,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cgcg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #bi1 #bjbf,mr4 ,padilla introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,reclamation ,states ,emergency ,drought ,relief ,act of #aiia to provide financial and technical assistance to eligible entities for the conduct of innovative approaches to voluntary water partnership agreements among multiple water users and projects conducted by individual agricultural entities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,growing ,resilient ,operations from ,water ,saving and ,municipal-,agricultural ,reciprocally-beneficial ,transactions ,act or the ,,grow ,,smart ,act4 #b4 ,project planning in support of innovative voluntary water sharing agreements and voluntary use of water-thrifty crops ,title ,,ii of the ,reclamation ,states ,emergency ,drought ,relief ,act of #aiia 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #bbba et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #bja the following3 #bja;,a4 ,project planning in support of innovative voluntary water sharing agreements and voluntary use of water-thrifty crops to prepare for and respond to drought 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary1 in order to prepare for and respond to drought conditions1 may1 using funds made available to carry out this title and under subsection 7g71 provide to qualified applicants technical and financial assistance to provide planning support for the implementation of voluntary projects incorporating innovative approaches that-- 7#a7 7,a7 keep agricultural land in production2 and 7,b7 support income and employment levels in rural communities2 7#b7 provide affordable water supplies1 redundant water supplies1 shared storage1 or other benefits2 and 7#c7 rely over the long term on sources other than ,federal funding for implementation4 7b7 ,description of innovative approach ,an innovative approach referred to in subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 shall-- 7,a7 be new2 or 7,b7 lack a well-established track record in the applicable area2 7#b7 shall include an approach that-- 7,a7 insulates agricultural water users from the risk of crop failures or water shortages through voluntary financial1 water storage1 or water sharing agreements between at least #a party described in subsection 7c77#a77;,a77i7 and #a party described in subsection 7c77#a77;,a77ii72 7,b7 brings water-saving commodities or practices into production2 or 7,c7 involves voluntary methods for reducing agricultural consumptive water use1 including-- 7i7 hydroponics2 7ii7 agrovoltaics2 7iii7 agroforestry2 7iv7 innovative irrigation technologies1 including gravity-powered drip irrigation and automated high-efficiency surface irrigation2 7v7 root-zone-based irrigation management systems2 7vi7 implementation of regenerative agricultural practices that decrease net water consumption2 or 7vii7 concentration of crop production on a reduced irrigated acreage that results in an equal or greater financial return2 and 7#c7 shall not include an approach that-- 7,a7 fallows agricultural land for-- 7i7 the majority of the growing season in the applicable area2 or 7ii7 in the case of a drought-year agreement1 is reasonably anticipated to result in fallowing for the majority of years under the drought-year agreement2 or 7,b7 involves crops in the applicable area 7other than crops using an approach described in paragraph 7#b77 that are-- 7i7 widely used or planted2 or 7ii7 well understood in terms of yield1 cost1 and other key production factors4 7c7 ,qualified applicants 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#c71 to qualify for financial or technical assistance under this section1 an applicant shall-- 7,a7 propose a voluntary partnership among-- 7i7 #a or more agricultural entities 7including irrigation districts72 and 7ii7 #a or more-- 7,i7 ,state1 municipal1 or other community water providers2 7,,ii7 industrial or commercial entities1 including data centers2 7,,iii7 ,states1 ,state agencies1 or subdivisions of a ,state2 or 7,,iv7 nonprofit conservation organizations2 and 7,b7 submit to the ,secretary an application signed by at least #a party described in subparagraph 7,a77i7 and #a party described in subparagraph 7,a77ii74 7#b7 ,no limits on participation of ,tribal entities ,each of the parties described in clauses 7i7 and 7ii7 of paragraph 7#a77;,a7 may be ,tribal entities4 7#c7 ,projects without voluntary partnerships 7,a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary may award to a ,state1 ,state agency1 or subdivision of a ,state1 ,indian ,tribe1 or agricultural entity that is not in a voluntary partnership with other entities described in paragraph 7#a77;,a7 a portion