoration and Fish Habitat Improvement 

    $100,000 

    Deaver Irrigation District 

    WY 

    D52 Lateral Piping and Shoshone River Sediment Reduction Project 

    $2,000,000

    More information, including details about other current opportunities to apply for funding available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is available on Reclamation’s WaterSMART program webpage.

  • Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Homeland Security Jointly Establish New Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission

    The Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced the establishment of a new Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. Establishing this Commission fulfills a key provision of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and represents a critical step in combating the nation’s wildfire crisis and improving resilience in America’s landscapes.

    The Commission is tasked with recommending federal policies and strategies to more effectively prevent, mitigate, suppress and manage wildland fires, including the rehabilitation of land affected from wildland fires. It will include representation from federal, state, Tribal, county and municipal governments as well as non-governmental stakeholders from private industry. Through a coordinated effort, the Commission will deliver a report to Congress with practical policy recommendations one year from the first meeting. In addition, the Commission will outline a strategy to cost effectively meet aerial firefighting equipment needs through 2030.

    The work of the Commission will build on existing interagency federal efforts such as the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the White House Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group and will continue to pursue a whole-of-government approach to wildfire risk reduction and resilience.

    “We have a historic opportunity to take action on forest restoration, hazardous fuels management and post-wildfire restoration activities, and better address the needs of federal wildland firefighters,” said Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “The Commission established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide valuable insight into ways we can better prepare communities and ecosystems against the threat of wildland fire across our nation’s public and Tribal lands.”

    “The effects of a changing climate are all around us. Americans, especially those in rural communities in the West, are experiencing a growing number of bigger, hotter, and more destructive wildfires that threaten people, livelihoods, and our natural resources. The Commission will bring together a diverse group of leaders to help tackle this crisis and inform our collective ability to improve the health and resilience of our forests and communities” said Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

    “This Commission represents a unified effort across the federal government to answer a call that is quickly growing louder; we must protect our wildlands from the ravaging impacts of climate change,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “In coordination with our partners at USDA and DOI, FEMA is committed to doing our part to help build readiness and resilience in communities who are at risk from wildfires.”

    “Climate change and increasing development in the wildland urban interface are rapidly changing the complexity and response challenges for the fire service. It is time for us all to recognize that wildland fire is not just a forest or rural problem any longer. Urban and suburban fire departments that had no part in wildland firefighting 30 years ago are now heavily engaged in wildland fire prevention, mitigation, and response. The wildland urban interface is now the frontier for wildland fire,” said U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore Merrell. “This Commission will pull together our partners and stakeholders to focus on community risk reduction, enhanced prevention efforts, and overall response and mitigation capacity that matches the wildfire risks within the nation’s wildland urban interface.”

    “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law calls for a dramatic increase in the scale and pace of wildfire mitigation, restoration and post-fire recovery work,” said Executive Director of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council Mike Zupko. “Success can only be accomplished through dedicated partnerships and collaboration. The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission will advance our collective ability to combat the nation’s wildfire crisis and accelerate implementation of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.”

    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests unprecedented funding for America’s natural infrastructure. The joint Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission will support the implementation of effective wildfire risk reduction and resilience strategies to combat the wildfire crisis, recovering and protecting our nation’s forests, landscapes and surrounding communities.

    About the U.S. Department of the Interior

    The Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help them prosper.