of the financial assistance authorized under this section for the planning or conduct of a voluntary project that-- 7i7 uses an innovative approach described in paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 of subsection 7b72 or 7ii7 with respect to a voluntary project conducted by a ,state1 ,state agency1 or ,indian ,tribe1 would advance other long-term efforts to reverse declining-- 7,i7 groundwater supplies2 or 7,,ii7 freshwater inflows to inland lakes4 7,b7 ,priority consideration ,the ,secretary shall give priority consideration to an application for financial assistance under this paragraph for which the following thresholds have been met or are projected to be met3 7i7 ,in the case of an application from an agricultural entity or subdivision of a ,state1 a reduction of #dj percent or more in the annual water supply of the agricultural entity or subdivision of the ,state1 due to factors outside the control of the agricultural entity or subdivision of the ,state4 7ii7 ,in the case of an application from a ,state1 ,state agency1 or ,indian ,tribe1 a reduction of #dj percent or more in-- 7,i7 groundwater supplies2 or 7,,ii7 freshwater inflows to inland lakes4 7d7 ,application requirements ,the ,secretary shall ensure that applications for financial or technical assistance under this section-- 7#a7 shall be limited to-- 7,a7 a brief description of why the proposed approach to be provided assistance is consistent with this section and the priorities described in subsection 7e72 and 7,b7 any basic information on the applicant that the ,secretary determines to be necessary2 and 7#b7 shall not require any preparation of supporting reports by the applicant or other entities4 7e7 ,priority ,the ,secretary shall prioritize applications for financial or technical assistance under this section based on-- 7#a7 for projects involving a voluntary partnership under subsection 7c77#a71 whether the proposed project would dedicate a portion of the water saved in the project area to increase water supplies for-- 7,a7 other members of the water district within which the project is located2 or 7,b7 in the case of a project not within a water district1 other members of the municipality1 ,indian ,tribe1 acequia1 or other community unit within which the project is located2 7#b7 the extent to which the proposed approach is innovative in terms of-- 7,a7 the practices implemented or the crops planted2 7,b7 the financial or other aspects of the voluntary partnership among the agricultural entities and municipal or industrial entities or nonprofit conservation organizations2 or 7,c7 a combination of the factors described in subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b72 7#c7 the extent to which the proposed approach is preliminarily estimated to reduce consumptive agricultural water use compared to existing practices while keeping agricultural land in production2 7#d7 the extent to which the proposed approach is preliminarily estimated to support income and employment levels in the relevant agricultural community compared to existing practices 7whether due to increased yields1 lower input costs1 or other factors72 7#e7 the assessment of the ,secretary of the likelihood that the proposed approach is likely to be successfully implemented as proposed2 7#f7 whether the voluntary water sharing agreements among the agricultural entities and municipal or industrial entities or nonprofit conservation organizations are proposed for a period of not less than #aj years2 7#g7 the likelihood of the project to sustain the project long-term without the need for additional ,federal funding after the project demonstration phase2 and 7#h7 such other factors as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate1 consistent with subsection 7c77#c74 7f7 ,cost-,sharing requirement 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,federal share of activities provided financial assistance under this section shall not exceed #ge percent of the cost of the activities4 7#b7 ,waiver ,the ,secretary may waive the cost-sharing requirement under paragraph 7#a7 for ,tribal entities4 7g7 ,funding 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,secretary may use not more than #aj percent of the amounts made available under section #iejd7;e7 of the ,omnibus ,public ,land ,management ,act of #bjji 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ajcfd7;e77 to carry out this section4 7#b7 ,authorization of appropriations ,in addition to any amounts otherwise made available to carry out this title and amounts made available under paragraph 7#a71 there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary to carry out this section #e1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbh through #bjcd4 4